Oak Island / St. James
Towns end land battle
Next move: Southport, Lakes could join
annexation talks
By Lisa P. Stites
Staff Writer
The annexation battle between the towns of Oak
Island and St. James is officially over.
The disagreement, flaring for nine months, was
extinguished in less than 20 minutes in a special joint meeting
Tuesday night when the two councils approved an annexation
agreement. And it looks as though both towns now want to continue
talking, also inviting the City of Southport to the table.
St. James resident Don Parker made the only
comments during the public hearing, saying he hoped this agreement
would be the start of cooperation between the two towns, and other
towns in the area.
“This agreement presents an opportunity for all
those concerned to take the moral high road,” Parker said.
Former St. James mayor Shelley Lesher said the
agreement was something that should have happened two years ago.
“It should never have ended up in the courts or
the dispute that it did. I hope this sets the tone not just for
these towns. Boiling Spring Lakes needs to be involved. Southport
and Caswell (Beach) need to be involved…,” she said.
It all began last May, when St. James announced
plans to involuntarily annex more than 30 parcels on N.C. 211 to
the Midway Road intersection. At the same time, several property
owners at that intersection were also asking to become part of Oak
Island. St. James filed suit against Oak Island to protect its
annexation rights, and more voluntary annexation requests flooded
into Oak Island; the beach town now extends north and east to the
western border of Boiling SpringLakes.
The agreement basically divides the section of
N.C. 211 across from St. James to the Midway Road intersection.
St. James agrees to give up its involuntary annexation of 36
parcels; many of those property owners have already asked to be
part of Oak Island and that can now become effective. In return,
Oak Island agrees not to annex any of 38 specific parcels listed
across from St. James on the north side of N.C. 211, some parcels
on the south side the St. James developers own, or the Arbor Creek
subdivision that is surrounded by St. James.
St. James will also immediately drop its lawsuit
against Oak Island.
The agreement is good for 15 years, though either
town can opt out with five years’ notice.
Oak Island Town Council apparently shared
Parker’s and Lesher’s sentiments, and also adopted a resolution to
start discussions with St. James, and the City of Southport,
concerning “issues of mutual interest in common areas adjacent to
the municipalities.”
St. James mayor Bob Morrow said his town would
consider a similar resolution at that council’s March meeting. He
said he “strongly” supported Oak Island’s initiative.
http://www.stateportpilot.com/story__lead.html |
St. James beats Oak Island to the punch in
annexation battle
Published: Friday, June 26, 2009 at 7:37 p.m.
The battle for property along the new Oak Island bridge corridor
has begun.In one corner is Oak Island, the biggest beach town
in Brunswick County. In the other is St. James, a gated
community with strictly limited access.
But in the fight to grab property, who came first to the
plate is what counts under North Carolina rules.
Eight properties and counting are caught in the middle of
what is now a legal battle between the towns.
St. James is trying to involuntary annex the properties.
which have turned around and asked to be annexed by Oak Island.
The fact that the property owners prefer Oak Island matters
little as far as state statute goes, said David Lawrence, a
political scientist at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill.
“It really depends what steps St. James had taken before Oak
Island took whatever steps it has taken,” he said.
On May 11 Bill Batuyios and Mike Richards filed petitions for
their properties near the N.C. 211 and Midway Road corridor to
be annexed by Oak Island.
The next day St. James passed a resolution of intent to annex
that same land and others.
In the following days, six more property owners who were
included in the St. James swath filed petitions in Oak Island.
And three more have recently asked to be part of the coastal
town, Oak Island customer service supervisor Nancy Wilson said.
St. James has filed a lawsuit and both towns have agreed not
to finalize their annexations until the issue is resolved.
Ultimately, it will be up to the judge which town Batuyios
and others call home.
But according to Lawrence, whichever town started the
annexation process first will get to finish it.
For forced annexation, that process starts with a resolution
of intent. Involuntary annexations start when the petitions go
before the council.
In Batuyios’ case, his petition went before the council May
13, according to Wilson.
That’s bad news for the property owners who want to be a part
of Oak Island.
“I’m welcomed at Oak Island. I’m not welcomed at St. James,”
Batuyios said, referring to the gate surrounding St. James.
Jerry Shremshock, who owns property that will become an
architecture firm along N.C. 211, said Oak Island simply has
more to offer – full time police and fire protection, for
example.
He also said Oak Island could make a nicer entrance to the
area than St. James.
Though St. James Mayor Shelley Lesher told the StarNews in
August after the town annexed land across N.C. 211 to build a
town hall and community center that the town would only be
interested in voluntary annexation, her tune has changed.
Mayor Pro Tem Bob Morrow said St. James’ annexation policy
prefers voluntary annexation, but makes exceptions for certain
circumstances. Gaining these properties to control what Morrow
called the pathway to St. James is one of those exceptions.
“We want to make sure that whatever businesses come in are
appropriate,” Morrow said. “We don’t want 211 to become another
North Myrtle Beach.”
In response to the property owners scoffing at the St. James
land grab, Morrow said the town was honestly shocked.
He noted St. James has a lower tax rate at 5 cents per $100
of assessed property value as opposed to Oak Island’s 14 cents.
Morrow said there is also a misconception about the town’s
gate.
