Pyewacket Concept Plan
Albert Lauritano
Perdita Holtz
Good morning,
Due to the possibility of virus transmission, Planning Board members are discouraged from opening most attachments to emails. Messages to the Planning Board should contain attachments only as PDF documents or with all comments cut and pasted into the message of the email. Please resubmit your comments in one of these two ways so Planning Board members will be able to read them.
Thank you,
Perdita Holtz, AICP
Planner III - Planning Systems Coordinator
Special Projects & GIS Division
Orange County, NC Planning Department
jt2...@gmail.com
To whom it may concern:
As a Moonlight Drive homeowner with property that adjoins (within 1000 ft buffer) the point of withdrawal of the proposed Pyewacket Orange County community well, I am concerned that my own well could be adversely affected by the estimated* 9-10,000+ gallons water which could be withdrawn on a daily basis by the 31 homes to be served by the community well located in Orange County (*estimate based on the average 300 gallons per home per day quoted in multiple online sources).
As you are aware, North Carolina has adopted a rule of law concerning groundwater that states, in essence, that property owners are legally entitled to make reasonable use of the groundwater beneath their property for purposes that benefit and concern that same property. Since there are no homesites in the Orange County portion of the new subdivision, the Chatham property owners should not be entitled to Orange County water. The ‘American rule’—does not recognize a landowner’s right to withdraw groundwater for the purpose of distributing and selling it to benefit other properties, if that withdrawal would work to the detriment of properties that adjoin the point of withdrawal. See Bayer v. Nello Teer Company, 256 N.C. 509 (1962). I am interested in hearing the planning board’s opinion on/interpretation of this issue.
I am also concerned about the additional traffic 93 homes would be contributing to Orange County roads in the immediate area of the proposed new subdivision especially given the new homes being constructed by the same developer in Morgan’s Ridge Phases I and II that will also be accessing Jones Ferry Road. As a cyclist in this community who is harassed on a weekly basis by drivers breaking the law and endangering my life, I am not thrilled with the idea of adding more possible sources of contention for the asphalt so close to my home.
Thanks for your consideration.
John Tullo
Janice Cenci
I reside in Turkey Run and have several concerns about the Pyewacket Subdivision concept plan:
Per Chatham meeting notes it appears the developer plans homes in the 2600-2800 square foot range with prices starting in the $500,000’s. 93 homes of that size likely means an additional 465-558 people drawing water from an already questionable supply of drinking water. That doesn’t even take into account the impact of the community swimming pool and any private pools future residents might build.
Why is it necessary to put a community well in Orange County that would serve residents of Chatham County?
A subdivision of this size makes no sense in a rural area where groundwater is already scarce. The rural nature of the area is what makes it special, and Orange County would likely not approve a subdivision like this. Why would Orange County facilitate Chatham allowing such a large subdivision?
Since the same developer is already building in Morgan Ridge, I am wondering why Pyewacket could not be accessed through that subdivision rather than through the Orange County lot?
This will increase traffic on Jones Ferry, an already dangerous road.
It seems that Orange county and residents have little to gain and much to lose if this concept plan is approved.
Jan Cenci
Jessamyn Harris
Hello,
I’m strongly opposed to the proposed plan. The Haw River and University Lake protected watershed areas are protected in the interest of ecological sustainability, and current strain on resources, especially water, is already high. It will also mean a substantial increase in traffic on Jones Ferry and Ferguson Road. The number of cars and trucks that speed along Ferguson making trips to and from the dump with unbagged trash flying out the back and littering our street is bad enough now. Water is a considerable issue; I have already replaced my well pump twice in less than 10 years and have considered whether I will need to borrow funds to drill and make changes to the structure of the well itself. This proposal contributes to urban sprawl, threatens the rural buffer, and does not represent responsible stewardship of the two affected watersheds or Orange County land.
Jessamyn Harris
302 Ferguson Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27516