Hearing set July 22 on 751 South lawsuit
The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina)
July 15, 2011 Friday
Copyright 2011 The News & Observer (Raleigh, North Carolina) All Rights Reserved

Length: 388 words
Byline: Jim Wise

Staff writer
Dateline: DURHAM

Body
A court hearing July 22 could put an end to a lawsuit over the proposed 751 South development.
A group of property owners near the 751 South site are suing Durham County over a ruling that their protest
petition, which could have blocked a rezoning for the project last year, had been invalidated.
Attorneys for Durham County and Southern Durham Development have filed a motion for summary judgment,
acknowledging they do not contest facts in the suit and request that it be considered only as a matter of law, said
Bryan Wardell, a lawyer with the County Attorney's office.
The hearing is scheduled at 10 a.m. at the Durham County Judicial Building, said Cal Cunningham, a WinstonSalem attorney and former state Senator who is representing Southern Durham Development.
Cunningham declined to discuss details of the case, but Lewis Cheek, a Durham attorney who has represented
Southern Durham Development in other matters, said, "It could determine the outcome."
Dhamian Blue, the Raleigh attorney for the plaintiffs, could not be reached for comment.
A county motion to dismiss the property owners' lawsuit was denied in March. The suit appeals a decision by
County Attorney Lowell Siler.
Opponents of the 751 South rezoning filed a petition, ruled valid by the Durham City-County Planning Department,
that would have required a 4-1 "supermajority" county commissioners' vote to approve the rezoning.
Before the commissioners' vote, Southern Durham Development donated a strip of land to the state along N.C.
751. The donation moved the company's property line beyond the area affected by the petition. After learning that
the donation affected a local political issue, the N.C. Department of Transportation revoked its acceptance.
Siler ruled that the state had no authority to do so, although several legal authorities, including the state Attorney
General's office, advised otherwise.
If completed, 751 South could include up to 1,300 residences, 300,000 square feet each of office and retail space
and 150,000 square feet of "civic floor area" on N.C. 751 near the Chatham County line.
The project has been an object of fierce contention for three years, over its possible environmental effects and the
process by which it has been maneuvered through planning, review and approval processes.

Akela Lacy

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Hearing set July 22 on 751 South lawsuit
jim.wise@newsobserver.com or 919-932-2004

Classification
Language: ENGLISH

Publication-Type: Newspaper

Subject: SUITS & CLAIMS (91%); LAWYERS (91%); COUNTY GOVERNMENT (91%); LAW COURTS &
TRIBUNALS (90%); ZONING (90%); LEGISLATIVE BODIES (90%); COUNTIES (90%); LITIGATION (90%);
PETITIONS (90%); US STATE GOVERNMENT (88%); APPEALS (78%); APPROVALS (78%); DECISIONS &
RULINGS (78%); PROTESTS & DEMONSTRATIONS (77%); ATTORNEYS GENERAL (73%); PLATFORMS &
ISSUES (65%)

Industry: LAWYERS (91%); ZONING (90%); REAL ESTATE (90%); (90%); OFFICE PROPERTY (78%)

Geographic: DURHAM, NC, USA (93%); WINSTON-SALEM, NC, USA (79%); RALEIGH, NC, USA (58%)

Load-Date: July 18, 2011

End of Document

Akela Lacy