Re: Notice to Exclude Properties From Trail Segment 3

[CaneCreekNeighbors]

Dear Commissioners, 

We sent you an email before the holidays asking to exclude our properties from the Trail plan that the county is developing.  We received an email response from DEAPR Director explaining the plan. Both emails are below. Please appreciate that we are not seeking clarify about trail planning. 

This is our formal notification to Orange County that we will not allow a trail on any of our properties or privately maintained roads.  We request that all trail maps (drafts and final) be corrected to show Segment 3 circumventing our properties or eliminate Segment 3 entirely.  If planners/consultants are unable to correct the maps on their own, we respectfully ask the Board of County Commissioners to direct staff to make these corrections the next time the board discusses the trail plan.  To simplify our request, we again attach a map showing our properties.

Please add this email to the county listserve so that it can serve as the public record of our request.

Thank you. 

Cane Creek Neighbors (listed below)

[CaneCreekNeighbors]

Dear Commissioners,

We noticed that you plan to review the latest Orange County trails plan next week. (Agenda attached).

The purpose of this email is to remind you that we will not allow trail segment 4B (formerly Segment 3) to be planned, surveyed or built on any of our properties or private roads. Since the plans still do not reflect our prior communications, we ask that you please direct planners to update segment 4B to circumvent our properties or eliminate segment 4B entirely. Segment 4A is an excellent alternative that supports the county’s goals and uses public roads and rights of way.  

Please hear us. After years of objections, it is disappointing to repeatedly see maps that show trail options that run through our properties. It is misleading and unsettling, and raises questions about the quality of community engagement in the planning process. 

Attached is a map that clarifies the location of our properties. As properties have changed ownership, opposition to the trail is growing.  Please remove our properties from segment 4B or eliminate segment 4B in its entirety.

Thank you.

Cane Creek Neighbors (listed below)

[Jean Hamilton]

Dear Cane Creek Neighbors,

 

On behalf of the Orange County Board of Commissioners (BOCC), thank you for sharing your concerns about trail segment 4B. The BOCC will be discussing the draft Orange County Trails Plan at tonight’s April 14 work session.  The BOCC will take your request into consideration before the current plan is finalized.

 

Sincerely,

Jean

 

Jean Hamilton, Chair

Orange County Board of Commissioners

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From: CaneCreekNeighbors <canecreek...@gmail.com>
Sent: Thursday, April 9, 2026 8:50 PM
To: ALL_BOCC_MANAGER_CLERK <OCB...@orangecountync.gov>; Travis Myren <tmy...@orangecountync.gov>; David Stancil <dsta...@orangecountync.gov>
Cc: gail alberti <ges...@embarqmail.com>; walb...@embarqmail.com <walb...@embarqmail.com>; David Cackowski <dav...@prodigy.net>; CHRISTIE <karlch...@centurylink.net>; Kim Daniel <khdan...@gmail.com>; Michael DeBartolo <michaelj...@gmail.com>; Colleen Gilbert <colle...@gmail.com>; Andy Gilman <agi...@carolina.rr.com>; Lucie LaBerge <DOC...@gmail.com>; Dan Gura <dan.j...@gmail.com>; Bonnie Hauser <bonnie...@gmail.com>; Kelly Holmes <kke...@gmail.com>; Jeff and Kelly Hopper <jeffandke...@gmail.com>; Robert idol <thebo...@gmail.com>; david...@gmail.com <david...@gmail.com>; canecr...@yahoo.com <canecr...@yahoo.com>; Sandy Lyles <shl...@gmail.com>; Brian Mendelson <brian.me...@gmail.com>; Anne Patton <eanne...@gmail.com>; Jeff Stephens <uj...@mindspring.com>; k24...@gmail.com <k24...@gmail.com>; htu...@gmail.com <htu...@gmail.com>; Denise Dickens <denise....@carync.gov>
Subject: Re: Notice to Exclude Properties From Trail Segment 4B

 

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On Jan 8, 2026, at 5:13 PM, CaneCreekNeighbors <canecreek...@gmail.com> wrote:



Dear Commissioners, 

Thank you. 

Cane Creek Neighbors (listed below)

<properties to be excluded from Trail Planning.pdf>

On Dec 5, 2025, at 4:27 PM, David Stancil <dsta...@orangecountync.gov> wrote:



Good afternoon. Thank you for the email. I have read it and understand the concerns you raise. I will attempt herein to provide some context and information about the trail corridor mentioned.

 

The attached document may be of some help in that regard - an status memorandum and a powerpoint presentation about the ongoing Orange County Trails Plan and the work that has been done to date on this project. Hopefully this will provide some answers about the overall project, its goals and process, and the eventual product.

