Challenged: Wake County text change that puts drinking water at risk Dear Friends, I’m writing to tell you about a disturbing decision the Wake County Board of Commissioners made early last month. Despite scathing comments from the public and significant attention by the media, on April 5, 2010, the Wake County Board of Commissioners approved a text change to the Unified Development Ordinance (the rules that dictate how our community grows). This change to the ordinance puts the future of your drinking water at risk. The adoption of the text change, OA 03-09, was opposed by the Neuse RIVERKEEPER® Foundation, the City of Raleigh, WakeUP Wake County, the Watershed Protection Council and a group of local citizens. Regardless of whether you own property in the Falls Lake Watershed, this decision will affect you if we do not take action now. Falls Lake is already vulnerable and on the Federal Government’s list of impaired waterways due to high levels of pollutants. Today, most of the Lake suffers from algal blooms, high turbidity and low dissolved oxygen, caused by polluted runoff. If our local officials do not make an effort to protect Falls Lake, Wake County residents will continue to see “closed” signs at Falls Lake beaches and worry about their drinking water. The Neuse RIVERKEEPER® Foundation, the only organization dedicated to protecting the entire Neuse River basin, including Falls Lake, will not stand for governance that neglects to protect our waters and we’re willing to do what is necessary to ensure this poor decision is reversed.
| The Foundation and concerned Wake County citizens have filed an appeal with the Wake County Superior Court and, while this is only the first hurdle to protecting Wake County’s waterways, it will not be cheap and we need your help. Please help us ensure that Wake County has clean, plentiful waters for this and future generations by making a contribution today! |  |
The proposed text change to the Unified Development Ordinance does not benefit Falls Lake or Wake County residents in general, serves only private interests, and risks opening the flood gates to a horde of environmentally damaging projects that will no longer be required to receive appropriate evaluation by the public. Your generous contribution will help the Neuse RIVERKEEPER® Foundation fight back against this change and protect your source of water for drinking and recreation. In an effort to protect Wake County drinking water supplies, such as Falls Lake, watershed zoning restrictions only allow for small commercial buildings (15,000 square feet at most) to be developed in the water supply watershed. The text change to the Unified Development Ordinance, misleadingly titled “Elimination and Redevelopment of Nonconforming Use,” is an attempt to let nonconforming uses—properties that were already developed in a manner the code no longer allows—to redevelop without having to comply with this restriction. The specific property interest bringing this change forward is a lumber yard with plans to be converted into a large shopping center near Old Creedmoor Road and Highway 98 in northwest Wake County, a property in close proximity to Falls Lake. We have appealed to the courts for their assistance in reversing the Wake County Board of Commissioner’s actions regarding the approved text change to the Unified Development Ordinance for the following reasons: * The text change sends a poor message to upstream communities whom we expect to work with us in protecting Falls Lake. Falls Lake is already impaired, will be expensive to clean up, and is the main drinking water source for over half a million people in and surrounding Wake County. The Wake County the Board of Commissioners must make responsible decisions regarding the protection of the Lake or forgo their right to demand that upstream communities do the same. * Since beneficial commercial uses could be determined to be appropriate and allowed to occur on this property through existing procedures there is no reason that the change is required in order to protect the property owner’s interests. Failure to pass the change does not constitute a taking of private property. * The broad language forwarded by the applicant opens the door to at least another 10 similar activity centers throughout Wake County that are also within the watershed of a drinking water supply reservoir. Wake County has not disclosed what the impacts of this would be but, unquestionably, they will affect your drinking water. * Approving this project via text change does not ensure that environmental protections discussed by the proponent will be implemented. Before this text change, approval by rezoning, the conventional approach to a project of this sort, would include conditions that require the applicant to honor their word. I hope that in addition to sending a gift you will also take a moment to give us a call with any questions, or visit our web page on this issue. There is more information on the approved text change to the ordinance, including several news articles available at http://www.neuseriver.org/textchangechallenge.html Please consider sending a gift of $100, or whatever amount is significant to you. For your gift you’ll receive our quarterly newsletter so that you can keep up to date on Falls Lake developments, but above all, you will know that your gift is helping the Neuse RIVERKEEPER® Foundation protect the health of Falls Lake and other Wake County waterways for you and your children. Sincerely, Alissa Bierma Upper Neuse RIVERKEEPER® P.S. If you’re like me, you expect to have your elected officials defend your right to clean, safe water for drinking and recreation for this and for future generations. That trust has been violated and we must speak up. Please take action to protect Wake County waterways.
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