Agenda - 09-19-2017 - 7-a - Mountains to Sea Trail – Report on Segment 11 Trail Planning

Browse Search

40 4. Acquisition of Needed Trail Easements It is anticipated that a number of individual trail easements with private landowners will need to be acquired to make the MST Segment 11 possible in Orange County. In some cases, the trail may run along short sections of road right-of-way, although this is considered undesirable from both State Parks and NCDOT — and in fact, segments along roadways are not officially considered to be part of the MST, but rather temporary connections until a permanent off-road trail exists. Some landowners may also wish to sell land for trail location as opposed to conveying an easement. As has been noted on a number of occasions in the community meetings, Orange County plans to work only with willinq landowners in securinq the MST route. The County does not plan to use eminent domain to secure or acquire the trail route. How would the County acquire trail easements? It is important to note that acquiring trail easements must be done incrementally so as not to get too far out ahead with commitments to properties (and property owners) that may not be reached - or pan out - due to unforeseen circumstances. Generally, the process would start by contacting the owners of parcels along one segment of the trail, and begin meeting and negotiating with those landowners before moving forward to the next segment of the proposed trail. Trail route planning must remain fairly flexible, with at least two or three options available in case the preferred route is unattainable. In most cases, staff intends to contact three or four landowners at a time, and then meet with them either together as a group or separately if preferred. Staff will explain the proposed trail route, the purpose of the MST project, answer questions, and discuss the process of granting trail easements. Staff will provide model easement agreements and suggest a fair market value for the granting of an easement. In some cases, the landowner might prefer to sell a strip of land to the County rather than granting an easement. Others may request landscape buffers or perhaps a privacy fence. Again, if landowners do not wish the trail through their property, then staff will resort to alternative trail route(s). How would people access the trail? People will access (and exit) the trail via specially marked and managed access points along the trail. These access points (also called "trailheads" or"nodes") will be spaced roughly five to ten miles apart (closer in urban areas) and will provide parking and trail information. Each location will provide a trail map and rules for trail use; some locations may have drinking water and some kind of shelter or camping area (as described previously). Thus far there are formal MST access points in Eno River State Park, River Park (downtown Hillsborough), Gold Park (West Hillsborough), and Occoneechee Mountain State 8