Lake Norman Publications

Don’t panic: flagged stakes are guides for utility crews


Flagged surveying stakes along N.C. 115 near Cornelius town hall are not signs of new development, just an outline of where future buildings could be.   Lee Sullivan

CORNELIUS – Deputy Town Manager/Planning Director Wayne Herron said he expected when new surveying stakes, topped with bright pink and white flagging, popped up on town-owned property along N.C. 115 just outside town hall, there would be questions.

And with “AVAILABLE” anchoring the wording on a long-standing real estate sign right beside a few of the stakes, an influx of inquiries – either from interested buyers or inquisitive residents – seemed more than likely.

It turns out, the first call Herron fielded was from the local newspaper, and he jumped at the chance to explain the stakes are simply setback-line reminders for utility crews burying lines as part of a project to upgrade N.C. 115.

Herron said ElectriCities crews are in the process of replacing overhead lines with underground service.

“Before they started,” Herron said, “they asked us to indicate where the front of any possible new buildings in that area could be. I asked the surveyors to indicate that line all the way from the Food Lion lot to Catawba (Avenue).”

“That’s what those stakes are,” Herron added, “and the crews came in after and sprayed a red line showing their route. But I told folks here I was sure we’d get some calls.”

The town owns the various vacant parcels along N.C. 115 north and south of the town’s Veterans Monument. But there are not active efforts to market the property.

Herron said the Electricities work represents the first phase of a long-range vision for the improvements on N.C. 115 from the Catawba Avenue intersection north to Davidson.

“Putting some lines underground is the first step of that,” he explained.

And the real estate sign, for clarification, is promoting leasable space in the shopping center anchored by the Food Lion store.

 

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