 

I recognize some of the names in your email from previous discussions from 2016-2018 about the Mountains to Sea Trail (MST) route, which was adopted in January 2018. I do recall some of these concerns being expressed at that time as well. As you may know, the MST is a part of the North Carolina State Parks system, but in most cases counties and cities across the state are working on the corridor and trail (in conjunction with State Parks).

 

In addition to the attached information, there are a few items I would like to share with you that may help clarify where we are and explain the reasoning behind the current draft:

 

• The map that is referenced in the email below and linked on our website is a first draft of initial trail corridor concepts that have come out of our outreach efforts and reconnaissance/data analysis to date. The draft plan is not yet completed and the map that is being shared is not a final product, in fact it was created to show what we have been hearing and seeing so far in the project. In the coming months as the draft Trails Plan is completed, some of these trail concepts may be modified or changed, or even deleted. I do think that the link to the map on our web page doesn’t accurately reflect the fact that this map is a preliminary version of possible trail segments, so I have had the link title adjusted to make that more clear. Thank you for bringing that to our attention.

 

• Regarding the Segment 3 that you reference (the adopted 2018 MST route), as one of the corridors that has been approved, it is one that our consultants identified for potential inclusion in the plan. Having said that, we also know that the stretch between Buckhorn Road and the Seven Mile Creek Natural Area (located to the north between Mount Willing Road and Dimmocks Mill Road) is going to be a challenging one. In most of the state the MST is able to follow a river or stream corridor, but this part happens to be the ridge line between the Neuse River and Cape Fear River basin. That is one reason why there is a proposed parallel “road route” (identified as segment 7 on the current preliminary draft map) that would use roads to connect from lower Buckhorn Road to the Seven Mile Creek Natural Area. We fully expect that this may be the way hikers connect between these two points for the foreseeable future. But we have to think about the long term -  if at some point in the future the interest in this changes, the adopted corridor identified might become desirable.

 

• The email mentions the draft trail segments connecting Mebane to Hillsborough (and thence to Durham). In our outreach sessions and mapping exercises, a trail connecting Mebane to Hillsborough has been identified as desirable, and this is reflected in the initial draft map with potential segments 9 and 12. But the Mebane to Hillsborough corridor from the MST standpoint has always been an alternate route to use until the trail was completed. The connection that is needed to conform to the MST adopted statewide plan is from Saxapahaw to Hillsborough. Saxapahaw and Hillsborough are both planning to be “trail towns” for the MST and have made investments to build their trail network to incorporate the parts of the MST in their jurisdiction, as well as providing places where hikers can stop and eat, stock up etc. In fact, Alamance County is in the final stages of acquiring a 750-acre regional park (with the MST inside of it) adjacent to the southwestern edge of Orange County, coming out of Saxapahaw. We have been working closely with Alamance County for years to coordinate the needed trail connection. This is why the planning for the MST to date has been oriented southwest to northeast as opposed to west to east from Mebane/Graham. A Mebane corridor may prove to be a valuable addition, but it does not follow the adopted MST main route.

 

• As the plan gets created, it is expected to be presented for consideration in late winter 2026. It is likely that any implementation of a trails plan would require substantial discussion, prioritization and a number of years to complete. It will also require significant conversations with NCDOT for the potential road routes and how those can be safely done. All that to say that this is early in the game, we don’t yet have the draft Trails Plan or the proposed trails map that would start us toward discussion of priorities and possible implementation.

 

• FYI - There is also another plan underway, a bicycle and pedestrian plan funded by the regional transportation entity, that we have been coordinating with. I can provide a link to an update on that effort if desired.

 

Lastly, we do have a newsletter about the Trails Plan that we send periodically to interested parties. If you do not already receive this, please let me know if you would like to be added to the email distribution list.

 

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any questions please feel free to let me know, and thank you for your feedback.

 

P. David Stancil, AICP

Director, Department of Environment, Agriculture, Parks and Recreation (DEAPR)

PO Box 8181 (1020 US 70 West)

Hillsborough, NC 27278

Phone: 919-245-2510  FAX: 919-644-3351

Email: dsta...@orangecountync.gov

 

