TO: Mayor and Members of City Council
THRU: Michael Gibson, Interim Assistant City Manager
FROM: Sheila Thomas-Ambat, Public Services Director
DATE: March 23, 2026
RE:Title
Consider Resolution Accepting Donation of Property on Rogers Drive
Title
end
end
COUNCIL DISTRICT(S):
Council District(s)
2
b
Relationship To Strategic Plan:
Desirable Place to Live, Work and Recreate
Executive Summary:
The City of Fayetteville recently began construction on the Lyon and Ivy Road Drainage Improvement Project; however, one additional easement is still needed. As part of the acquisition effort, the City contacted the owner of Parcel ID 0428-42-2700 to negotiate the purchase of both a temporary construction easement and a permanent drainage easement. Instead of granting the easements, the property owner expressed interest in donating the entire parcel to the City.
This item was presented to the City Council during the May 5, 2025 Work Session (Item 6.05) as a Councilmember request. At that time, Council reached consensus to accept the donation of the property. A formal resolution is now required for Council to formally accept the donation.
Background:
The Lyon & Ivy Road Drainage Improvement Project includes upgrades to the existing culverts at Lyon Road and Ivy Road to increase conveyance capacity and help alleviate upstream flooding. The proposed improvements include replacing the existing dual 6-foot span by 4-foot rise concrete box culverts with larger single box culverts, providing additional embedment to allow for aquatic species passage, and lowering the invert of the culvert at Ivy Road to improve connection to the streambed. The project also includes modifications and stabilization of the stream banks to reduce erosion and improve flood flow capacity. These improvements include bank armoring, riprap stabilization, and benching of the stream bank to enhance connectivity to the floodplain. Overall, the project is intended to reduce the risk of flooding within the City’s right-of-way while also providing the added benefit of protecting nearby residential structures from flood damage and improving the overall function and stability of Eutaw Creek.
The City has been awarded a North Carolina Department of Public Safety (NCDPS) Disaster Relief and Mitigation Grant in the amount of $3,500,000 for this project and recently received additional funding in the amount of $910,000 from the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality (NCDEQ) through the Flood Resiliency Blueprint initiative. In total, $4,410,000 in grant funding has been secured for this mitigation project.
To facilitate construction, easements were required from approximately 11 private property owners. All but one of the required easements have been acquired. When the owner of Parcel ID 0428-42-2700 was contacted regarding the purchase of both a temporary construction easement and a permanent drainage easement, the owner declined and instead offered to donate the entire parcel to the City.
Issues/Analysis:
Parcel 0428-42-2700 is a vacant 2.5-acre (108,900 square foot) property. To facilitate installation of a larger culvert under Ivy Road as part of the project, the City only needs to acquire a 0.05-acre (2,471 square foot) Temporary Construction Easement (TCE) and a 0.036-acre (1,593 square foot) Permanent Drainage Easement (PDE). The City offered the property owner $300 in compensation for both easements.
There is no operational benefit to the City in accepting a donation of the entire parcel, as no improvements or modifications to the property are planned that would provide additional stormwater mitigation benefits to the surrounding community beyond the proposed easements.
As part of the City’s due diligence, Regional Environmental PLLC was contracted to conduct a Phase I Environmental Site Assessment. The assessment found that the property has remained undeveloped since at least 1938 and was not identified in environmental regulatory databases. Several nearby sites within a half-mile were identified, including locations listed in the Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) database and the Dry-Cleaning Solvent Cleanup Act (DSCA) program. After further evaluation, most of these sites were determined not to pose a concern due to regulatory closure, distance, or groundwater modeling indicating contaminants would not migrate to the property. However, six nearby sites remain potential concerns, including a former LUST site on Lewis Street and a cluster of dry-cleaning facilities located more than 1,500 feet away, where contamination has been detected in groundwater and surface water connected to the same tributary that crosses the subject property.
The assessment also identified the potential presence of PFAS compounds, including PFOS and PFOA, in groundwater in the surrounding area as a recognized environmental condition (REC), particularly given their recent designation as hazardous substances under CERCLA. Past agricultural activity in the area may have also introduced pesticides or herbicides to soils; however, this condition was considered de minimis and typical of historic farming practices. Overall, the assessment identified three potential RECs associated with the property: possible petroleum contamination in groundwater from a nearby heating oil tank release, potential dry-cleaning solvent contamination in surface water or sediments from nearby facilities, and the potential presence of PFAS compounds in groundwater. Based on these findings, Regional Environmental recommended additional investigation to determine whether hazardous substances or petroleum products may be present on the property.
With City Council previously providing consensus to accept the property during the May 5, 2025 Work Session, this analysis is provided for informational purposes only.
Budget Impact:
The property will no longer be on the tax rolls. There is no other impact to the General Fund. The Stormwater Enterprise Fund will be responsible for costs associated with this project and any related actions.
Options:
1. Approve the Resolution Accepting Donation of Property on Rogers Drive.
2. Do not approve the Resolution Accepting Donation of Property on Rogers Drive and provide further directions to staff.
Recommended Action::Recommended Action
Staff will not be providing a formal recommendation regarding acceptance of the property, as doing so would conflict with Council’s prior direction.
end
Attachments:
Resolution Accepting Donation of Property on Rogers Drive
Easement Exhibit