Fuquay-Varina is in a hurry to forcibly annex 1,000 acres along its northern border, partly because the Wake County town wants to beat its northern neighbor, Holly Springs, to the punch.

The land in question is a mostly residential area containing about 500 homes, bounded on the east by Sunset Lake Road, on the west by by Bass Lake Road and on the south by the Fuquay-Varina city limits.

A 20-year pact made between the two towns has kept them from approving voluntary or involuntary annexations on the other side of a line designated between the two, but it carries the stipulation that either town can end the pact at the 10-year mark. That means the agreement could end next year, said Mark Andrews, a Holly Springs public information officer.

The towns have been meeting to work out a new boundary that could be the subject of a public hearing at the June 17 Holly Springs Town Council meeting, Andrews said.

Holly Springs officials discussed ending the agreement at its 10-year mark last winter, even though the town has no plans for annexations, he said.

“If we can’t reach agreement on a modified line, Holly Springs’ position is that the existing line should go away next year,” Andrews said via e-mail.

Meanwhile, Fuquay-Varina leaders are considering annexing the area, said Fuquay-Varina Planning Director Mike Sorensen.

“After that line disappears, it’s open season,” Sorensen said.

“It’s an area that Wake County has expected us to grow into,” Fuquay-Varina Mayor John Byrne said, adding that the area has long been a part of Fuquay-Varina’s growth plan.

Fuquay-Varina documents estimate that area would bring in $46,881 in tax revenue for fiscal year 2009-2010.

This revenue total is calculated after subtractions for services such as water and sewer that Fuquay-Varina would begin offering.

New services also mean residents in the area would have to start paying city taxes. Fuquay-Varina has a tax rate of 52 cents per $100 of assessed valuation.

More taxes is exactly what Joani Jarrad doesn’t want.

The two-story home her family bought nine years ago in the Vintage Ridge subdivision off Sunset Lake Road is one of the homes that would be affected by the annexation.

“Our mortgage is going to go up considerably” because of the increase in taxes, Jarrad said.

She doesn’t like that the town can forcibly annex her property.

Current state law allows towns to annex unincorporated property that meets certain guidelines such as being adjacent to the town’s boundaries.

Although a House committee agreed last month to recommend the legislature issue a one-year ban on involuntary annexations, the issue still must wind its way through the full House and Senate to gain approval.

Published in the News & Observer