Village's Legal Tab Could Top $300,000

BY TOM EMBREY: STAFF WRITER

Legal expenses for the village of Pinehurst could exceed $300,000 this year.

Recently, the council approved a budget amendment to move $140,000 within the budget to cover legal expenses.

Six months into the fiscal year, the village had already spent $164,000 on legal fees, thanks to increased activity in four cases.

Village Manager Andy Wilkison said the fees are not entirely unusual for the village.

"We have two

areas of what I would call major litigation right now," Wilkison said.

According to a memo from Assistant Village Manager Natalie Dean, the village's legal expenses "increased dramatically in the first half of the year."

The village is currently involved in four separate legal actions that have recently begun to play out in court.

Pinehurst is involved in a state and a federal lawsuit that seek to block the village's planned annexation of Pinewild Country Club.

The state case contends that the village did not follow state law when annexing the gated community. A Superior Court judge ruled recently in that suit. Plaintiffs have decided to appeal. The federal suit, filed Jan. 31, claims that the involuntary annexation of Pinewild by the village is "an illegal taking" prohibited by the U.S Constitution and will significantly diminish property values, and that the village is constitutionally obligated to compensate residents for that taking.

The village has adopted a resolution to annex Pinewild effective June 30. The annexation cannot take place while legal action is pending.

Another federal suit that remains ongoing is one filed by Quality Built homes over village architectural standards. That suit was filed in 2006.

The fourth legal action is an appeal by Concerned Citizens of Pinehurst over the NCDOT-proposed roundabout at N.C. 2 and Carolina Vista in the historic district. Concerned Citizens has argued that state projects within the historic district -- including the roundabout -- must be approved by the Pinehurst Historic Commission.

Contact Tom Embrey at 693-2473 or by e-mail at tembrey@ thepilot.com.