StopChathamNorth
To the Residents of Briar Chapel,
Results of October 19th – CC Board of Commissioner’s (CC BOC) Meeting
It took 4.5 hours, but the CC BOC decided, based on the advise of the CC Attorney, to postpone their decision on Newland’s two final plats until the November CC BOC meeting. We went into this meeting knowing we faced an uphill battle with our HOA Board having signed an agreement with Newland and ONSWC earlier in the day, requiring Tom Speer to speak in support of Newland’s final plat requests.
Our goal was to get our case before the commissioners, making sure they are aware of the issues with the Briar Chapel WW system and what it will take to fix them, but also make them aware of the history and motivations of the principles involved. The CC BOC appeared to be looking for a solution that will allow Newland to move ahead while providing Briar Chapel residents assurances that the commitments and promises will be delivered.
A recording of the meeting was made, but has not yet been posted. We will forward the link when it becomes available.
HOA Board / Newland /ONSWC Tri-Party Agreement
On October 19th, the Briar Chapel HOA Board signed a binding Tri-Party Agreement with Newland and ONSWC to resolve some of the disputes related to the Briar Chapel wastewater system.
The agreement that the HOA Board signed does have some positives:
· Agreement is enforceable
· Withdrawal of NCUC application (Notice of Withdrawal)
· Construction bonds on WWTP expansion (ONSWC) and spray irrigation expansion (Newland)
· Permit requests to NCDEQ for spray irrigation and forcemain bypass
· WWTP expansion to 500,000gpd by December 2021 (barring weather delays or other issues outside of ONSWC control)
There are also several notable omissions:
· No odor control system or plan of action
· No bond or commitment on force main bypass (only includes permit request)
· No successors or assigns if ONSWC sells the WW system (this agreement will not roll over directly to new owner)
· No restrictions on Newland’s future potential plans for adding additional development to our WW system from outside of Briar Chapel community
· No restrictions on the existing purchase agreement between Newland and ONSWC, where ONSWC has committed capacity to Newland for future development
· If ONSWC sells the WW system, this agreement has no restrictions on future owner filing a new application with NCUC to expand service area beyond Briar Chapel community
· No completion dates for spray irrigation construction
· No resident participation on the communication Council
Next Steps
SCN is focused on finding a way to address some of the key omissions from the Tri-Party agreement. We believe the CC BOC is looking for a compromise and we are working towards that end. We will keep you posted on the date for the postponed decision and our efforts to make progress on these issues.
HOA Elections
After the October 19th CC BOC meeting, several residents have asked us about how many votes Newland and the builders have in our HOA Board elections. It is our understanding that Newland has one vote per lot for lots that have been given final plat approval, but have not yet been sold to builders. The builders have one vote per lot for lots that they have purchased from Newland but have not yet sold to a resident.
We have asked our HOA Management company, FSR, to tell us how many votes Newland and the builders had in our last election of our current HOA board and how many votes they will have in this current election. We have not yet received an answer, but according to one resident who asked this same question during last year’s election. Newland and the builders combined had approximately 1000 votes (200 lots x 5 votes per lot since there were 5 spots to fill). This supports the claim that Newland and the builders do have significant influence in the outcome of our HOA Board elections.
We encourage all Briar Chapel residents to vote and have an impact on the HOA Board elections. We have asked each candidate for their views on wastewater issues in our community. We have included each of their responses to questions. To access, simply click on the link on each candidate’s name:
We hope this information is helpful in making your decision.
StopChathamNorth
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Mission Statement
StopChathamNorth is an unincorporated non-profit association representing concerned homeowners within Briar Chapel. StopChathamNorth does NOT support a regional wastewater treatment plant within the residential community of Briar Chapel. We are aware that there are several new communities surrounding Briar Chapel that are planning to utilize our WWTP, in addition to the current proposal to add Fearrington Village to our WWTP. We are opposed to all of these plans to expand Briar Chapel’s WWTP for uses outside of the Briar Chapel residential community. We also believe that the WWTP and ONSWC must be fully compliant with all governance and regulatory guidelines to ensure operations do not create a nuisance, unhealthy or hazardous conditions for Briar Chapel residents.
For more information: www.stopchathamnorth.com