Towns spar over district's divisions

Rhett Macomson wants the Highland Meadows neighborhood where he lives to be a part of Chapel Hill.

Last week, Macomson and 44 of his neighbors filed a petition to the Chapel Hill Town Council asking the town to annex their neighborhood into its limits. That petition will be received at tonight's council meeting.

But the problem is that the town of Carrboro is planning to annex the same neighborhood, which is situated just north of the towns near Rogers Road.

Roy Williford, Carrboro's planning director, cited a 1995 joint planning agreement between Chapel Hill and Carrboro as the explanation for where the neighborhood should be annexed.

The agreement stated that the dividing line for all future annexation would run down the center of Rogers Road.

"All property to the west of Rogers Road would be in Carrboro," Williford said. "Everything to the east would be in Chapel Hill."

Because the neighborhood sits on the division line, one side is serviced by the town of Chapel Hill, and the other side by Carrboro.

"To me, it didn't make much sense having two towns service one area," said Lisa Lancaster, a resident of the neighborhood who signed the petition.

Carrboro Alderman Mark Chilton said he understands Lancaster's point. He was the sole alderman to vote against continuing with the plans for annexation of areas surrounding Rogers Road at the board's Sept. 14 meeting.

"I think it is reasonable for citizens to want to be in one town or the other," he said.

According to the 1995 agreement, Highland Meadows should be annexed by Carrboro.

But that's not what neighbors are saying they want.

"Based on the information I have been receiving, it would make more sense to be in Chapel Hill," Macomson said.

Lancaster also mentioned Chapel Hill's slightly lower tax rate as a reason neighbors expressed interest in being annexed into the town.

Chilton said there is not a big difference between the towns.

"I think there's the notion that real estate in Chapel Hill is more valuable than Carrboro," he said. "But that's not really the case in that area."

Chapel Hill Planning Director Roger Waldon said there are two ways an area can be annexed. One is by unilateral town action, meaning the town would initiate the annexation. The second method is a petition by the residents of an area.

Waldon said Friday that the petition most likely will be sent to Town Manager Cal Horton for evaluation. Horton would then deliver a report to the council.

Waldon said the implications of the 1995 annexation agreement would be the biggest issue facing the residents. "I think that would be the first threshold issue," he said.

Williford said the town of Carrboro will not wait to see the outcome of the petition.

Carrboro will hold a public meeting on the annexation plans Nov. 1.

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