"In my opinion, and (the opinion of) most people who live in East Chatham, Cary is the evil empire," said Chatham County Commissioner Patrick Barnes.
Many people remember when Cary tried to expand town limits to Jordan Lake for a major land-use plan. Angry Chatham residents fought it, and then Cary scrapped it. Now, the two sides are working together.
"It's a necessary evil, not desired by either party, but it's necessary just to keep us from killing each other," said Barnes,
On 18,000 acres, or 28 square miles, lucrative land that sits in Chatham abuts Cary and is a short ride from Research Triangle Park and RDU International Airport. People want to build there, and now Cary and Chatham County are now planning for the future.
"We need a plan to tell us where should water and sewer lines go," said Cary planner Scott Ramage.
One of the main goals is to protect Jordan Lake, which is the main water source for both Chatham County and Cary. Chatham County resident Rita Spina is for the new partnership, but also remains suspicious of Cary. She said she believes that if handled properly, the joint land use development plan can work
"If Chatham County remains assertive, and kind of monitors what's going on, I don't see why something good can't come out of it," said Spina.
It'll take several months to develop the joint growth plan. Citizens will have their say down the road.
As part of the deal, Cary agreed to put a moratorium on annexation in Chatham County until September.
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