|
Latest News
Background
Latest News:
 Feb 14 - Happy Valentine’s Day! Believe it or not, they are actually moving dirt off of the culverts this morning. Looks like the long-awaited day has arrived!- Feb 11 - There is a CAC meeting tomorrow that will discuss proposed rezoning of land adjacent to Harrington Grove. There will be a public hearing on March 19.
- Feb 10 - Unfortunately, the culverts are still in the Creek. We’re not sure what’s taking so long, but are trying to pressure city officials into taking action.
- Jan 22 - Good news! At about 8AM today, crews arrived to start cleaning up all the debris around the Creek. Hopefully removal of the culverts is imminent.
- Jan 16 - Yes, the culverts are still in the Creek. Allegedly the developer’s attorney is holding things up and we’re now in the 4th draft of the agreement. Supposedly this will be completed this week. We’ll see.
- Dec 19 - At long last, the Temporary Right of Entry agreement was finalized, signed and sent over to the developer. Hopefully we’ll see some quick action to have the culverts removed.
- Dec 12 - Make your voice heard! Complete the Building a Better Raleigh Survey.
- Dec 6 - Although there aren’t many details available for plans related to Old Leesville and New Leesville, here are some maps: Z-64-01 (zoning map including Old Leesville) and an iMAPS parcel view including both.
- Dec 4 - “Council OKs deal on street” - Read about yesterday’s City Council meeting in today’s N&O.
- Dec 3 - Without much advance notice, we were told to attend the City Council meeting this afternoon to discuss the Harrington Grove situation. Fortunately, there was a good turnout on our side. Our first impressions are that the meeting went very well. We agreed to the following: 1) the culverts will be removed from Sycamore Creek, 2) the Creek will be restored to satisfactory conditions (according to the Army Corps, Water Quality, and the NC Wildlife Resources Commission), 3) the developer posts a $50K bond/letter of credit to ensure the restoration is adequate, 4) we grant the developer utility easements for Harrington Pines, 5) discussion of the extension of North Exeter Way is tabled until 9-12 months after the Leesville Road extension is complete and a traffic study can be finished. At that time, the HGHOA Board will make a recommendation to City Council regarding extension of Exeter. If the Board does not want to extend Exeter but the City still does, we’ll then resume discussions about the matter. It is possible that work to remove the culverts could begin later this week. We appreciate the ultimate support of the City Council and their willingness to work with our community.
- Nov 21 - “Failure to Connect” - Read coverage in Spectator Online.
- Nov 16 - Late yesterday, we received the City’s “proposed points” (PDF) resulting from the Public Works meeting. Unfortunately, there were some differences between what we heard in person at the meeting and what we received in writing.
- Nov 15 - “Harrington Grove gets city’s ear” - Read N&O coverage of our meeting with the Public Works Committee last night. / Here’s a must-read: check out this list of recommendations regarding Harrington Pines authored by the NC Wildlife Resources Commission -- all of which have been blatantly ignored. Isn’t is somebody’s job to enforce these things???
- Nov 14 - We attended a special Public Works Committee meeting, where the City paraded staff in front of us to tell us all the reasons they feel that N Exeter Way must be extended. For every reason they gave us, it seemed we had a good response for not extending the street. We also made a brief Powerpoint presentation that visually told our story. At the end of the meeting, Benson Kirkman presented a proposal for moving forward. We asked him to fax a copy so we could have it in writing and review more closely.
- Nov 8 - An update on yesterday’s meeting: Despite several of the city employees previously telling us that the pipes needed to come out, we’re now hearing that the discussion only centered on what needed to be done to keep them there! We were told by one official that the plan (for the pipes) should never have been approved, and by another that that this is the ugliest crossing he’s ever seen. However, now that the pipes are in, it seems that nobody is willing to ask for their removal. Apparently the group decided that retrofitting the pipes by adding a gravel and soil baffle would somehow allow organisms to make their way through the pipes. Huh? / The N&O reported that at yesterday’s City Council meeting they “moved a dispute about the extension of North Exeter Way in North Raleigh's Harrington Grove neighborhood to its Public Works Committee. Odom said he wants Meeker and other new council members to consider the Harrington Grove case after they take their seats Dec. 3.”
