Our Neighbors in Union County Are Making Lemonade

July 7, 2008

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC

Our Neighbors in Union County Are Making Lemonade…

MONROE -Developers looking to build in Union County have been running
into a serious roadblock: permits for sewer and water are not easy to come by.
Due to the rapid growth and the inability for infrastructure to keep up, many
developers are having trouble securing sewer permits. Drought conditions have
also forced a moratorium on water permits. Officials have some ideas for ad-
dressing the county's sewer and water needs, but some of the required projects
could take up to 15 years.
The problem has already slowed development in what has recently been among
the nation's fastest-growing counties. Union County experienced immense growth and most public officials agree there was too much growth without enough infrastructure to support it. Today county's sewer system is operating is at capacity, meaning it cannot safely handle any extra Wastewater. Water could be at capacity, but in dry times they areon restriction.
Allan Baucom, chairman of the Union County Board of Commissioners, explained that the reason behind this was "pretty straightforward." He said that, "there have been previous boards and previous paid officials that have allowed the capacity to be utilized without creating additional capacity."
Baucom explained that when he took office in 2006, "I knew there were sewer
challenges ...I just didn't know we were absolutely out."
The county's primary wastewater facility, 12 Mile Creek, near Waxhaw , was
built in the 1980s, for what was a much-less-populated Union County.
Last year, the state rejected 30 sewer permits for various construction projects
around the county, including residential developments, two hospitals and other
commercial developments. Sewer space was then allocated to those projects based on a tiered priority plan and so construction on many of those projects has moved forward.
,
The Downturn buys time...
The slow economy might actually be a good thing in this instance. Union County Manager Al Greene noted that due to the economy, he's not sure they would have as much development as they'd had in the recent past, even if the sewer and water permits weren't an issue. He said the slowing market gives them time to negotiate and work on building their infrastructure, and perhaps by the time the market picks up they'll be in a position to move forward. Greene said that while this is not a good situation to be in, this is probably the best time to have this problem - while the economy is slowing and demand is down. He said there is "never a good time to have these capacity challenges that we have," but with the current market conditions, now is "probably as good a time as any ."
This report from The Mecklenburg Times/Carolyn Steeves

Lynnsy Logue The Real Estate Lady and Condo CanDo in Charlotte, NC