CABARRUS - A subcommittee of the Cabarrus Board of County Commissioners plans to act as middleman for a group of Odell community residents who feel Kannapolis is wrongfully encroaching on Odell territory.
The discrepancy extends from November and a Kannapolis voluntary annexation of 4 acres, submitted by developers Shiloh Farms Inc., on the other side of the county-owned Don T. Howell Lake from the rest of Kannapolis.
Now, said Interim County Attorney Richard Koch, the site is considered contiguous to Kannapolis, as well as its western city limits.
And some Odell residents feel this is a move by the city to begin annexing parts of the Odell community - just as Odell is in the process of incorporation, expecting word from the state legislature.
Odell resident Fred Wally said he feels the annexation was wrongful in that it leapfrogs over a county-owned body of water, adding that it puts Kannapolis in position to begin annexing pieces of Odell.
Kannapolis officials say that is not the intention of the city.
"Our goal out there is not to involuntarily annex anyone," said Assistant City Manager Eddie Smith. "The annexations out there have all been annexed voluntarily. We followed the statutes to accommodate the request."
There has been some debate between Odell residents as to whether Kannapolis unintentionally annexed Howell Lake when it jumped the body of water to annex the Shiloh Farms property.
However, the county disagrees and Kannapolis officials make no claim to the body of water.
As an adjacent property owner to the annexation in question, Cabarrus County is the only entity that would have any standing in court to appeal the annexation.
At a commission work session Monday, residents requested the county seek to reclassify the annexation as a satellite annexation, disabling Kannapolis to involuntarily annex land around it.
"It's not so much the reservoir as it is we're looking for help," Wally said.
Commission Chairman Robert Carruth and Commissioner Robert Freeman agreed to meet with Kannapolis officials to discuss the situation.
Wally said that if commissioners would take the residents' case to Kannapolis City Council, it would "carry more weight."
"You're our only (local) elected representatives," Wally said."We feel there is a disservice done to us."
Another Odell resident and leader in the incorporation process Marlynn Burns added to Wallys comments. "We've had talks with the mayor and council members," Burns said. "We've walked away empty handed."
Commissioner Carolyn Carpenter suggested the county request a moratorium on Kannapolis annexations until the state reaches its decision on Odell's incorporation.
County Manager John Day said only the state has the power to put such a hold on annexations.
Contact Eric C. Deines at edeines@independenttribune.
com or 704-789-9141.
StopNCAnnexation