“The gate really is not designed to keep people out,”
he said, noting any new St. James residents would be allowed in
– if they had a purpose.
The end game will depend on the lawyers and judges. But the
General Assembly might also play a role.
Lawrence said lawmakers have been discussing changes to the
state’s annexation law that could include requiring a referendum
before involuntarily annexing properties.
“There could well be some significant annexation legislation
later this summer,” he said.
In the meantime, Shremshock is left wondering why which town
his property becomes a part of is not up to him.
“It should be the choice of the people who live there where
they want to go,” he said.
On Twitter.com: @shelbsnc26
Shelby Sebens: 343-2076
|
The Poster Child Against Forced Annexation
WELCOME(?) to St. James?
"Your papers, please..."
St. James vs. Oak Island lawsuit (PDF 1365kb)
The "Town" of St. James is nothing more than a gated
property owners
association
http://www.stjamesplantation.com/
with the guns of government force to rob their
neighbors.
And they have NC's 'shadow government', the North Carolina
League of Municipalities, on their side, holding
their hand, and obviously preparing the documents they need to try
to make this robbery look respectable.
Take a look at the presentation given by the POA pretenders at
the Public Information Meeting:
Public Informational Presentation
and
'Annexation Report'.
The words supplied by the North Carolina League of Municipalities are all
throughout these documents. Sham justification for imposing
themselves on their neighbors couldn't be hidden because it is so
blatantly unjustified.
Notice as they list the "services" they are claiming, the
number of times the document says "provided by the County" and "No
change". No change because they have nothing to offer. The
County provides what these targeted property owners all they need.
They don't need St. James tax bill.
St. James is worse than a poster child showing the reason cities
should not be given such broad, unilateral, unsupervised powers.
Outrageous!!
Even worse, some of the property owners were seeking
voluntary annexation into Oak Island.
This is what apparently triggered a land control battle between
municipalities.
Battles like this are not uncommon in North Carolina due to the
fact that the laws allowing forced annexation facilitate this kind
of behavior.
This would not happen if the rights of property owners to choose
had not been wrongly removed 50 yr. ago.
******************
Neighbors helping
Neighbors:
Long Beach
Road Association Against Annexation steps up to join forces
and help the Midway property owners!!
Radio Talk Show Host,
Curtis Wright, Steps in to Assist Midway Property Owners:
|
IN THE NEWS:
Brunswick County Citizens
Inalienable Rights under Attack
Voluntary or Involuntary Annexation
– Citizens want to choose
We have a unique situation here in Brunswick
County, NC that goes deeper than just forced annexation. There are
two towns adjacent to the subject area of annexation. On one hand
we have the residential Town of St. James, a community
whose entire make-up are residents who live behind a gate and on
private property, mandating Involuntary Annexation of the
area known as Midway corner. On the other hand over 50% of the
individuals living in this subject area are petitioning the
Town of Oak Island for Voluntary Annexation. Our inalienable
rights of Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness, along with
our Freedom of Choice are now under attack with the legal action
taken by St. James.
If allowed the Freedom of Choice we
could opt for:
1) The Town of St. James (STJ) who would
provide us:
·
An association to a residential town by name only.
Equal and fair representation would be unattainable since 100% of
residents live behind the community gate and are represented by
another governing body, the Property Owners Association (POA).
This Association governs amenities and services normally provided
by public communities. It is a seven member board of which four
members are appointed by the Developer.
·
Additional taxes but we would remain status quo
using the same Brunswick County services and VFD we are provided
today. To visit a park, library, house of worship, the
intra-coastal water way, beach (without parking permit) we still
would have to go to Oak Island. Obviously there is no shopping in
St. James as all retail outlets/restaurants are behind the gate
and on private property. Again the POA governs beyond the gate.
·
The haunting memory, “We are an upscale prestigious,
community and we want our surroundings the same” as spoken in 2005
by a STJ’s official when approached for a reason for attempting to
obtain Extraterritorial Jurisdiction. Putting this in perspective
means devaluation of property by zoning and land use restrictions.
OR
2) The Town of Oak Island (OI) who would
provide us:
·
A real association to a real town that provides real
services and is open to the public.
·
Additional taxes, higher than STJ, but would also be
rendering services we do not have today.
·
A brief summary of services would be:
1.
Police Department with patrol several times a day along
with instant response if needed.
2.
Paid firemen and EMS personnel on duty 24/7 with a fire
station located at foot of the new bridge equating to faster
response.
3.
Street lighting would be provided along Hwy 211.
4.
OI would assist NCDOT in keeping the street right of way
clean.
5.
Public Works Department that offer services such as
mosquito control, solid waste, yard debris removal and white and
brown goods removal.
6.
Animal Control Department.
7.
Fully staffed and experienced Building Inspections
Department as well as a Planning Department.
8.
Parks and Recreation Department with well organized
programs.
9.
All OI residents receive all of the same services at the
same level.
All we asked is
allow us our constitutional rights and let us choose. The Town of
St. James should not be allowed to take away those very principles
for which this great county was founded. Especially here at the
grass roots level.
It is ironic that
Saint James chose to become a town on July 1, 1999 to avoid
possible annexation by the Town of Oak Island. They had a choice
then, 10-years later we want the same freedom to make a choice.
_ Brunswick Co. Forced Annexation Victim |
StopNCAnnexation
Coalition
