High Court Won't Stop Pinewild Annexation

Friday, February 5, 2010

The village of Pinehurst’s annexation of Pinewild will become effective at the end of the month.

The state Supreme Court denied the last appeal from annexation opponents Jan. 28, though its decision was not certified and published until this week.

The Village Council adopted an ordinance to annex Pinewild effective June 30, 2008, but it has been on hold pending resolution of state and federal lawsuits. All of the rulings along the way favored the village but were appealed.

Under state law, annexations cannot take place until after appeals make their way through the judicial system. The statute automatically amends the effective date of court-challenged annexations to “the last day of the next full calendar month following the date of final judgment.”

That means the village can officially annex Pinewild effective Feb. 28.

“It’s time to get past the rancor,” Village Manager Andy Wilkison said, “and move forward with providing them the very best services we can. Hopefully, [Pinewild residents] will eventually be happy they’re in the village and continue to be the productive citizens they have been.

“[Those against annexation] fought the good fight and raised some interesting questions. The court’s ruled. It’s time for all of us to abide by that and move on.”

Most observers expected Pinewild to become part of Pinehurst sometime early this year. Just when that would be depended on the ultimate decision by the state’s high court.

In the wake of a unanimous rejection by a three-judge panel of the N.C. Court of Appeals, opponents asked the Supreme Court of North Carolina to grant a further hearing on their case anyway. They filed a “petition for discretionary review” (PDR), and that sidelined annexation pending a decision.

The list of petitions granted or denied by the N.C. Supreme Court published Jan. 29 did not include an order on Pinewild. The justices had actually ruled on the petition for review only a day earlier, so their Jan. 28 order was not signed and certified by the clerk until Wednesday.

It may not mean the end of the legal fight. John and Lydia Boesch have been among the most vigorous opponents, and contend that gated communities are different and that annexation takes value away for which residents should be paid.

They contend that it is the same as when the state takes property to build a road or a school, arguing that this question has never been decided by any court.

Lydia Boesch, herself an attorney, has said they ought to be able to get some court to answer the simple question of whether annexation of a private, gated community is or is not a “taking” for which the Constitution mandates payment.

They tried to obtain a declaratory judgment on that question, but the effort was blocked. Federal judges refused to rule, saying that they consider such matters only after alleged takings actually occur. State courts dismissed it as well.

In Carthage, Senior Resident Superior Court Judge James M. Webb dismissed their request for a declaratory judgment on that question and ordered them not to file it again.

Lydia Boesch could not be reached for comment on the high court’s ruling, but earlier had said that annexation will put Pinewild in a different status.

Once Pinehurst has actually annexed the gated community, affected property owners would be able, as the federal courts said, to file actions for “inverse condemnation” and demand compensation.

She has said they will ask courts to award payment in compensation for what they contend annexation took from them.

Contact John Chappell at (910) 783-5841 or by e-mail at jchappell@thepilot.com.

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phstresident 3 years, 3 months ago

it's about time...

CSmithson 3 years, 3 months ago

If I hadn't overheard many Pinewild residents say to others, "We live in Pinehurst but don't have to pay the taxes," I'd have a heap more sympathy for the poor, oppressed residents of "Pinewild Country Club of Pinehurst." For goodness sakes, your VERY OWN website http://www.pinewildcc.com/ says "Pinehurst" all over it!

None 3 years, 3 months ago

@CSmithson ~ and ironically: "All Facilities are Operated by Tohato Realty USA, Inc."

What the Japenese don't own the Germans do - like Woodlake. Hey - perhaps the Chinese will buy Pinehurst and rename it Pinewild?

Along with the "prestige" comes the tax burden...I will find it interesting to see how many Pinewild residents run for Council; and how many employees run for the hills ~ in a manner of speaking...

CSmithson 3 years, 3 months ago

Yeah, well, I'm on record being critical of the Toyota dealership calling itself "Pinehurst." It was silly 20+ years ago when they opened and it is silly now.

The funny thing is that I have sat on the sidelines listening to the Pinewild crowd flail about using disingenuous arguments ranging from Pinehurst being "racist" (Jackson Hamlet) to some nonsense about the annexation being moot because Pinehurst couldn't stop Pinewild residents from holding a parade in front of their clubhouse. My grandparents lived in the farm house for the farm that became "Pinewild" (you know, the house with long magnolia drive on Linden right before the gate).

