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e News & Observer : Record Display http : //archives . newsbank. com/bin/gate . ex . . . +neighborhood & state=7v358c . 6 . 2 & sub_type= 12 Record 2 of 35 'TeA Only Display August 23 , 2000 The News & Observer Smoke irritates residents of Chapel Hill neighborhood By KIRK ROSS ; THE CHAPEL HILL NEWS Page : B8 CHAPEL HILL - - Residents of Lake Hogan Farms are lining up in opposition to plans by the developer of the 400 - home project to continue to burn stumps , brush and other debris from land clearing . "Yesterday my children wanted to go outside to play , but they came back in two minutes and said , ' Mom , we can ' t breathe , ' " said Lake Hogan resident Farima Anoush . " Last night , I went outside and there were ashes falling in the yard . This isn 't just a problem for us - the smoke travels . " Michael Dean Chadwick , owner and manager of First American Land , which is developing Lake Hogan Farms , said he has heard only a few complaints about the burning . Contractors at the site , he said , are following the letter of the law . He declined to say just how long the burning will go on without checking on the status of the project with his contractors , but he said it would be " probably less than a year and more than a week . " Chadwick bought the land from the Hogan family last year . Residents said contractors have told them the burning could go on for two years . " This is a pretty big project , " Chadwick said , " and burning is pretty much the way these things are typically done . The only other option is to send it to fill up a landfill , and landfill space is a precious commodity , so burning is actually the preferred option . Personally , I wouldn ' t say this is an overwhelming problem . " Lake Hogan Farms resident Debbie Gross , who moved from New York City last year , couldn 't disagree more . " One of the reasons we left the city was because of air quality , and now here we are in the country and it ' s worse , " she said . " Last night I wanted to walk the dogs , but the smoke was so irritating that we just put them in the car and drove five miles away . " Anoush said she has collected 130 names on a petition she will present to the Orange County Board of Commissioners , asking them to speed up plans to tighten open burning rules in the county . Chapel Hill , Carrboro and Hillsborough prohibit construction - or clearing - related fires within town limits , but the part of Lake Hogan Farms where the burning is taking place lies outside town limits . Similar problems in recent years prompted county officials to ask for special legislation . In June , the General Assembly passed a local bill giving Orange County the authority to ban open burning . Orange is the first county in the state to be granted that authority . But county officials said they are not sure when the new burning rules will be ready for review by the commissioners . Chadwick said state environmental officials visited the burn site Monday and said the burn was in compliance with state rules . " We ' re doing it right , " he said . " Where are the people waving the flag on behalf of the developer who ' s doing things right ? " Orange County Commissioner Barry Jacobs said he would like the developer and the county to work on a way to resolve the issue . Last year , the county helped Orange County schools find a way to clear land without burning : The county of 2 8 /30/2000 143 PM