B. CONSENT
AGENDA
1. Regular
Consent Agenda (any regular consent
agenda item pulled for discussion will be discussed at the beginning of
the old/new business portion of the agenda)
a.
Consideration of approval of the minutes of the regular town
council meeting held on
ACTION: Mayor Pro Tem Smith made a motion to approve the
consent agenda. Mrs. Robison provided the second, and Council granted
unanimous approval.
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2. Planning
and Zoning Board Consent Agenda (any
planning and zoning board consent agenda item pulled for discussion will
be discussed at the beginning of the planning and zoning board’s
discussion portion of the agenda)
There
were no Planning and Zoning Board consent agenda items on the agenda.
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3. Town
Center Review Commission Consent Agenda (any
town center review commission consent agenda item pulled for discussion
will be discussed at the beginning of the town center review
commission’s discussion portion of the agenda)
There
were no Town Center Review Commission consent agenda items on this agenda.
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4. Planning
and Development Committee consent agenda, March 18, 2004 (any committee consent agenda item pulled for discussion will be
discussed at the beginning of the committee discussion portion of the
agenda)
a.
Apex/Cary
Utility Service Boundary Agreement (PL04-045)
Committee recommended revising a formal utility service/annexation
boundary agreement with the Town of
Since 1988, the Towns of Apex and Cary have had a utility
service agreement boundary that applies only to the western portion of
BACKGROUND:
The attached ordinance and map spells out the geographic area
affected, as well as the details and mechanics of the agreement itself.
A description of the boundary is listed below.
The
boundary begins at the intersection of
This
change to our existing utility service agreement boundary was recommended
by
- The
Staff is interested in securing funds from the Clean Water Trust Fund
to purchase/secure easements along the north side of White Oak Creek
between
- A
Town sewer line must be constructed to the Cary/Apex Water Treatment
Plant to take the existing septic system and pump stations off-line
within the next five years.
This line is anticipated to parallel the proposed White Oak
Creek greenway corridor on the north side of the creek.
- The
Town needs to locate a regional pump station in
The Town of
Purpose & Use of
Utility Service/Annexation Agreement
Upon adoption of this agreement by both municipalities, the
Town of
Since annexation policy of both communities typically
requires concurrent extension of public utilities like water and sewer
service, this line is also designed to demarcate our respective urban
service areas. As provided in Section 6 of the agreement, neither
jurisdiction may extend utilities into the other’s urban service area to
provide direct service, but one may traverse the other’s area to serve
other nearby development areas. Further,
both communities agree to work together and assist each other when
planning for public facilities like greenways, water lines and sewer
lines.
Process
& Schedule
State law requires that a public hearing be conducted before
two or more municipalities adopt an annexation agreement.
A joint hearing may be used, but we have opted for separate
hearings. The following table
presents the proposed schedule of events for conducting the hearings and
finalizing this agreement.
Schedule for Cary/Apex
Utility/Annexation Agreement
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Action |
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Call for Public Hearing |
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Public Hearing |
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Adoption |
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Key Features
of Agreement
Major aspects of the Apex/Cary Utility Service and Annexation
Agreement are outlined below.
·
Term.
The agreement is designed to have a 20-year lifespan.
·
Notice of Adjacent Annexations. In the future, each jurisdiction must notify the other of
any annexations that are to occur immediately adjacent to the boundary
line. This shall occur via
written notice at least 60 days before adoption of any annexation
ordinance. This requirement
may be waived if both parties agree.
·
Modifications or Amendments. No changes to
the agreement can be made without further public hearings and adoption of
a new agreement.
·
Termination.
This agreement may be terminated unilaterally by either party
before the term ends by following statutory procedures (repealing the
ordinance and providing five years’ notice to the other party).
Notice of
Public Hearings
Both
communities will follow applicable
Summary
& Recommendation
So that individual landowners and both communities know in
advance which community may annex certain properties in this geographic
area and how to plan for development and provision of future urban
services, staff believes that revising this utility service/annexation
agreement is warranted.
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Staff
Recommendation:
Support the proposed agreement and associated map and set |
DRAFT
Apex Ordinance No.
2004-___
AN ORDINANCE
ESTABLISHING A UTILITY SERVICE AND ANNEXATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN
THE TOWN OF
AND
THE TOWN OF
FOR THE MUTUAL BOUNDARY
LINE BETWEEN THESE TWO MUNICIPALITIES
WHEREAS,
North Carolina
General Statutes (N.C.G.S.) Chapter 160A, Article 4A, Part 6 authorizes
two or more cities to enter into binding agreements regarding future
annexation in order to enhance orderly planning by such cities; and
WHEREAS,
the governing boards of the Town of Apex and the Town of Cary seek to
carry out plans for future land uses; provision of important public
facilities such as sewer and water services, roadways, and recreation; and
the protection of open space and other sensitive areas; and
WHEREAS,
potential conflict and confusion may occur along the interface between two
jurisdictions when the future municipal boundaries between the two are
unclear; and
WHEREAS,
both the Town of
WHEREAS,
the governing boards and the staffs of these two communities have engaged
in a process of discussion that has led to determination of an ultimate
municipal and utility service boundary between the two communities; and
WHEREAS,
this ordinance
has been adopted following independent public hearings by the Town of
NOW,
THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED
by the Board of Commissioners of the Town of
Section 1.
