Wilson’s Mills, Clayton both want to annex land | News & Observer

Two Johnston County towns – Clayton and Wilson’s Mills – both want to annex 60 acres located between the two towns.

Part of the tract is closer to Clayton, and part is closer to Wilson’s Mills. That’s a problem, because in order to annex land closer to another town, the annexing town must first get permission from its neighbor.

CGC Properties LLC and Powhatan Road Limited Partnership own the land near the corner of Powhatan and Glen Laurel roads. The companies initially sought annexation from Clayton and submitted preliminary plans for a 164-home subdivision.

However, while processing the request, Clayton realized part of the land was closer to Wilson’s Mills, said Planning Director Dave DeYoung. Land data show that at least two of the 13 parcels in the 60-acre tract are closer to Wilson’s Mills.

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State law says towns can’t annex land closer to another municipality unless the other town says it’s OK.

After learning that part of the land was closer to another town, the developer filed an annexation request with the Town of Wilson’s Mills.

“It’s nothing against Clayton,” said Jerry Dalton, a Clayton engineer working with the developer. “In the interest of keeping this thing moving, we felt like we had an obligation to sit down with Wilson’s Mills.”

And Wilson’s Mills is interested. In February, town leaders assured the developer that they were excited and looking forward to working with the company. Also, the town is also seeking a local bill in the General Assembly that would allow additional satellite annexations.

Annexing the 60 acres would put the town over the limit that the state allows for satellite annexations, which is when a town annexes land not contiguous to its borders. The local bill, filed in March, would add Wilson’s Mills to a long list of towns whose satellite annexations can exceed 10 percent of the land within their primary corporate limits.

“We just think we’re positioned to grow, and we want to stay on top of it so we can accommodate the people who come into our town,” Zach Ollis, Wilson’s Mills’ town manager, said of the local bill.

Ollis said he thinks the entire 60 acres are closer to Wilson’s Mills. “I’ve got maps from the county,” he said.

But Clayton has its own maps and thinks it’s better suited to serve the proposed subdivision.

Part of the 60-acre tract is next to land already annexed by Clayton. Also, the town has water and sewer lines nearby that it can extend to the 60 acres, said DeYoung, the planning director.

Clayton already serves Glen Laurel subdivision near the planned subdivision and also Powhatan Elementary School.

“We would prefer to have it in the Town of Clayton,” DeYoung said.

The Town of Wilson’s Mills does not own or operate its own water and sewer systems. Instead, it relies on Johnston County for those services.

Wilson’s Mills does have plans to build its own sewer-collection system, Ollis said, and a federal loan will help the town extend its lines to a planned park on Powhatan Road. He said the town could serve the planned subdivision in the future.

The Wilson’s Mills Town Council was scheduled to hold a public hearing on annexing the land on April 20.