SOUTHPORT, N.C. (WECT) –

Since Southport annexed it in 2007, the area bordering Sunny Point and Boiling Spring Lakes has been the site of many proposed development projects. In 2016, city leaders thought about using it for a wastewater treatment plant. In 2022, the city thought about leasing or selling the land to Polote Mining for sand and clay extraction. All of these projects were dropped because of environmental impacts and pushback from citizens.

Last March, the city entered into a year-long contract with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) so they could conserve the land. However, the commission has to accomplish several things within the year before the contract can be finalized. At a February meeting, a spokesperson with the commission said they still had to secure a clear deed, complete a land survey, and get the state attorney general’s office to release the approved $637,575 in grant funding.

When they asked for a contract extension, Southport’s Board of Aldermen voted 4-3 to deny that extension. They said the deadline will remain March 21, 2025.

For Terry Duff, who lives about 150 yards from the 400+ acres, this vote set off some alarm bells.

“After 3/21, then the city can do whatever other endeavor they may or may want to do with that property,” Duff said. ”It’s back to some other endeavor that won’t bode well for the environment, won’t bode well for anybody on Bethel Road, and won’t bode well for the people that live in this community [Winding Creek subdivision]. It’s an environmentally fragile ecosystem. The number of endangered species, whether they be amphibians, aviary, and plants….once that acreage is destroyed in that ecosystem, that biosphere, you can never get it back.”

Duff said he’s fought off many of the proposed development projects in the past, and thought the contract with the NCWRC would put an end to any future development attempts.

“Based on the history, there have been numerous issues that the city attempted to do with that property, and none of those were healthy decisions with the exception of the NCWRC acquisition,” Duff said. “Once it’s done with the NCWRC, I’ll use the analogy of putting the wooden stake in the vampire’s heart. Hopefully, that’s the end of it, right? And I think it would be.”

WECT reached out to all six Southport Aldermen to get their perspective on the issue. We heard back from two.

Alderman Frank Lai said he only voted against the contract extension to put pressure on the commission to get done what they were supposed to in the year since the contract was signed. He said his message to them was “You have had a year to get the job done. Show some progress. Move along with the holdups.”

Meanwhile, Alderman Lowe Davis told us in a statement:

“I am very much in favor of conserving that land. I have always voted in favor of conserving it. It is pointless to think about selling it to a developer. It is undevelopable. You can’t build anything on it. My only concern was that NCWRC allows hunting. I wanted to see if any other conservation groups would take the land on, but none of them are able to do that. NCWRC is the best option and I plan on voting in favor of continuing the contract.”

At Southport’s next Board of Aldermen meeting on Thursday, the NCWRC is supposed to give a presentation on whether or not they’ve made any progress towards securing the deed, grant funding, and completing the land survey. If they have completed it, then they will get to conserve the land. If not, it’s likely they could ask for another extension and the issue could be up for a vote again.

“This has been a 10-year Orwellian nightmare,” Duff said. “It’s part of the city proper. Yet we in our community, 150 yards away, are not voting citizens. We live outside the city limits. At the end of the day, we need action, we need closure.”

The meeting is at 6 p.m. at the Southport Community Center.

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