A group of Moore County residents and anti-annexation organizations is suing the village of Pinehurst in hopes of stopping the forced annexation of Pinewild.
RALEIGH -- A group of Moore County residents and anti-annexation organizations is suing the Village of Pinehurst in hopes of stopping a forced annexation. Last summer, the Pinehurst Village Council voted unanimously to annex the Pinewild subdivision.
The decision outraged residents. They gathered Wednesday on the front steps of the State Legislative Building.
"We don't need them at all. We've operated very nicely for a long time,” said Pinewild resident Jim McGillan. “As far as we can see, they are simply going to deprive us of our rights to privacy."
Pinewild residents say once incorporated, their taxes will go up as much as $1,000 per homeowner per year to pay for services they say they do not need or want.
"We pay for everything we need. The statutes are intended to extend services,” said Lydia Boesch, another Pinewild resident. “They're not extending services to us."
The Pinewild residents are suing to stop it. They claim Pinehurst's forced annexation is a "hostile takeover" that violates their constitutional rights. It is the kind of topic the House Select Committee on Municipal Annexation will discuss.
"I think there's no question but North Carolina's cities enjoy a greater degree of annexation power that is the rule nationally," said David Lawrence, who has studied annexation issues at UNC Chapel Hill’s School of Government.
The committee is made up of members of the public and lawmakers, many of whom had questions about North Carolina's annexation law.
"It has kind of gotten out of hand in the last 10 to 15 years,” said Rep. Earl Jones (D-Guilford). "Some people are concerned that some annexation may be more, the motivation may be more financial."
Attorneys for the Pinewild residents plan to file their lawsuit in a federal court Wednesday. If the lawsuit does nothing to stop the annexation, Pinewild will officially become a part of Pinehurst in June.
Pinewild is not the only community upset about forced annexation. Others have fought against it too, including some in Cary, Fayetteville, Goldsboro, Selma and Lexington.