BY DEBBIE PAGE
Troutman Town Manager Ron Wyatt and Town Attorney Jason Ralston are finalizing a resolution for a residential development moratorium scheduled to be presented to the Town Council on Thursday night.
City of Statesville and Town of Troutman officials have not been able to reach an agreement to significantly increase sewer capacity, and the Town of Mooresville cannot offer additional capacity until its plant expansion is complete. As a result, the Town of Troutman cannot meet demands for additional residential development, necessitating consideration of the moratorium.
In North Carolina, General Statute 160D-107(d) requires a local government to be clear about a moratorium’s necessity and to detail when and how the issues will be resolved.
A development moratorium must include:
♦ A clear statement of the problems requiring the moratorium, other alternatives considered, and why those alternative are not feasible.
♦ What development approvals are subject to the moratorium and how a moratorium will relieve the conditions requiring the moratorium.
♦ A termination date and explanation of its duration as reasonably necessary to address the deficiencies.
♦ A detailed schedule of action by the local government during the development cessation period to address and solve the issues that led to the moratorium.
♦ The moratorium length must carefully estimate the time needed to resolve the condition prompting the moratorium. The statute states that the “duration of any moratorium shall be reasonable in light of the specific conditions that warrant imposition of the moratorium and may not exceed the period of time necessary to correct, modify, or resolve such conditions.”
♦ A moratorium may be extended if the local government is progressing on solving the problems and can document the reasons for an extension.
Wyatt said the moratorium will be in six-month increments. Before each expiration, the council will review progress and deficiencies and decide whether an extension is warranted. The moratorium can be lifted early if the sewer capacity issue is resolved more quickly than expected.
Wyatt estimates that construction at the Mooresville plant and getting funding and construction of larger sewer lines to Mooresville will take a minimum of 18 months to two years.
Wyatt noted that in the 1990s, the town had the choice to build its own sewer plant for $18 million to $20 million or invest $7 million to connect to Statesville. With state pressure to close small town sewer plants and the high costs of the plant, the town chose the lower cost option.
In hindsight, Wyatt said, “We should have built our own plant.” Sewer rates would have been more expensive and the town was already drawing citizen complaints about water and sewer rates at that time, he added.
A previous council also chose to install a smaller sewer line to Mooresville during the 2008 recession period, but with development slow down and town finances at the time, the previous council made the decision they thought best, the manager said.
Wyatt did note that the town’s water and sewer infrastructure has grown and improved, at the cost of developers, because of the residential building explosion the town has experienced in the last 10 years. The town has also received $18 million in grants and low-cost loans for water and sewer improvements in recent years.
Council member Paul Henkel agreed with Wyatt, saying that the earlier councils’ decisions addressed money concerns and state guidelines at the time, but now the consequences of those choices must be dealt with in a legal and correct way through a moratorium and the necessary remedies.
Henkel does not want the “town to be held hostage in the future.”
Wyatt reiterated that the proposed moratorium would not impact residential developments that are already approved. Business and industrial development will not be included in the proposed moratorium.
Wyatt and the Planning Department are already having conversations about the possible moratorium with residential developers who have proposed projects in the pipeline.
Mayor Pro Tem Jerry Oxsher also clarified with Wyatt that the council approved no residential development that it did not have sewer capacity for at the time of approval.
Developers of a residential project on Clontz Hill Road have asked that the annexation of 151 acres scheduled for Thursday night be tabled for a month to consider the ramifications of the proposed moratorium.
THURSDAY NIGHT AGENDA
♦ Presentation of the 2025 Town of Troutman Citizen of the Year Award to Ana Johnson.
♦ Presentation of the 2025 Organization of the Year Award to the Troutman Ruritan Club.
♦ Recognition of Maureen Purcell as the Town of Troutman Employee of the Month for April.
♦ Presentation of a proclamation declaring May as “Mental Health Awareness Month.”
♦ Setting a public hearing date of June 12 for the Town of Troutman FY 2025-2026 proposed budget.
Consider a UDO text amendment to allow mini-warehouse/self-storage within the one-mile requirement for mini-warehouses in the Highway Business (HB) Zoning District if part of a mixed-use development is facing a different road frontage.
♦ Consider a UDO text amendment to amend the requirements to forbid front yard parking in residentially zoned districts except in driveways and any attached hard surfaces to the driveway.
♦ Consider approval of amendments to the Town of Troutman Schedule of Fees, adding a $50 nonpayment fee for water and sewer bills and increasing combined water and sewer fees for taps, meter and availability and amendments to the water and sewer policy reflecting these changes.
♦ Consider approval of the state required town audit contract with Thompson, Price, Scott & Adams for fiscal year 2025- 2026 at a maximum cost of $29,500.
♦ Consider approval of the 2022 Wastewater Capacity Improvements Capital Project Fund, the 2022 Sewer Collection Rehabilitation Project Fund, the Clay Pipe Sewer System Inventory And Assessment Capital Project Fund and the 2022 Water System Asset Inventory And Assessment Capital Project Fund to allow acceptance of state grant funds and loans to complete these projects.
♦ Consider annexation and rezoning of .76 acres at 875 Old Mountain Road to receive water service.
♦ Consider approval to accept Sutter’s Mill Drive, Caprine Court, and Parkmont Drive as town-maintained streets.
♦ Consider re-appointment of Tamera Hatley as an inside voting member (term expires May 9, 2025) and Helen Byers as an ETJ voting member (term expires June 18, 2025) to the Iredell County Commissioners for consideration of re-appointment on the Town of Troutman Board of Adjustment.
♦ Consider approval of employee participation in the North Carolina Health Insurance Pool.
♦ Set date to consider annexation of 0.8 acres at 513 Stillwater Road for June 12.