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ETJ Wendell
The proposed ETJ expansion area of approximately 3,958 acres lies west and northwest of the Town of Wendell between its core planning jurisdiction and the Wendell Falls satellite community. This area is also located within its Short-Range Urban Services Areas and the Southeast Area Land Use Plan boundaries.
ETJ EXTENSION PROCESS – INTRODUCTION
A municipality's planning jurisdiction is the land that lies within its corporate limits plus its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ). State law authorizes municipalities to have ETJ so they can control development in areas that are expected to come within their corporate limits in the near future. This enables municipalities to better ensure that development patterns and associated infrastructure will allow the efficient provision of urban services.
In Wake County, the Board of Commissioners must agree to grant any extension of a municipality's ETJ, and may rescind the approval of an ETJ extension. [ETJ Extension Process]
CRITERIA FOR REVIEWING MUNICIPAL ETJ EXTENSION PROPOSALS
Although State law provides a framework for evaluating ETJ and deciding whether the County should agree to municipal requests for ETJ extensions, it does not provide detailed criteria. For this reason, the Wake County Board of Commissioners has adopted seven criteria in the County's Land Use Plan to evaluate ETJ extension requests. Generally, the municipality must demonstrate:
The potential for development The ability to provide services The capability and commitment to good planning and managing of development.In addition to conformance with the criteria, the Wake County Board of Commissioners will also consider the opinions of residents and property owners in the area requested for ETJ. Conformity with the criteria does not automatically guarantee that an ETJ request will be granted.
The Town of Wendell’s request for additional ETJ is unique. The Town of Wendell requested that the State Legislature grant the Town permission to request expansion of its ETJ more than one mile beyond its corporate limits. On April 7, 2008, the County Board of Commissioners acknowledged Wendell's ETJ request for legislative approval and supported the proposal as part of its 2008 Legislative packet. On July 9, 2009, the State Legislature approved the Town’s request (House Bill 743).
In order to give the public an opportunity to ask questions about the proposed ETJ extension, the Town of Wendell will be hosting two ‘Drop-In’ Information Sessions at the Wendell Community Center, located at 601 W Third Street. The first information session will be held on February 23rd from 2:00 – 5:00 P.M. The second information session will be held on March 2nd from 5:00 – 8:00 P.M. Interested parties may come and go at any time during the drop-in sessions.
All meetings are open to the public. To verify meeting dates or to obtain additional information on any aspect of the ETJ expansion request proceedings, contact the Wendell Planning Department at 919-365-4448 or Wake County Planning at 919-856-6320.