StopChathamNorth
To the Residents of Briar Chapel,
We have made tremendous progress on our mission and we thank you the residents for your support and we offer special recognition and thanks to our neighbors in Fearrington Village for their support. Together we have accomplished a great deal in the last ten months:
· Formed StopChathamNorth, a non-profit group representing over 1,700 Briar Chapel residents and residents from surrounding communities
· Raised $34,000 from residents to hire legal counsel and a subject matter expert (engineer)
· Filed Petition for Intervention with NCUC opposing ONSWC’s applications to connect the Briar Chapel WWTP to Fearrington Village’s WWTP and quadrupling of Briar Chapel’s WWTP – essentially making Briar Chapel a regional WW system
· Developed relationship with Fearrington Village (FV) residents and FV HOA resulting in Fearrington Village HOA joining us in filing their own Petition of Intervention with NCUC opposing ONSWC’s applications
· Gained State Senator Valerie Foushee’s support for opposing ONSWC’s applications with NCUC
· Documented over 300+ resident complaints for odors, sewage spills, spray irrigation issues and construction damage that occurred within Briar Chapel
· Documented, recorded and notified NCDEQ of numerous compliance issues that have occurred with the Briar Chapel WW system – including documentation that Briar Chapel WW system is operating beyond permitted capacity
· Received confirmation from the NCUC Public Staff in June that they would not recommend approval of ONSWC NCUC applications and that Briar Chapel’s WW Plant would not become regional
· Obtained unanimous vote to deny Newland’s final plat approval requests from the Chatham County Planning Board – resulting in 1) decision by Williams Corner developer to postpone rezoning request with plans to use Briar Chapel WWTP, 2) engagement of Newland to work with ONSWC in pushing for plans and actions to start addressing our WW systems, and 3) Envirolink being replaced as operator of the Briar Chapel WW system
· Received confirmation that Fitch Creations (FV) and ONSWC have mutually agreed to terminate ONSWC purchase agreement for the Fearrington Village WW system
· Made a case for Briar Chapel resident’s concerns and obtained a delay at the CC Board of Commissioners meeting asking that the commissioners delay approval of Newland’s final plats until the Briar Chapel WW system can be stabilized, odor conditions addressed and capacity upgrades are completed
And most importantly, we kept our residents informed, held the stakeholders accountable, and brought crucial information to light about the role that Newland, Integra Water/ONSWC, Envirolink and our HOA Board have played in our community’s wastewater issues.
Where do we go from here?
We have challenged the Chatham County Board of Commissioners (CC BOC) to delay/deny Newland’s final plats until Newland and ONSWC have addressed the instability (sewage spills), capacity issues and odor conditions of our WW system. At the October 19th CC BOC, we got their attention on these issues and a postponement of their decision to their next meeting on November 16th. Unfortunately, the cost of our subject matter expert (engineer) and legal counsel for the October 19th meeting exceeded our budget. The SCN counsel are willing to personally fund the balance due and close this effort if residents are not willing or able to provide additional financial support. We do, however, feel that it is important for us to see this effort through to the final decision by the CC BOC.
We will appear before the CC BOC on November 16th to make our final arguments, but feel that we can make a stronger case if we maintain legal representation through this decision. We cannot do this without your financial support.
Unfortunately, the sewage spill at the Great Ridge Dog Park yesterday is another reminder of the fragile nature of our community’s wastewater infrastructure and the absolute necessity of fixing it before any additional home sites are approved.
We, StopChathamNorth, feel that certain conditions in this community must be addressed before approval is granted; specifically: infrastructure failures contributing to sewage spills, capacity for the new development and odor. The Tri-Party Agreement between Newland, ONSWC and our HOA Board does not ensure these issues are addressed before the additional demand from these plats impacts our WW system.
We have been disappointed by the actions of our HOA Board, but remain committed to our original mission. We are turning to you, our supporters, to determine how you want us to proceed. If you want us to make a stand at the November 16th CCBOC Meeting and continue to act as a watchdog for the residents of Briar Chapel then we need your financial support.
Fundraising
Total contributions to date (as of 10/30/2020): $34,245.60
You can donate via PayPal by using this link:
https://paypal.me/STOPCHATHAMNORTHNC?locale.x=en_US
If you prefer not to use PayPal:
You can write a check to: STOPCHATHAMNORTH and mail it to: STOPCHATHAMNORTH in care of Liz Rolison, 1900 Briar Chapel Parkway, Chapel Hill, NC 27516 or simply drop the check at Liz’s house.
We are maintaining a full accounting of these funds and will return any unused funds to all homeowners who contribute on a prorated basis. Thank you again for contributing. If we all work together, we have a better chance of achieving our goals.
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