- Nov 7 - City officials met with Eastman at the Creek to discuss the culverts. When a homeowner and one of our attorneys walked up to the group and introduced themselves, the response was “That’s it. The meeting’s over.” After the two left, the meeting resumed and went on for almost two hours.
- Nov 5 - More coverage in the N&O.
- Nov 4 - We had a successful Open House today. Charles Meeker, Janet Cowell, Marc Scruggs, Benson Kirkman, Mort Congleton and Neal Hunt were in attendance.
- Nov 3 - Mayor Coble has asked to meet with the HOA Board on Wed at 4 PM.
- Nov 2 - “Welcome to Raleigh” - Read coverage in The Independent Weekly.
- Nov 1 - Charles Meeker held a press conference in Harrington Grove at Sycamore Creek today. Later NBC-17 came down to conduct some interviews.
- Oct 31 - “Road hits snag at creek” - Additional coverage of the situation appeared in The News & Observer today
- Oct 30 - Interestingly enough, some surveyors were at the Creek briefly this morning. It’s quite a popular place, especially considering that we haven’t granted any easements yet.
- Oct 29 - The City was at the creek today. They said they were checking the sewer easements.
- Oct 25 - Today, three months after the development began, the silt screens are finally going in. Coincidentally, this took place the same day WRAL came out to do interviews and a live story for their 6 o’clock news.
- Oct 23 - At the request of members, The Harrington Grove HOA Board passed a motion (6-1) to reject the City of Raleigh’s initial proposal. We are denying access to the easement (either temporary or permanent), and requesting removal of the concrete pipes now obstructing the creek. We are interested in working with the City to understand why the road must continue and explore other available options.
- Oct 17 - At the City Council meeting, it was acknowledged that Harrington Grove still owns the easement. To date, all work on the road and in the creek has been done without required permission from Harrington Grove.
- Oct 12 - “An unexpected expansion” - An article about this situation appeared in The News & Observer.
Background:
Dear Friends & Neighbors,
We’re homeowners in Harrington Grove, a development of about 1,400 homes in the northwest corner of Raleigh. It’s a wonderful family-oriented community, and the developer/builder did an admirable job of plotting the home sites to preserve trees and the integrity of the creek which meanders through the neighborhood. Unfortunately, as in many other urban areas, the concept of smart and environmentally-friendly growth has been replaced by haphazard, rampant growth -- much to the detriment of our beautiful “City of Oaks.”
In August, the 28-acre parcel of land abutting Harrington Grove was unexpectedly razed from Shady Grove Road to Sycamore Creek. Sycamore Creek borders our neighborhood and serves as the boundary between Wake and Durham Counties in this area. Technically, the property in question is in Durham County, but it was recently annexed by the City of Raleigh in some type of land swap. A large section of Sycamore Creek has been dug up to make room for four 100’ long, 72” diameter concrete pipes, which have been placed side-by-side in the creek bed and covered with dirt for a road. This once viable, free-flowing creek is being made into a storm water runoff. It is a sad and ugly sight!
 As you can tell by the accompanying pictures, the once peaceful and picturesque Sycamore Creek has been profoundly effected. The origin, or headwater, of this creek is about one mile from where the construction is taking place. Sycamore Creek feeds into Reedy Creek (a part of William. B. Umstead State Park) and that, in turn, makes its way to the Neuse River, one of the major rivers in North Carolina.
There is a long history involving the proposed development of this piece of property and the residents of Harrington Grove who are trying to protect Sycamore Creek as well as the surrounding wetlands and woods. Although that history dates back to the late ‘80s, we are here providing an account of the last two years.
Countless hours and energy have been spent by the small group of people fighting this “David & Goliath” battle, including several hundred dollars of their own money for printing, copying fees for plat maps, telephone calls, Internet usage charges, printer ink cartridges, film/film development, poster boards, gas, etc. This group has worked long and hard, and it is paying off. The end-result may not be what we all want -- for the road to go away and the creek to be restored to the way it was -- but we are being taken seriously by the powers that be. To the best of our collective abilities, we’ll continue until there are no more options left.
We appreciate any and all assistance you can provide. Just contact us if you would like to get involved. Your encouragement and support are greatly appreciated!
- Friends of Sycamore Creek
Return to top of page |
