Title
Permanent and Temporary Construction Easements - Four Mile Creek Greenway
Action
ACTION:
1) Accept donations of a Permanent Access Easement (+/- 0.6828 Acres) for greenway purposes and a Temporary Construction Easement (+/- 1.9199 Acres) for Stream Restoration purposes from Lake 4, LLC on portions of tax parcel 225-021-05 and 225-021-01; and
2) Authorize the County Manager to grant two overlapping Permanent and Temporary Construction Easements (Area #1 - 0.0399 Acres and Area #2 - 0.0415 Acres) to Lake 4, LLC on Mecklenburg County owned tax parcel 225-021-08 for the purpose of installing sanitary sewer connections.
Staff Contact: Roberta Whitner, Asset and Facility Management
Presentation: No
BACKGROUND/JUSTIFICATION:
Lake 4, LLC ("Lake 4") is developing a multi-family community in three phases. The development is currently under construction and is scheduled to be completed in May 2028. Through negotiations on approved Rezoning Petition #2022-121, Lake 4 agreed to make several pedestrian connection improvements on both its property (225-021-01 and 225-021-05) and County-owned property (225-021-08) along Four Mile Creek. Additionally, Lake 4 agreed to grant the County permanent and temporary construction easements for Storm Water Services’ planned stream restoration project along the creek.
During Phase I of its development, Lake 4 will construct and install a 12-foot-wide multi-use path that will provide a pedestrian connection from Elm Lane to Rea Road up to Bevington Place where the multi-use path will connect to the existing greenway trail on County-owned property. The County is being granted a permanent access easement for the portion of the path on the developer’s property (+/- 0.6828 acres on Tax Parcels 225-021-01 & 225-021-05).
Running northerly from the multi-family development site, the developer will also construct an 8-foot-wide elevated pedestrian boardwalk across Four Mile Creek to the intersection of the existing trail at Bevington Place; thus, providing an additional access point for the greenway for residents. The County will grant the developer a Temporary Construction Easement on Tax Parcel 225-021-08 to facilitate construction of the trail on the County’s property. The cost of the improvements the developer has agreed to install is estimated at $1.0 million. Once built, the County will maintain the trail improvements.
Additionally, Lake 4 is planning to donate +/- 1.9199 acres of temporary construction easements on portions of tax parcels 225-021-05 and 225-021-01 for the County Storm Water Services Four Mile Creek Stream Restoration Project. The project will restore an estimated 1.75 miles of stream. The restoration project has two phases with an estimated budget of $8.6 million. Construction will start in the spring of 2025 and will end in the fall of 2028.
To complete its development, Lake 4 is requesting two minor overlapping permanent and temporary construction easements totaling +/- 0.0399 acres in Area #1 and +/- 0.0415 acres in Area #2 on County parcel 225-021-8 (see the attached map) to install sanitary sewer connections to an existing sewer line already located on the County’s property. The easement areas being requested by the developer were valued at $3,300. The County is receiving just compensation for the easements based on the estimated cost of the planned trail improvements (i.e., $1.0 Million estimated cost to the developer for trail improvements).
The request has been reviewed by the Park and Recreation and Storm Water Services Departments. It has been determined that the sewer easement requests will not negatively impact the function of the County’s property.
PROCUREMENT BACKGROUND:
N/A
POLICY IMPACT:
N/A
FISCAL IMPACT:
N/A