Boundary Line.
That the line specifically shown on the attached map (Attachment A)
shall serve as the boundary line for annexation between the Town of Apex
and the Town of Cary for the duration of the term of this agreement.
Section 2.
Apex Annexation Area. That
the area south and west of the line described in Section 1 above, which
describes a portion of Wake County, North Carolina, is subject to future
annexation by the Town of Apex and no portion of said area is subject to
annexation by the Town of Cary during the term of this agreement.
Section 3.
Section 4.
Notice of Adjacent Annexations.
That each participating municipality which proposes any annexation
of property immediately adjacent to the boundary line that is established
by this agreement must give written notice to the other municipality of
such annexation, at least 60 days before the adoption of any such
annexation ordinance. The
notice shall be in compliance with N.C.G.S. 160A-58.24(a)(5) and (b) and
shall be sent by mail to the Town Manager of the other municipality.
Either Town may waive the time period for notice by giving a
written waiver to the other party.
Section 5.
Utility Service Areas. That
the area described in Section 2 is mutually understood to be a water and
sewer (“urban”) service area of the Town of
Section 6.
Provision of Service Lines and Other Easements through Annexation
Areas. That the Town of
Apex agrees not to extend urban services to the area north and east of the
line described in Section 1 above and the Town of Cary agrees not to
extend urban services to any area south and west of said line described
above in Section 1, except as may be required to traverse said areas to
provide utilities to serve other development areas not subject to this
agreement or to provide easements for needed public greenways connections.
Further, the two jurisdictions will work cooperatively to assist
each other, as necessary, to reserve future utility easements in new
developments to be able to locate lines through these areas that cannot be
annexed.
Section 7.
Effective Date. That
this Agreement shall become effective immediately following its adoption
by ordinance by the governing boards of both Apex and
Section 8. Modifications or
Amendments. That this
ordinance may be modified or amended with a subsequent, revised agreement
entered into by both participating towns pursuant to G.S. 160A-58.24(d).
All modifications and amendments to this agreement shall be
approved by ordinance and adopted after public hearings by both
municipalities. Modifications
to be considered include, but are not limited to, those needed to address
the needs of existing property owners where extensions of water and/or
sewer lines to address failures of existing wells or septic systems
results in financial hardships.
Section 9.
Term of Agreement.
That the term of this agreement shall be for a period of 20 years.
Section 10.
Termination of Agreement. That
this agreement may be terminated by either town in the manner prescribed
by G.S. 160A-58.24(f). This
agreement shall be effective until such termination occurs or 20 years,
whichever comes first.
Adopted
by the Town of
Date
_______________________________
Mayor – Town of
Adopted
by the Town of
Date
_______________________________
Mayor – Town of
Attachment A
Map of Proposed Apex/Cary Utility
Service/Annexation Boundary Line
March 2004
ACTION:
Mayor Pro Tem Smith made a motion to approve the consent agenda. Mrs.
Robison provided the second, and Council granted unanimous approval.
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b. Amendment to the
Voluntary Annexation Procedure (PL04-046)
Committee recommended simplifying the voluntary annexation procedures.
Staff
recommends reducing the number of times that a voluntary annexation
petition is before the Town Council at its meetings.
Presently, these petitions are placed on three separate Council
agendas to:
- Direct staff to
investigate the sufficiency of the petition;
- Certify the sufficiency
and set the date for the required public hearing; and
- Hold the public hearing
and act on the annexation ordinance.
The
first item (directing staff to investigate the sufficiency) is regularly
approved by council under the consent agenda because it simply directs
staff to determine whether the petition contains the correct signatures
and has an accurate boundary description.
Items two and three are more important actions.
If Council directs staff to automatically investigate the
sufficiency of voluntary annexation petitions, then the first step can be
eliminated from council action. Through
this procedural change, voluntary annexation petitions will be processed
more efficiently (reduces processing time by several weeks) and the work
related to placing this item on the council agenda will be eliminated.
The
Town Attorney has reviewed the state statutes and has determined that this
change will meet the processing requirements.
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Staff
Recommendation:
Direct staff to automatically investigate the sufficiency for
all annexation petitions received by the Town, with Council only
acting on the other two steps in the process.
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ACTION:
Mayor Pro Tem Smith made a motion to approve the consent agenda. Mrs.
Robison provided the second, and Council granted unanimous approval.
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