Bill to de-annex property from Sunset Beach back in the NC Senate

Published: Mar. 29, 2017 at 1:12 PM EDT|Updated: Mar. 30, 2017 at 6:22 AM EDT
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RALEIGH, NC (WECT) - A bill to de-annex some property in Sunset Beach is making its way through the North Carolina State Senate once again.

Town leaders in Sunset Beach worked to kill the proposed legislation from Brunswick County State Senator Bill Rabon last year.  That bill would have removed three properties from town limits, including developments at Palm Cove, Sunset West and Sunset Creek Commons apartments. Ultimately, the bill failed to advance in a state House committee.  The town's previous mayor said at the time that Senator Rabon gave the town six months to work out any individual issues with the property owners or the bill could come up again.

The newest iteration of the bill only includes one of those proposed properties, a more than six-acre plot of land containing the Sunset Creek Commons.

Developer Holly Smith claimed she was charged too much in inspections fees. Smith said she got an $80,000 bill -- double what she expected. Smith said that extra money would have been used to provide additional services and activities.

Mayor Rob Forrester said he presented her with information he claims proves they did nothing wrong. "What the staff has been able to substantiate and we have all the inspection records, we weren't making any money on the inspections they were all legitimate inspections," said Forrester.

Jeffery Bowens moved from Shallotte to his new apartment expecting to ease into retirement. Today, he learned about the controversy for the first time and said it caught him off guard.

"I had no idea we were having conflicts," said Bowens. "We don't want as senior citizens to be caught in the middle of this."

Mayor Forrester said, if the bill passes, police presence at the complex would be in the county's hands because the property would no longer be under the town of Sunset Beach's jurisdiction.

"Crime still goes on all around us and we would hate to have to wait 30 minutes cause we called the police and they can't make it," said Bowens.

Bowens added, if her claims are valid, he understands where the developer's frustrations are coming from. "If I'm being overcharged then that's not right either," said Bowens. "So what I don't quite understand is why can't they come to some kind of agreement."

The bill passed its first reading in the Senate this month and is currently referred to the Committee on Rules and Operations.

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