New land swap proposal between RDU and Umstead State Park
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- A new land swap proposal between Raleigh-Durham International Airport and Umstead State Park is catching many off guard.
An amendment to Senate Bill 486, introduced last week in the General Assembly, gives RDU's Airport Authority hundreds of acres in and around Umstead State Park, including more than 230 acres off Blue Ridge Road and Old Reedy Creek Road, miles from airport property.
Click here to read Senate Bill 486
In exchange, the state would get nearly 390 acres of RDU property, including Lake Crabtree.
The move comes despite RDU's '2040 Vision,' the airport's master plan for future growth unveiled earlier this month.
"We are now evaluating the legislation and have not had the opportunity to conduct the due diligence we would on a similar project," said RDU Communications Director Mindy Hamlin, who just learned about the amendment last week.
Umstead Coalition chairperson Jean Spooner supports RDU's 2040 Vision but fears the bill could skirt the planning process.
"The trees in our trails are our biggest assets, and so to lose these tracts of land and our forested areas for our trail system would not be in concert with our existing park master plan," said Spooner.
Spooner admits the bill has some positive qualities. The proposal keeps Lake Crabtree County Park in tact with room for future expansion.
"Anything that we can do to protect that asset that can improve that asset and possibly expand that asset is something that we're going to be keenly interested in," said Wake County Commissioner Sig Hutchinson.
The bill is currently stalled in the Senate Rules Committee.
In a statement to ABC11, Senate Rules Committee chairman Tom Apodaca said:
Turns out the Trails Act has led back to the Senate Rules Committee - the hospice of the Senate - where it can receive appropriate end-of-life care.
