Chapel Hill hopes to buy flood-damaged condominiums

The town of Chapel Hill wants to purchase Camelot Village Condominiums — a community damaged by floods six times in the past 30 years.

The condominiums were built on a flood plain before there were flood regulations.

“Now they would not be allowed to be built as they are,” Deputy Fire Chief Robert Bosworth said. “The condos would have to be built on piers, like houses at the beach.”

In 2009, Bosworth said a tropical storm caused flood damage at Camelot Village. FEMA declared it as an emergency, and federal money was used for recovery.

After Chapel Hill was flooded again in June, more than half the units suffered severe flood damage.

“I have been working in Chapel Hill for five years, and this flood certainly produced the greatest amount of damage,” Ken Pennoyer, the town’s business management director, said.

The Chapel Hill Town Hall and Airport Gardens were also affected by the June flood.

Insurance won’t cover a large amount of the damage from this summer’s flooding. The estimated cost of repairs for the Town Hall is $679,576 and insurance will pay $267,092.

Because the Camelot Village area serves as a recurring problem for the town, Bosworth said the town wants to buy the land and turn it into a place that would not pose a danger for others.

The condominiums are private property, so the government cannot force people to sell them.

“We first have to talk to the owners of the properties to see if they would be interested in a buyout,” Bosworth said. “We can use a state grant to buy out the properties that are recurring problems.”

All of the condominium owners have to agree to the buyout before any further action can be taken. They then need 75 percent of the Camelot Village Owners Association must agree to sell the town a portion of the land.

“If all the land was bought, we would have to turn it into a park or greenway,” Bosworth said. “This would reduce future flood danger for residents.”

Bosworth said they originally tried a buyout in 2009.

According to a letter from Town Manager Roger Stancil to the North Carolina Division of Emergency Management, the buyout failed because the town could not garner enough support from residents and the owners.

“We could never get enough owners to be willing to sell because most don’t even live in Chapel Hill,” Bosworth said. “Four to five of them even lived in England at the time.”

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