BRUNSWICK COUNTY — The North Carolina General Assembly will take up two bills regarding the Town of Leland and Town of Oak Island, one stripping power from the former and the other granting more to the latter.
READ MORE: Leland annexation bill passes, most leaders tight-lipped on its reasoning
Sen. Bill Rabon (R-Brunswick) is proposing a moratorium on the Town of Leland in Senate Bill 79. The legislation does not specify when the moratorium would end, stating the town’s authority to annex territory is “hereby suspended.”
“There was some leeway given and it does not apply to any petition for voluntary annexation, which has been executed by petitioners prior to March 1, 2023,” Rabon said during the Senate finance committee meeting Monday. “This is something that was coming. And there was some things in the mix, and so we said, ‘OK, you go ahead and annex those, then we’re going to stop annexation for a while.’”
This is not Rabon’s first attempt to stimmy annexation by the town.
Almost a year ago to date, the senator attempted to ban annexations for two years. Rabon’s colleague, House member Frank Iler (R-Brunswick) surmised the senator might be concerned about Leland annexing the area where he lives. Rabon owns two houses and eight parcels in Winnabow, rumored in January 2022 to be forcibly annexed by Leland. The Town of Leland quashed those rumors, labeling them “misinformation” to sway residents to vote for Winnabow’s incorporation.
“I would think it would be a concern if he doesn’t want to be taken into Leland — and his neighbors,” Iler said in June 2022. “I don’t want to get too much into that and the different possibilities, but this is a fairly mild way to take care of that issue.”
Rabon’s bill did not pass in its original form, but the amended version was ratified on June 30, 2022. The legislation restricts the maximum distance of noncontiguous land Leland can annex from 3 to 1.5 miles from incorporated limits. Any satellite annexations cannot equal more than 10% of the primary limits.
It also prohibits residents from agreeing to voluntary annexations to gain utility access they think will be withheld from them otherwise.
Despite the law, annexations have been a regular item on Leland’s agenda, resulting in thousands of annexed acres in the last few years.
The town has annexed 3,459 acres since June 29, 2022. This includes 2,100 acres off Malmo Loop Road in December, increasing the town’s corporate limits 10%. Just a few months before, the town annexed a 325-acre development named Savannah Branch.
A statement from the town on S.B. 79 reads:
“Landowners continue to voluntarily annex into Leland to take advantage of the high level of service the Town provides. From excellent Police and Fire service, public street maintenance, and the quick turnaround for reviews and inspections from our Planning and Inspections Department, landowners see the value of being a part of Leland.”
Paid-parking newbie requests flexibility
The Senate finance committee also discussed Rep. Charles Miller’s (R-Brunswick, New Hanover) House Bill 78; if passed, it would allow the Town of Oak Island to put on-street parking proceeds in its general fund.
Under North Carolina law, municipalities must use on-street meter (off-street lots are exempt) money for parking or traffic-related expenses. Notably, New Hanover County municipalities have been exempt from that rule since the turn of the century — now Oak Island wants that same exemption.
The law would allow Oak Island to use parking meter proceeds to be infused in the general fund for any public purpose. Oak Island passed an ordinance in January to begin charging for parking this summer at $5 an hour, $20 per day.
If approved by the legislature, the bill would open up a new revenue source, one where parking rate increases can help offset town finances without burdening residents with higher property taxes.
The bill has already passed the House and now moves to the Senate rules committee.
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