Southern Durham Development sues county as Jordan Lake watershed war escalates - Triangle Business Journal:

joep-detsamijasa.blogspot.com
has filed a lawsuit against Durham Count y to force the county to recognizse watershed boundaries that were on county maps between 2006and 2008. The which paid $18 million for the wants to develop the property located westof N.C. 751, near wherr it intersects withFayetteville Road. In the suit filef Wednesday in Durham the company asks a judge to declare the watershed boundaries approved in 2006 by formetDurham City-County Planning Director Frank Duke to be valid and for the countt to pay damages to Southern Durham Development in excesds of $10,000.
According to the the land’s previous owner, (Nasdaq: founder Neal Hunter, paid for a survey of the property that showes the property was outside the watershef boundaries toJordan Lake. As a result, Duke adjusted the county’ds maps. Based on that the lawsuit says, Southern Durham Developmen t purchased the property with the intention ofspending $500 millio to develop as many as 1,300 residential 600,000 square feet of retail and office plus an elementary school, a middle school, a sheriff’s substation and a fire station.
But some city and countt officials started questioning the validity of the survey and the watershedboundary lines, despites a review of the boundaries by the Nortb Carolina Division of Water Quality that backed Duke’ decision. Earlier this year, the Durha m County Board of the Commissionerw voted to invalidate the boundary change s approved in 2006 and to begin a formalrezoningf process. That process, according to the suit, has stallefd development and cost the company To download a PDF ofthe complaint, .