2024 has been another busy year! Here’s a summary of the key issues we focused on this year and their current status.

Restoring the Correct Boundary for Odd Fellows Tract and Umstead State Park

In 1937, the federal government purchased the 209-acre PD Davis tract for inclusion in the Crabtree Creek National Recreational Demonstration Area (RDA), which later became Umstead State Park. At that time, the federal government wanted to purchase Odd Fellows, but due to its "extremely pretty and picturesque location," the land was much more expensive than other tracts. Although the government could not purchase the land initially, planning to include Odd Fellows in the park continued into the 1930s.

In 1976, RDU Airport took control of Odd Fellows, despite knowing of the public plans to include the tract in the park. The RDU land surveyor incorrectly marked the boundary and took approximately 14 acres of park land, failing to inform the State of this error. The correct boundary is shown in red on the image above. Public planning to incorporate Odd Fellows into the park continued even after RDU took control.

Importantly, the 1937 purchase by the National Park Service included a “Reverter Clause” when the land was sold to the State for $1 in 1943, ensuring that the land can ONLY be used for recreational purposes.

Current status: The Umstead Coalition is working with NC State Parks and the National Park Service to urge restoration of the correct park boundary.

Zoning for the Odd Fellows Tract and Lake Crabtree

The Odd Fellows Tract (and the 147 forested acres at Lake Crabtree County Park) was last zoned by Wake County Commissioners on March 1, 1982, to low-density residential (R-40, one residential unit per acre). In 1984, Wake County added a Highway Overlay to protect the forested lands along I-40. This zoning was upheld UNTIL the RDUAA signed a mineral lease with Wake Stone for a quarry—a prohibited use in Wake County R-40 zoning.

The Umstead Coalition asked Wake County to enforce its zoning, but the staff refused WITHOUT consulting the Wake County Commissioners. This eventually led to a hearing before the Wake County Board of Adjustments on July 9, 2024.

The RDUAA attorney argued that the Airport Layout Plan (ALP) was a ‘zoning’ document and that the RDUAA had complete authority to essentially void the Wake County Commissioners' decision. Wake County argued similarly, but clarified that this was a County staff decision (not the County Commissioners). The Umstead Coalition contends that the ALP is a "Planning Document," similar to the County or City's Comprehensive Plan, and not regulatory zoning. FAA procedures confirm that the ALP is a planning document. We further argued that Wake County still retains the authority to zone and enforce zoning on lands managed by the RDUAA.

The appointed board struggled but ultimately ruled that the RDUAA could override Wake County zoning and rely on the ALP as a zoning document. Note: The RDUAA does have a “Height Zoning Ordinance” to protect aircraft from hazards. This ordinance, enacted in compliance with NC law, is valid but limited to structure height and lighting—e.g., aircraft and navigation hazards. It is also worth noting that Wake County’s zoning was enacted at the request of the RDUAA.

Current status: The Umstead Coalition filed an appeal in Wake County Superior Court. Wake County and the RDUAA have 30 days from our filing to respond before proceeding to an Appeals hearing.

RDU Quarry Permit Denial & Appeal

All of the Umstead Coalition’s court cases are moving forward, despite numerous unsuccessful attempts to block them. We remain optimistic that there will be no quarry on the Odd Fellows Tract and that our public lands will be protected. We are encouraged by the 9,500 public comments opposing the quarry and your continued support.

Appeal of the September 8, 2023 Mining Permit:

The Umstead Coalition filed an appeal of the permit issued by DEQ after OAH Judge van der Vaart overturned DEQ’s denial. Wake Stone requested to intervene, and Judge van der Vaart agreed. Wake Stone failed to comply with discovery. We expect this case to continue in 2025 with a trial at OAH.

Request to Present Expert Testimony in Support of DEQ’s Mining Permit Denial (Cases Started in March 2022):

Our request to intervene in hearings supporting DEQ’s February 17, 2022 permit denial is now at the Appeals Court. A hearing is expected in 2025. This legal request arose when Wake Stone appealed DEQ’s denial at the Office of Administrative Hearings (OAH), where Judge van der Vaart ruled that the Umstead Coalition could not intervene, claiming we were “duplicative” of DEQ’s defense. This decision was unusual and against standard practice, which should have allowed the Umstead Coalition to be a party to the case. We are asking to retry Wake Stone’s permit denial appeal with the Umstead Coalition as a party to the case.

Crabtree Creek Bridge (Cases Started in 2020):

Wake Stone's proposed bridge over Crabtree Creek would require destroying Neuse Riparian buffers. DEQ issued an authorization (aka permit) to destroy the stream buffers in 2020, and the Umstead Coalition appealed to OAH,  a trial held, we won in September 2021-the permit was invalidated. Wake Stone reapplied in February 2022 with the same bridge design and stream impact, and DEQ issued the permit again. The Umstead Coalition appealed, arguing that practical alternatives existed to avoid impacting the riparian buffer. A six day trial was held in January-February 2023 in which the Umstead Coalition has three expert (engineers) witnesses attesting to practical alternatives that would avoid the riparian buffer.  In May 2023, OAH Judge van der Vaart revoked the permit (a win, but a reason not argued by any side), citing a lack of delegated authority by the DEQ employee who issued it. DEQ appealed to Wake County Superior Court, and in October 2023, (a win) —Judge Rozier overturned Judge van der Vaart’s ruling and sent the case back to OAH to rule on the merits.

On April 1, 2024 (yup, more and a year after the contested trial), Judge van der Vaart ruled that the Buffer Authorization was valid, claiming that the Buffer Rules were “not clear and unambiguous” and therefore could not be enforced (another issue not raised by either party) and barely acknowledging our expert witnesses. Wake Stone did not request to intervene and is not a party in this legal case.