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From: CaneCreekNeighbors <canecreek...@gmail.com>
Sent: Wednesday, December 3, 2025 9:35 PM
To: ALL_BOCC_MANAGER_CLERK <OCB...@orangecountync.gov>; Travis Myren <tmy...@orangecountync.gov>; Cy Stober <cst...@orangecountync.gov>; David Stancil <dsta...@orangecountync.gov>
Cc: gail alberti <ges...@embarqmail.com>; walb...@embarqmail.com; David Cackowski <dav...@prodigy.net>; CHRISTIE <karlch...@centurylink.net>; Kim Daniel <khdan...@gmail.com>; Michael DeBartolo <michaelj...@gmail.com>; Colleen Gilbert <colle...@gmail.com>; Andy Gilman <agi...@carolina.rr.com>; Lucie LaBerge <DOC...@gmail.com>; Dan Gura <dan.j...@gmail.com>; Bonnie Hauser <bonnie...@gmail.com>; Kelly Holmes <kke...@gmail.com>; Jeff and Kelly Hopper <jeffandke...@gmail.com>; Robert idol <thebo...@gmail.com>; david...@gmail.com; canecr...@yahoo.com; Sandy Lyles <shl...@gmail.com>; Brian Mendelson <brian.me...@gmail.com>; Anne Patton <eanne...@gmail.com>; Jeff Stephens <uj...@mindspring.com>; k24...@gmail.com; htu...@gmail.com; Denise Dickens <denise....@carync.gov>
Subject: Notice to Exclude Properties From Trail Segment 3

 

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Dear Commissioners:

We own property around Cane Creek between Buckhorn and Orange Grove Road. We are writing to inform you that we will not grant permission to route the Mountain to Sea trail (MST) or any county trail on our property. Nor will we allow trail access access through privately maintained roads and driveways.  We hearby deny permission for any county or public trail, feasibility study, survey work, or access of any kind to be routed through our properties.  Our properties are proximate to Segment 3 on your draft trail map. https://www.orangecountync.gov/3625/Orange-County-Trails-Plan. 

  

We support the MST project and its goal of connecting greenspaces throughout the state. The route from Mebane to Hillsborough to Durham is a wonderful example of the connections enabled by the project. Segment 3 is a secondary segment that runs about 15-miles along private property between Seven Mile Creek and Saxapahaw.There are no facilities, parking, or amenities for hikers. If you insist on pursuing a secondary trail segment, we encourage you to consider options 2, 7, or 11 which place the trail along public roads, offer amenities, and are safer for hikers and neighbors. If you decide to develop trails in Bingham Township, we prefer that you explore better ways for cyclists to share the road with motor vehicles. 

For reference, our properties are shaded in green on the attached map. We will not permit trail access on any of our properties or private roads. Please make a permanent notation in your records. Going forward, we do not wish to see plans for trail segments near our properties without our prior permission.

Thank you.

·       William and Gail Alberti (4214 Mystic Lane, PIN 9842500467)

·       David Cackowski (4204 Mystic Lane, PIN 9842504442)

·       Karl and Christie Degener (4222 Sugar Ridge Road, PIN 9841490083)

·       L. Ray Daniel and Kim Holmes Daniel (4217 Bradshaw Quarry Road, PIN 
9841482150,9841378709,9841489109, 9841276625)

·       Michael DeBartolo (4403 Mystic Lane, PIN 9842415767)

·       Colleen Gilbert (4325 Sugar Ridge Road, PIN 9841397747, 984128577, 9841383940)

·       Andrew Gilman and Lucie LaBerge (4312 Mystic Lane, PIN 9842400396)

·       Daniel and Dare Gura (4529 Mystic Lane, PIN 9842420791) 

·       Bonicca Hauser (4301 Sugar Ridge Road, PIN 9841397747)

·       Thomas Holmes and Christine Kelly Hayes (4508 Bradshaw Quarry Rd, PIN  9841370605

·       Truitt Holmes (331 B&H Dr, PIN 9842300709)

·       Jeffrey and Kelly Hopper (4300 Mystic Lane, PIN 9842406416)

·       Robert David Idol (4801 Bradshaw Quarry Road, PIN 9841290835, 9841180590)

·       Robert “Bobby” Kirk Jr (4310 Bradshaw Quarry Road, PIN 9841265878. 9841470281)

·       Kenneth and Sandra Lyles (4209 Sugar Ridge Road, PIN 9841496750)

·       Brian Mendelson and Emily Kane (4516 Mystic Lane, PIN 9842412117, 9842313946, 9842316545, 9842322518)

·       Elizabeth Patton (4114 Sugar Ridge Road, PIN 9841591068)

·       Janice Putnam (4125 Sugar Ridge Road, PIN 9841595652)

·       Jeffrey Stephens (4515 Mystic Lane, PIN 9842329188)

·       Kathleen Teague (4317 Sugar Ridge Road, PIN 9841394382)

·       Howard Thomas Upton and Denise Dickens (4208 Sugar Ridge Road, PIN 984149505)

 

<12-4 - Information Item - Memorandum - Update on Orange County Trails Plan.pdf>