Walnut Creek officials ponder annexation request
By Barbara Arntsen
Published in News on April 29, 2004 2:04 PM
The Walnut Creek Village Council heard only one concern during a public hearing Wednesday on a voluntary annexation request.
"I'm just worried about the traffic patterns in and out of the village," said Roy Lane. "We're getting pretty bottled up."
The request to annex 10 parcels totaling 205 acres comes from Goldsboro Milling Co. and the Maxwell family. The land is within the borders of U.S. 70, Beston Road, St. Johns Church Road and Lake Wackena Road.
Mayor Ken Ritt said that the proposal for the annexation contained two additional entrances to the village.
If the village annexes the property, the property owners will give the village a 20-foot easement to Beston Road, toward the other side of the Handi-Mart. That will allow the village to run sewer lines through undeveloped property, instead of down Walnut Creek Drive.
The village is also paying the property owners $8,430 for the easement.
"Going down the middle of Walnut Creek Drive would cause not only aesthetic problems, we'd also have to tear up driveways and cut down trees," Ritt said.
Village Attorney Phil Baddour said that if the land was annexed, it would be subject to village zoning laws. The zoning for the area would be R-25 and R-35, a residential zone requiring a large square footage requirement per lot.
Ritt said that without annexing adjacent property, the village had no control because it didn't have extra-territorial jurisdiction.
If annexed, the land couldn't be used as a livestock farm because the village doesn't allow that use within its limits.
In other matters, Councilman Jack Best resigned his seat on the council. Best was selected to replace Ken Gerrard on the Wayne County Board of Commissioners.
Ritt said he regretfully accepted Best's resignation and thanked him for all the hard work he'd done for the village.
"You will be missed," Ritt said.
Councilman Danny Jackson told Best he had done an "awesome job."
"There's no way we could have gotten the water and sewer project done," Jackson said.
Coinciding with Best's resignation was the final approval from the state for the village's $1.4 million loan. The low-interest loan will help the village complete the sewer project, so it can hook up to the Goldsboro plant.
Ritt, and Mayor Pro Tem Darryl Horne will review any applicants for Best's position. They will then bring a recommendation back to the board.