Current status: Both DEQ and the Umstead Coalition have appealed Judge van der Vaart’s April 1, 2024 ruling. DEQ argues that the rules are clear, and the staff permit approver was qualified to determine that no alternative analysis was necessary (without even asking Wake Stone). The Umstead Coalition agrees that the rules are clear, but argues that Wake Stone should have been required to conduct an alternative analysis. A hearing at Wake County Superior Court, Wake County Court House, room 10B (10th floor) will be Thursday or Friday this week (to be determined Wednesday morning). We will update our calendar of events when we learn the time and day of the hearing.

Sunset Clause Lawsuit and Protective Buffer Reductions (case started in 2018):

The current Wake Stone Triangle Quarry, adjacent to Umstead State Park, had its original Mining Permit 92‐10 approved in 1981 with a 50-year Sunset Clause and protective Park and stream buffers. After 50 years, in 2031, Wake Stone was to donate the pit to the State, and all mining operations would cease.

Wake Stone accepted permit renewals and modifications without objections to the Sunset Clause for 37 years. In 2018, without public notice, the Wake Stone Mining Permit was changed to eliminate the Sunset Clause, remove the undisturbed protections along the Creek and the Park, and reduce the protective buffers along Crabtree Creek by 30 feet.

In July 2022, after DEQ continued to "evaluate" the Umstead Coalition’s request to reinstate the Sunset Clause with no action, the Umstead Coalition filed a lawsuit to reinstate the 50-year Sunset Clause on the existing Wake Stone Triangle Quarry and restore the undisturbed buffers promised to protect Umstead State Park. If the Sunset Clause is restored, the RDU Quarry would not be feasible.

In 2023, various court filings and hearings in a complex legal process transpired — DEQ, Wake Stone, and OAH Judge van der Vaart tried to prevent us from going to trial on the merits, while the Umstead Coalition fought to have the trial proceed. Judge Holcomb summed it up: "The complaint filed by the Plaintiff (the Umstead Coalition) concerns modifications of significant interest to the parties and the public-at-large." After a hearing before Superior Court Judge John W. Smith on December 7, 2023, he overruled van der Vaart and remanded our case back to OAH to force a hearing on the merits.

Finally, after six years of efforts to prevent the Umstead Coalition’s case from being heard on the merits, the Umstead Coalition had a six-day contested trial on the merits (June 18 to July 1, 2024) at OAH before the reluctant Judge van der Vaart. Wake Stone did not ask to intervene and was not a party to the trial, although the State called a retired owner of Wake Stone as a surprise witness.

Current status: As of December 1, 2024, we have been waiting for five months since the trial for a ruling from OAH Judge van der Vaart.

New Mountain Bike & Pedestrian Park at RDU

Wake County’s Bike & Pedestrian Park opened in late December 2022 as a lease between Wake County and RDUAA. “286 East” is a 151-acre tract located east of Haley’s Branch and west of the East Coast Greenway (aka Old Reedy Creek Road), just across from the Odd Fellows Tract. One of the conditions set by Wake County was no fence along Haley’s Branch (Wake County Commissioners resumed their opposition to such a fence). This lease has no ties to the proposed quarry — if you hear Wake Stone or anyone else claim otherwise, know it is simply untrue. The two Wake County appointees to the RDUAA Board confirmed at their December Board meeting that the lease had no mention or ties to the proposed quarry.

We are excited to share that Wake County and NC State Parks are working on an agreement that would add new mountain bike and pedestrian trails in adjacent lands within Umstead State Park! We are urging this to happen soon and expect a public workshop on a draft Master Plan in early 2025.

Umstead Coalition Events & Projects

We held several successful events in 2024, and we want to thank everyone who attended. A huge thank you goes to our volunteers, as well as the Umstead Rangers and staff — we couldn’t have done all of this without you!

Here’s a look at what we accomplished:

• 30th Walk/Run/Bike for Umstead:
  Special thanks to Mary Walton for the generous use of her pasture (a site the Umstead Coalition saved from a proposed highway through our park), TORC and Old North Cycling for the bike tours, Carolina Godiva Track Club for timing the 4-mile race, and all the wonderful vendors who participated!

• Photo & Illustration Contests:
  We hosted an in-person exhibition to celebrate the winners of our 2024 contests. Next year’s contest opens in January.

• 2025 Calendar:
  We produced a calendar featuring the winners of our photo and illustration contests. It’s available for purchase at the Park Visitor Center, Great Outdoor Provision Company, and the Umstead Coalition’s online shop.

• Native Plant Sales:
  We held successful Spring and Fall native plant sales.

• Volunteer Workdays:
  We organized several volunteer workdays, including efforts in the forested rain gardens and butterfly gardens.
  We also held workdays to restore the historic Sycamore Mess Hall, including a special September 11 Remembrance Day event.

• Park Boundary Restoration:
  We continued working to restore the correct boundary between the Odd Fellows Tract and Umstead State Park.

• Hike Series:
  We led a series of hikes along the border of Umstead State Park and the Odd Fellows Tract, focusing on topics like tree identification, geology, mushrooms, and park history.
  A family-friendly naturalist hike and Park protection hike were also included. You can find upcoming hikes on our Meetup page.

• Park Ranger Environmental Education Support:
  We continued to support the Park Ranger environmental education programs.

• Fight Against the Proposed RDU Quarry:
  We kept up our efforts to stop the proposed RDU Quarry.

• 90th Umstead Birthday Bash:
  We celebrated the 90th birthday of Umstead State Park with a festive event at the Sycamore Mess Hall.