Agenda - 08-25-2008- c2 - Laserfiche WebLink

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~aS The enforcement of the "buffer zones" in the Neuse River Basin Agreement are nothing short of "eminent domain" without compensation and they are cloaked as the only environmentally sound approach to solving a possible "future problem". If citizens simply submit to the Plan, we hand over to the various departments in the county government unbridle authority to "police" our property and dictate to us, the owners, who have paid a premium price for this property, the use or non-use of our property. This taking without compensation is shameful. The devaluation of private property, that is heavily taxed by the government, in the pursuit of a lofty "solution" to a future problem that may or may not occur, is troubling. The citizens who currently reside in the county, pay taxes and vote, may in fact prefer that the County take a stand against the State and stand up to protect our rights and the ownership and use of our land, rather than advocate for future residents who interests ar e certai my at best speculative. There are numerous statements within the Plan that are simply inaccurate and misrepresent the current status of water usage of Lake Orange and the impact of the proposed regulations upon the citizens in Orange County who are property owners around Lake Orange, those citizens who use the lake and those citizens who obtain water from Lake Orange. Further, the precedent set by allowing county employees to simply police private property owners is a slippery slope that could have disastrous consequences for the county:• Finally, when Lake Orange was conceived and the private property owners "donated" the land under the lake to the county, the primary purpose of Lake Orange was to provide recreation for its citizens and to serve as an emergency source of water. What was intended as a partnership of-Lake Orange Inc., private property owners and the county has eroded over the years as the county has bargained away the rights of the property owners at Lake Orange without consulting or obtaining agreement from Lake Orange property owners as to the relinquishment of those rights. The property owners at Lake Orange are fully supportive of a sound county-wide environmental plan that protects water quality as well as habitat of fowl, fish and fauna that not only will allow for the development of a sustainable community in the future, but that respects the current sustainable community. Additionally, the property owners at Lake Orange desire to be cooperative with the County governing bodies. However, has the County determined that the land owners around Lake Orange voluntarily agree to relinquish property rights to the boundary of the lake. Do we consent to the proposed Erosion Control authority or the Planning and Zoning assessments of setbacks and buffers. Laurie and I refute the legality of the application of the Neuse River Basin Rules as applied, if at all, to our property in the ways articulated in the plan. Further, it is clear that such a Plan is in fact an unlawful taking of private property without just cause and clearly without compensation. We suggest that the County Commissioners change the paradigm of "policing" and "controlling" its citizens to one of a synergistic relationship whereby the citizens that are already present in the county, already pay taxes and already vote on issues related to the county work, with each other to achieve realistic goals that benefit those of us who are already present in the county, not those who may or may not become residents of this county. We recommend the appointment of a task force, committee or other entity to work out a joint resolution with all of the landowners at Lake Orange and the vast number of other residents in Orange County whose property will be affected by the adoption of this or any other Plan. Such a process would ensure that each and every property owner has "actual notice" of the proceedings; fully understands the loss of value loss of rights, loss of uses of their property; agrees to relinquish their rights and use; and that each and every property owner a ffected by the Plan agrees to the implementation of any Plan adopted by the County. If there is to be an ongoing transparent process of development within the County, we submit that the following should be considered and implemented as a process: Full disclosure should be made by the County and Cities of the following: 1. Publish a complete list of "affected properties" in the entire county, should there be an attempt to fully enforce the Neuse River Basin Rules. ( Old and New Versions) 2. Publish the total estimated cost to the county for the purchase of the properties, conservation easements and possible protracted litigation. 3. Publish the estimated affect on the individual property as to devaluation resulting from the implementation of the proposed Comprehensive Plan. 4. Publish the estimated affect on the tax base in Orange County as a result of the devaluation of property affected by the implementation of this Plan. 5. Publish any documentation related to the investigation and determination of whether or not less drastic alternatives to the Neuse River Basin Rules are available . 6. Publish any and all raw data used by the Commission, any County employee and any data considered by those assimilating the Neuse River Basin Rules. 7. Provide each citizen who is directly affected by the implementation of this plan with 2