Leland to annex Lanvale Forest, developer makes agreement on maintaining roads

LELAND, NC (WWAY) –  It took three meetings total, but Lanvale Forest neighbors finally know the fate of their subdivision. Leland Town Council approved annexing it completely into its town limits.

The major issue through all of this was that neighbors had no guarantee their currently crumbling roads in the neighborhood would be maintained by the developer.

Not everyone got what they wanted, but a compromise was made.

Four major things were approved by council. They approved to annex in phase 3 of Lanvale Forest with the developer agreeing to maintain the three roads it will use to get to and from phase 3’s development site.

Then town council approved issuing an involuntary town-initiated annexation of the rest of Lanvale Forest. They added with that the resolution that the town would be accountable for the roads once the annexation goes through.

“So at least by fixing Lanvale Forest, Fennell and I think it was Old Forest as you know the main path to get to phase three it’s acceptable,” said Lanvale Forest resident Emma Crossman after the meeting. “It’s probably the best compromise at this time, because it’s never going to go totally one way or the other, so I think we kind of met in the middle.”

The votes do not make this all a done deal.

The town’s agreement to maintain the roads only comes if registered voters in Lanvale Forest approve of the town-initiated annexation.

A series of public meetings must happen. There has to be an approval by registered voters in Lanvale Forest. That is expected to happen on Election Day 2019. That is because according to the HOA, more than 74 percent of residents polled in the first two phases of the subdivision are in favor of annexing into the town.