The Lake Davidson Working Committee meets again Tuesday morning to talk about possible new limits on boating and development at the tiny lake. But the meeting could be the committee’s last: Two Mooresville commissioners on the panel have asked for a vote at the Mooresville town board meeting Tuesday night on whether to drop out of the group.
That means competing visions for the future of Lake Davidson could go unresolved, at least for now.
Davidson officials say they are still hoping to work out an agreement with Mooresville. “I hope we can find a suitable compromise that will help everyone with some of their needs,” Davidson Mayor John Woods said late Monday.
The working committee is scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. Tuesday at Davidson Town Hall, 216 S. Main St. The Mooresville Board of Commissioners meets Tuesday at 6 p.m. at Mooresville town hall.
Davidson had asked Mooresville to consider joining it in a two-town agreement regulating boating and development around the 341-acre lake, which lies east of I-77 between the two towns.
Mooresville Commissioner Frank Rader said Monday afternoon that he and fellow commissioner Miles Atkins were asked to join the committee to work on the so-called interlocal agreement. But the agreement as originally proposed by Davidson includes restrictions on boating, something he believes is beyond Mooresville’s jurisdiction.
So the two men are recommending that Mooresville drop out of the committee. But they also acknowledged that growth and long-term water-quality are concerns for both towns. They agree that Mooresville should require 100-foot no-construction “buffers” around the lake. And they are recommending that the two town staffs continue to work together to enforce no-wake zones on the lake and cooperate on other issues.
“You have to understand that our charter from Mooresville was to look specifically at the interlocal (agreement),” Mr. Rader told DavidsonNews.net Monday afternoon. “I don’t feel that the town of Mooresville has water jurisdiction.”
Davidson officials say at least nine different government bodies or agencies oversee various aspects of the lake. Davidson officials have said in the past they believe Davidson has the right to regulate zoning on the lakefront. The town has enacted planning ordinance changes that require community (not individual) boat piers and limit the size of motors on boats docked inside the town limits to less than 10 horsepower. But the town has not enforced the rules.
Mr. Rader pointed to a letter from the director of the Lake Norman Marine Commission to Davidson officials last month which declared , “We don’t believe the Town of Davidson has the authority to impose (horsepower) limitations on the boats that use Lake Davidson.”
“What we’re asking the Mooresville commissioners to do its essentially give us further direction,” Mr. Rader said Monday. “We are telling them that Mooresville has no jurisdiction on the water that we can see.”
Citizens had aired their concerns at a Sept. 3 public hearing in Mooresville, where water skiers and owners of boats with large motors opposed a Davidson’s proposal to limit boat motors to less than 10 horsepower. Supporters of passive recreation, such as swimming, canoeing and kayaking had made their pitch for stricter boating rules to ensure safety on the lake.
In a note to fellow commissioners over the weekend about the Lake Davidson issue, Mr. Rader said Mooresville commissioners should drop out of participation in the Lake Davidson working committee. He also said the town staff should continue and enhance “engagement with those who have jurisdiction” and pursue tightened zoning standards in the area.
He also suggested that the board could decide to expand his and Mr. Atkins’ scope beyond consideration of the interlocal agreement. That way, the two could remain members of the Lake Davidson Commission with an “expanded mission of contributing to the discussion of water activity on Lake Davidson, though not regulating it.”
Mr. Rader had said after the Sept. 3 meeting that he was unsure whether the towns should tighten regulations on boating, an activity that has been allowed since the lake was created 45 years ago. This week, he said it’s not Mooresville’s decision.
“Since we don’t have jurisdiction, whether we allow 10 horsepower or 400 power, it’s not up to us to decide,” Mr. Rader said.
With growth around the lake continuing, and at least one large housing development approved for the northern Mooresville side of the lake, Davidson officials have been hoping to persuade Mooresville to join it in looking at tighter regulations. They say the two towns need to work together to ensure water quality and safety as the area grows and lake use expands.
DOCUMENTS AND PREVIOUS COVERAGE
Sept. 9, 2008, report and recommendations from Commissioners Rader and Atkins to Mooresville Town Board on Lake Davidson, CLICK HERE>
Sept. 4, 2008, “Speakers argue for and against Lake Davidson limits”
Aug. 14, 2008, Letter from Lake Norman Marine Commission to Town of Davidson, (PDF) CLICK HERE>
The responsibility of regulating Lake Davidson should fall in the lap of the owner of the lake. If Duke Power owns the lake, then they should regulate what goes on. I know that historically the town of Davidson has tried to regulate, but in order to do so, we would have to be able to regulate from the water as well as from the land. Mooresville commissioners are partially right in saying that they may or may not have the right to control what happens on the lake. Why not let the owner of record work with local towns in order to come up with a solution. Our local towns have enough on their collective plates dealing with problems that are just as important but more relevant than governing outside their expanding “ETJ”.