Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Environmental Health topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Wendell waives annexation and rezoning fees to connect a well-served property to municipal water after petroleum leak remediation
Summary
The board approved a fee waiver for annexation and rezoning of 529 Eagle Rock Road to allow the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality and its contractor to connect the property to municipal water following contamination investigations tied to a former leaking underground storage tank.
The Wendell Board of Commissioners approved a staff recommendation to waive the annexation and rezoning fees for 529 Eagle Rock Road so the property can be annexed and connected to municipal water as part of state-led contamination mitigation.
Town staff said the request was submitted by ESP Associates on behalf of the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). The DEQ is funding municipal water connections to reduce human-health risk for properties downgradient of a petroleum leak tied to a former Texaco station at 505 Eagle Rock Road; that leak was first reported to DEQ in February 2003 and remains under soil and groundwater monitoring.
Why it matters: 525 and 505 Eagle Rock Road are already inside town limits; 529 is in unincorporated Wake County and must be annexed and rezoned to allow a municipal water connection. Staff told the board the state can pay for the water service connection; property owners are expected to pay for sewer connections when required. Staff described the annexation application fee as $350 and the rezoning fee as $600.
Planning staff said the request fits the town’s strategic plan goals for infrastructure and public health and noted prior fee waivers for house-expo related projects as precedent. Commissioner comments emphasized the public-health imperative. “This is life and death,” one commissioner said during deliberations, supporting the waiver.
The board’s motion to approve the fee waiver was made by Commissioner Eamon and carried in open session. Staff will process the annexation and rezoning applications under the fee waiver and coordinate the municipal connection work with DEQ and the property owners.
