Dozens of community members gathered Saturday to protest a proposed gas station complex and hotel for 104 acres in Efland, sharing their concerns about the project ahead of a public hearing next Tuesday.
Standing at the Orange County Historical Courthouse in Hillsborough, protesters held signs and sang chants to share their opposition to the proposed Efland Station development, which could bring a Buc-ee’s Travel Center to land off Interstate 40. Submitted by the law firm Nelson Mullins in August, the proposal aims to bring a hotel, a bank, office space and a restaurant in addition to the gas station and convenience store.
Hillsborough resident Del Ward helped organize Saturday’s event. Living less than two miles away from the plot, he said he sees the proposal as a land rights and water rights issue since Efland Station would be on the Eno Protected Watershed. Despite the Texas-based gas station chain expecting to bring up to 200 new jobs to the area, Ward said he believes the plan to install six 40,000-gallon underground storage tanks for gasoline makes Buc-ee’s a poor fit for the area.
“I’d love it if nothing got built there, but I know that’s not going to happen,” he told Chapelboro. “But as to why it needs to be a development that’s going to dig massive gasoline reservoirs into a protected watershed is beyond me. As to why it’s going to be the world’s largest gas station that’s only bringing 160 jobs, that is 1.6 jobs per acre. That’s nothing.”
Protesters, including the Raging Grannies group, stand outside the Orange County Historical Courthouse on Saturday, December 5, advocating against the proposed Efland Station project. (Dakota Moyer/Chapelboro.com)
Throughout Saturday’s protests, speakers on the steps of the courthouse spoke to the potential environmental impact, traffic impact and proximity to homes. Additionally, many speakers advocated for residents to write to county commissioners to make sure the board is aware of how they feel.
“This is our home and we want the Board of Commissioners to listen to us,” said Ward. “We need to let them know we do not want the world’s largest gas station built on a protected watershed that feeds into our water supply. We don’t want to have more traffic in a small town environment like this when we’ve got the Research Triangle Logstics Park that’s being built and will already congest this town.”
Tuesday December 15 will provide Orange County residents the first time to submit public comment on Efland Station to the county commissioners. It will also be the first time the board will officially receive a presentation on the project application from county staff and developers.
Chair of the Orange County Commissioners Penny Rich recently spoke to 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck about the project. She said the county planning board reviewed the application in November to see if its elements fit with the county’s requirements, but county commissioners have not yet shared views on Efland Station.
“The county commissioners have not received the presentation yet, the planning board has,” said Rich. “That’s the process: the planning board received it, the planning board voted unanimously to approve it and so now it’s coming to the county commissioners on the 15th. Because it’s a virtual meeting, they won’t be able to vote on it on the 15th, it’s going to have to come back [during] the first meeting in January.”
A map of the proposed Efland Station development, which covers 104 acres and would include a Buc-ee’s Travel Center. (Photo courtesy of the Orange County government.)
Rich, who officially left the Board of Commissioners Monday night, will not be among the commissioners voting on the project. But she said she’s heard constructive comments from those for Efland Station and those against it.
“Any time there is a development that happens in Orange County, you get a lot of people interested,” she said. “Both sides have some really good comments and it’s going to be up to the county commissioners to weigh it in at the public hearing. I cannot tell you which way is going to go because I [haven’t] heard the presentation, but we’ll follow along and see what happens.”
The Orange County Board of Commissioners meeting for Tuesday, December 15, is slated to begin at 7 p.m. More information on the Efland Station project application can be found on the county government’s website.
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