AGENDA #8
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Plans for Extending Services to Proposed Annexation Areas
DATE: January 24, 2005
Attached are two resolutions approving service plans for two proposed annexation areas.
BACKGROUND
On January 10, 2005, the Council set a public information meeting for March 3, 2005 and called a public hearing for March 21, 2005 on the question of annexing the Vineyard Square area and the Larkspur area. State law requires that the proposed service plan(s) be approved by the Council and made available to the public at least 30 days before the Public Information Meeting.
Notices of the Public Information Meetings and Public Hearings would be mailed at least 30 days prior to the date of the Public Information Meetings by first class mail, postage prepaid, to the owners located within each area to be annexed as shown in County tax records.
The two annexation areas are described as follows:
§ AREA 1 – VINEYARD SQUARE
This area is located northwest of the present Town limits and includes the Vineyard Square multi-family residential development, abutting properties with frontage on Homestead Road and the abutting right-of-way of the State University Railroad spur of the Norfolk Southern Corporation located in Chapel Hill Township, Orange County, North Carolina
§ AREA 2 – LARKSPUR
This area is located northwest of the present Town limits and includes the Larkspur subdivision phases I and II located in Chapel Hill Township, Orange County, North Carolina.
DISCUSSION
· The key points regarding each service report are:
·
·Legal Requirements:
·
·The Town must prepare a service plan for each annexation area, in accordance with North Carolina General Statute 160A-47.
·
·Under this statute, the Town must provide major municipal services to the annexation areas “on substantially the same basis and in the same manner as such services are provided within the rest of the municipality prior to annexation.”
·
·The content of each report reflects these legal requirements. The format of each report is similar to annexation reports in previous years.
·
·Under the annexation law, approval of each report by the Council is necessary at least 30 days before the public information meeting for an annexation area. The Public Information Meeting is scheduled for March 3, 2005.
·
·Major Services:
·
·We believe that the Town can properly serve each annexation area with current personnel and equipment.
·
· For the Vineyard Square area, Town multi-family refuse collection would be provided with current positions and equipment. Vineyard Square was approved by the Town Council as a multi-family residential development. In accordance with Section 8-21 of the Chapel Hill Code of Ordinances, the approved multi-family development is deemed as the zoning lot. Therefore, in accordance with Section 8-35 of the Chapel Hill Code of Ordinances, the multi-family dwellings of the Vineyard Square development will be offered multi-family garbage collection, provided with commercial services (dumpsters). Existing single family dwellings which front Homestead Road in the annexation area will be offered once weekly curbside collection.
· For the Larkspur area, Town single-family refuse collection would be provided with current positions and equipment.
· North Carolina G.S. 160A-49.3 requires the Town to contract with or pay qualifying private sanitation firms for two years for their revenue lost due to annexation. To qualify, a sanitation firm must make a request to the Town and meet other conditions of the statute. In accordance with G.S. 160A-49.3(b), the Town would make a good faith effort to notify each private sanitation firm providing services in the annexation area.
· The annexation law requires that each annexation report set forth the Town’s plans for extending major public water mains and sewer outfall lines into each annexation area if such lines are not already present. Extension within each annexation area could then be done under the extension and financing policies of the Orange Water and Sewer Authority and of the Town of Chapel Hill. Under OWASA’s policies, benefiting property owners bear most of the cost of such extensions. The annexation area has access to major water and sewer lines. No major water or sewer line extensions are needed to meet legal requirements.
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· The Town's police services would be provided with current positions and equipment.
· The Town's fire services would be provided with current positions and equipment.
· The annexation areas are currently serviced by the Orange New Hope Volunteer Fire Department. We anticipate that the Orange New Hope Volunteer Fire Department would request a "First Responder" agreement with the Town in accordance with G.S. 160A-49.1.
· The annexation areas have fire hydrants and water supply for fire protection consistent with the rest of the Town.
· The annexation areas are outside the existing one-fourth mile transit service area boundary. Residents would be offered “Shared Ride Feeder Service” which is an extension of transit service to areas of Town which do not receive regular bus service. The service provides trips between designated bus stops in the Feeder zones and the nearest bus routes or another Feeder zone. This service would be provided with current positions and equipment.
Financing Services:
We believe that property taxes and other revenues from each annexation area would be sufficient to pay for the services to each area. A summary of the approximate costs (Fire, Library, Parks and Recreation, Police, and Public Works) and revenues for each annexation area by year is as follows:
|
Vineyard Square Annexation Area |
Year 1 (FY 2005-06) |
Year 2 (FY 2006-07) |
|
Town Costs |
$69,555 |
$74,430 |
|
Town Revenues |
$179,186 |
$305,924 |
|
Difference |
$109,631 |
$231,494 |
|
Larkspur Annexation Area |
Year 1 (FY 2005-06) |
Year 2 (FY 2006-07) |
|
Town Costs |
$29,130 |
$31,405 |
|
Town Revenues |
$126,056 |
$178,108 |
|
Difference |
$96,926 |
$146,703 |
|
Vineyard Square and Larkspur Annexation Areas |
Year 1 (FY 2005-06) |
Year 2 (FY 2006-07) |
|
Total Net Revenues |
$206,557 |
$378,197 |
Additional detailed cost and revenue projections for the first two years of each annexation are included as Appendix E of each service report.
NEXT STEPS
In the January 10, 2005 Resolution of Intent, the Council scheduled public information meetings on March 3, 2005, and public hearings on the question of each annexation for March 21, 2005. Notices of the information meetings would be sent by first class mail to owners of real property in each proposed annexation area in accordance with North Carolina G.S. 160A-49.
The Council may enact annexation ordinances on April 11, 2005. The proposed effective date for each ordinance would be June 30, 2005.
RECOMMENDATION
Manager’s Recommendation: That the Council adopt the following two resolutions approving service plans for each annexation area.
ATTACHMENTS
AREA 1
A RESOLUTION APPROVING A REPORT WITH PLANS FOR EXTENDING MAJOR MUNICIPAL SERVICES TO AN ANNEXATION AREA IN ACCORD WITH G.S. 160A-47 (2005-01-24/R-10a)
BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council approves the annexation report for extending and financing services to that certain proposed annexation area (Vineyard Square Area) as described in the Council’s Resolution (2005-01-10/R3); which report was submitted to the Council by the Manager on January 24, 2005, and a copy of which report shall be retained with the records of this meeting.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council directs the Manager to make the report available for public inspection at least 30 days before the public information meeting in accordance with State law.
This the 24th day of January, 2005.
AREA 2
A RESOLUTION APPROVING A REPORT WITH PLANS FOR EXTENDING MAJOR MUNICIPAL SERVICES TO AN ANNEXATION AREA IN ACCORD WITH G.S. 160A-47 (2005-01-24/R-10b)
BE IT RESOLVED by the Council of the Town of Chapel Hill that the Council approves the annexation report for extending and financing services to that certain proposed annexation area (Larkspur Area) as described in the Council’s Resolution (2005-01-10/R4); which report was submitted to the Council by the Manager on January 24, 2005, and a copy of which report shall be retained with the records of this meeting.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council directs the Manager to make the report available for public inspection at least 30 days before the public information meeting in accordance with State law.
This the 24th day of January, 2005.