The bottom line is that if Pinewild were somehow magically transported up to High Falls or somewhere else in Moore far away from Pinehurst, there wouldn't be all those hundreds of occupied homes. True, honest introspection would reveal to most Pinewild residents that they live there because of their proximity to the Village and that they enjoy the benefits of Pinehurst living without paying the taxes their neighbors do.

phstresident 3 years, 3 months ago

It will be nice to hopefully see the rhetoric and arguments subside in the near future. I can't blame anyone who lives in Pinewild for fighting for what they believed in but now that this case is over, you can have a say in the future of Pinehurst as a voting resident. Welcome!

phstresident 3 years, 3 months ago

I do fail to see the logic in your statement about "tax and spend mentality"...Pinehurst has a ridiculously low tax rate of only 28 cents. Honestly it should be higher but I'm personally glad it isn't.

I do hope someone from Pinewild gets elected for Council as I think that would help everyone move past the bitterness and give that person an insight of how the town operates. Councils come and go and some have been much better than others, but I have to stick up for the Village Manager as he is a very good man. I understand you don't like decisions that have been made, but he has more character than most anyone else I've met in this town.

CSmithson 3 years, 3 months ago

Mauiman- if you live in Pinewild, look at what your home would be worth if it were in north Moore and not adjacent to Pinehurst and 5 minutes from downtown or 10 minutes from Southern Pines/Aberdeen retail. What would your quality of life be if you had to drive even father to grocery stores and restaurants?

That said, Pinehurst does seem to have an irrational fear of allowing for basic services such as grocery stores and gas stations, but that ends up benefitting Southern Pines, Aberdeen, and Taylortown, who enjoy the tax base (and a lower residential tax burden) of retail that serves Pinehurst.

Perhaps when you become a voting resident of Pinehurst, you can better encourage the Village to be more sustainable and allow for more businesses that serve its residents.

CSmithson 3 years, 3 months ago

Mauiman- as far as Jackson Hamlet goes, it is clear you COMPLETELY miss the details of NC annexation law and the specific services Pinehurst and Moore County provide.

Jackson Hamlet residents need(ed) water and/or sewer. Neither of those services are provided by Pinehurst as they do not own their utility systems. The bottom line is that the County Commissioners refused to provide desperately-needed basic services to the neighborhood. Because Jackson Hamlet is in Pinehurst's zoning jurisdiciton, they took the heat for not providing the services that were actually in the County's purview.

Bringing Jackson Hamlet into the Pinewild annexation debate is nothing but a disingenuous attempt and a kitchen sink approach for avoiding Pinewild annexation. If Pinewild lawyers had their way, it would be even harder for Pinehurst to do anything to help Jackson Hamlet.

phstresident 3 years, 3 months ago

Good points CSmithson. It's a fact that if Jackson Hamlet meets the current standards for annexation, they would be annexed into Pinehurst as residents just like Pinewild. Just like Mauiman knew when he bought his property that he would be annexed when the requirements were met, the same standard applies to Jackson Hamlet. They just don't have enough growth or developed lots to qualify at this time.

And for the record mauiman, my earlier comment welcoming you was geniune and not an attempt to come across as a smart a%&. If you took it that way I apologize as it was not the intention.

ladylane 3 years, 3 months ago

Jackson Hamlet just dose not have enough money rumbling through it! Pay attention to the word if you believe in God. The last shall be first, and the first shall be last. If you don't get it. THE POOR WILL BE FIRST AND THE rich WILL BE LAST!

BCarpenter 3 years, 3 months ago

It is a buyers market, perhaps it is time to move. I am sure you will find an equally wonderful place somewhere you feel less threatened by an amazingly low tax rate, excellent police coverage and all the other advantages to living in a town with excellent sevices.

Yukonjohn 3 years, 3 months ago

If I were living in Pinewild, the Pinehurst city phones would never quit ringing. Civil DISobedience is the only answer left. Make them regret the day they ever heard of Pinewild!! Keep them hopping constantly, 24/7. In the meantime, if there is any, keep contacting your representatives in Raleigh....this is an antiquated law that needs to be changed!!!

phstresident 3 years, 3 months ago

You make some good points and I completely agree with you on the issue of water. I think that is an entirely unnecessary and too costly of an undertaking, especially in this economic climate. The County owns the water system and it's their responsibility to upgrade and improve the facilities, lines, and service they provide. From what I've heard, this proposal is dying a slow death and not likely to happen anyway which is good.

