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STEELE
CREEK NEWS
Charlotte
Slates Berewick, Williams Glenn for Annexation in 2009
(July
30, 2008) Earlier this week the Charlotte City Council adopted a
Resolution of Intent to Annex six unincorporated areas of
Mecklenburg County. This set in motion a series of events that
likely will result in the southern part of Berewick, Williams Glenn
subdivision, and other areas of Steele Creek to become part of
Charlotte on June 20, 2009.
The
area also includes houses along Windy Gap Road, areas around the
intersection of Steele Creek Road and Shopton Road West, and all
unincorporated areas east of Steele Creek Road and southwest of
I-485. The annexation does not include the Berewick Manor House and
undeveloped portions of Berewick north of the Manor House. (Click
HERE or on the image to the right to see a larger map in
PDF format.)
In order for
cities in North Carolina to annex areas involuntarily, they must
meet two general criteria.
The first is that
at least one eighth of the boundary of the area to be annexed must
be contiguous to the current city limits. Over half of the boundary
of the Berewick Annexation Area is contiguous to the current city
limits.
The second is that
the area must meet certain development criteria that demonstrate
urban character. City planners have determined that the developed
portions of the area have a population density of 2.59 persons per
acre, which exceeds the minimum requirement of 2.3 persons per acre.
Additional undeveloped area can be annexed if it does not exceed 25%
of the total area. Thus a large undeveloped parcel east of Steele
Creek Road also qualifies for inclusion.
The city also must prepare a report that describes what city
services it will provide and how it will pay for these services. The
report also must document how the area qualifies for annexation
under state law and provide maps of the area. This report is
available here:
Berewick Annexation Summary Report.
The remaining schedule for the 2009 annexation cycle is as
follows
September 18, 2008 - Public Informational Meeting for all
annexation areas at the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Government Center
October 27, 2008 - Public Hearing before the Charlotte City Council
Early 2009 - Passage of Annexation Ordinance by the Charlotte City
Council
June 30, 2009 - Annexation becomes effective
Annexation has
become a sensitive issue in the North Carolina General Assembly. A
bill establishing a moratorium on involuntary annexations until June
30, 2009 was introduced earlier this year but failed to pass both
houses. (See
House Bill 2367.)
Charlotte follows
a regular cycle of major annexations every two years. Assuming state
law doesn't change, annexation of the Berewick area almost certainly
will occur in 2009, but since no other Steele Creek areas are
included in the current Resolution of Intent, no other areas would
be annexed involuntarily until at least the next cycle in 2011.
As development continues in Steele Creek, Charlotte will annex
more and more of it until no unincorporated area is left. This may
take a while, but is inevitable.
For more information on Charlotte's annexation plans and procedures,
visit the
Annexation and the
2009 Qualifying Areas pages on the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning
Commission web site or contact Jonathan Wells at 704-336-4090.
For a discussion of city services as it affected the 2005
annexation, see How to Make
the Most out of being Annexed (July 3, 2005).
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