DURHAM -- Durham County Attorney Lowell Siler said Thursday that the validity of a protest petition and the county commissioners' Oct.12 vote on the Jordan Lake watershed boundary must be decided in Superior Court.
Siler made his statement even though City/County Planning Director Steve Medlin has ruled the petition is valid. The county attorney said he questions whether one petitioner had legal authority to sign.
Whether the petition actually goes to court is up to the petitioners, Siler said. Thursdayafternoon, petition supporterMelissa Rooney posted a notice on Durham's InterNeighborhood Council e-mail list seeking to raise $10,000 by Monday forlegal fees.
The petition opposes the county's relocation of a boundary restricting development near the Jordan reservoir in southwestern Durham County. Overriding a protest petition requires a "super majority" vote of at least 4-1.
Before the Oct. 12 vote, the planning department ruled the petition invalid, and the boundary move passed 3-2. After review, the Southern Environmental Law Center and Haw River Assembly, which filed the petition on behalf of 24 affected landowners, claimed the ruling had been in error.
Medlin made his new ruling after the planning department conducted its own re-review. Siler said he will defend the original ruling if the SELC appeals to Superior Court.
Southern Durham Development Inc., which wants to build a subdivision on part of the affected land, is already suing Durham County for delaying the boundary move.
Staff writer Jim Wise
