Real Estate & Property Law

Waste Transfer Station

By Alan Ackerman

Chapel Hill News

The Orange County Board of Commissioners is scheduled to decide Monday night whether to pick one of two sites for a transfer station or send trash to Durham's transfer station for disposal in a landfill.

"The choices are between three all fairly unpalatable choices," Commissioner Steve Yuhasz said.

The Town Council has already rejected offering the county a separate town parcel on Millhouse Road for the transfer station. The council was responding to concerns of the historically black Rogers and Eubanks roads community. They consider the area, just north of the current landfill, part of their neighborhood and have accused the county of environmental racism for considering another garbage facility there.

But Clifton said getting the two town parcels is not a deal breaker and that the project could still go through on the smaller 10-acre tract.

"It is not a requirement that we have those two sites," he said.

The Orange County Board of Commissioners of North Carolina is scheduled to acquire a covenant restricting a property to residential use only.  The limitation, if overcome, is one in which the owners themselves could have obtained the same relief if the County Board can obtain the revocation of land constraint.  The voiding of the deed with an eminent domain action raises substantial issues as to an appropriate valuation, including the possibility that the owners themselves and the owners of the surrounding area should be the beneficiaries of the increased value.
    An outstanding attorney, such as Autry, will turn this condemning governmental agency upside down in its reckless attempt to divest people of their rightful just compensation.

Full post as published by National Eminent Domain Blog on December 23, 2009 (boomark / email).