Sugar Mountain May Appeal Annexation Ruling

Story by Bernadette Cahill

David Lane, manager of the Village of Sugar Mountain, said Tuesday that while “no decision” has yet been made on an appeal in the long-running case against annexation by petitioners with property along Highways 184 and 105S, “the League of Municipalities are saying they will pay to appeal this.”

Presiding Superior Court Judge, the Honorable James U. Downs, handed down his judgment in the case on May 21, overturning the four annexation ordinances the Village of Sugar Mountain passed December 20, 2005. The village has 30 days from May 23, the day the judgment was filed with Avery County Clerk of Court, to file an appeal. The deadline for filing is next week.

A decision by the village’s town council won’t be made until the council meeting next Tuesday, but in view of the position of the League of Municipalities, Lane said he is “confident” the town council will vote in favor of appealing the decision.”

According to the village’s attorneys, Lane said, the grounds of the appeal will be “the judge didn’t go by the laws.” On appeal, Lane continued, “we will go to a judge that knows the laws, I think. The decision wasn’t based on law, just based on untruths.”

The village’s attorneys already have started preparing the appeal, he added.

In addition to facing a possible appeal, the petitioners in the case are also concerned about the village’s charter that gives Sugar Mountain the right to annex property and to extend its extraterritorial jurisdiction (ETJ). ETJ gives a municipality the authority to plan and regulate development in areas immediately outside its corporate limits. This right was not affected by the judgment.