I can understand your stance on staffing, especially in regards to the additional officers brought on for Pinewild if they can't enforce traffic violations. I'll have to look into that more. But as for cutting other staff, I would hate to see more Americans lose their jobs and be unemployed when it's not necessary and the existing budget obviously can cover those expenses and the staff is extremely professional. It's not like they are just sitting around doing nothing and without a quality, hard working staff the services they provide to us the residents will suffer. The Village staff does a great job and to think of more families put at risk because of a job lost, insurance lost, etc. would be a shame. The staff is there to provide a high level of service to the residents and they do that. If they get raises, then I'm sure they are deserved and see nothing wrong with that continuing. I'm sure if given a choice between no raises or simply having a job, all would be glad to be employed and keep medical insurance for their families.

I also disagree with you on the community center although I certainly understand your point. My family participates in the programs and have seen first hand what a great job the recreation folks do. We would love to see the center built so they could offer more programs and activities for us and our children. They just don't have any indoor space of their own to use, especially that is designed for that purpose. My parents also live here and take part in the activites for senior adults so to see this expand would be good for the community as a whole, youth, adults and seniors, in my opinion. The Village should stop putting this off and build it now while construction costs are much more affordable. It will cost even more the longer they wait and it's our responsibility I feel to not only provide for current needs but for those of the generations that will follow us.

The next elections will be an opportunity hopefully for all to be heard and provide some...what I sincerely hope will be...a civil debate on the issues. In your position I would likely not be too thrilled at not having a say either on the issue of annexation, but I think everyone was aware that day would eventually come. Hopefully now that you and your fellow Pinewild neighbors can have a say in the future, it will be done so objectively and in what is in the best interests of the community as a whole, and not just one neighborhood.

oldtimer 3 years, 3 months ago

It's clear that someone believes this is an awful, awful place to live. Makes you wonder if it was just as bad on the Island of Maui.

littlemama 3 years, 3 months ago

Mauiman, you stated that the PH police exceed the FBI recommended levels. I would be interested to see where you received your numbers because I have done some research and from what I see they are below the recommended numbers and I have the information to back that up. http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius2007/police/ this is the web site that has that info. By this FBI site it shows that an average of 3.6 police employees per 1000 residents and 2.4 sworn employees per 1000. The Program computes these rates by taking the number of employees, dividing by the population of the agency's jurisdiction, and multiplying by 1,000. Let’s say now with Pinewild, Pinehurst has a population of 13000 that would be 2.3 employees (PHPD has 30 employees) per 1000 and if you do sworn officers that number is 1.9 per 1000. Now let’s say the population is 14000 that translates into 2.1 and 1.7 per 1000 respectively, either way below the FBI stats. Now let’s look at PH compared to Southern Pines PD and Aberdeen PD (both fine departments I might add). PH has less officers than SPPD (45 sworn and non-sworn employees per their website) and now with Pinewild a larger population, and only a couple more officers than Aberdeen PD (couldn’t find their info but I believe its 26 sworn and non-sworn) with a population more than twice that of Aberdeen (Southern Pines 12675 Aberdeen 5627 Pinehurst without Pinewild 12331 www.city-data.com). Now with that said I respect your opinion on the annexation, as a matter of fact it doesn’t make any difference to me one way or the other, but I feel you shouldn’t misrepresent statements as facts when they clearly are not.

JHOwen 3 years, 3 months ago

Let's all be honest. The ONLY reason VOP and Pinewild are here is that the Pinehurst RESORT is here. If the RESORT had not CREATED the VILLAGE, which it controlled until the VILLAGE got the state to grant them independence from an entity THEY did not elect, this area still would have been a golf meca and Pinewild would still be here. NOBODY moves here because of the VOP. To hear the VOP you would think that it contains all the cultural and economic entities that make life livable. NOBODY does the majority of their shopping there, buys their groceries there or eats out the majority of times there. If Southern Pines, Aberdeen, and Taylor Town would vanish VOP would be a ghost town. I am afraid the VOP has delusions of grandeur as their wanting to buy a water treatment facility when they do not own the delivery system for the water shows.

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