20190568 Ver 1_DWR Appeal Request_20190425

Official Appeal for 2505 York D r
Date: April 25, 2019
Attn: Ms. Karen Higgins, DWR
Dear Ms. Higgins,
As the 2 adjacent property owners to 2505 York Rd., Raleigh, NC we would like to officially
send you this request to appeal the determination made by your office in Letter
NBRRO#14-087, dated 3/18/2014. We realise that this letter has recently expired; however it
states that adjacent owners and affected parties have 60 days to appeal from the date of
notification of this letter. We were never notified of this letter at the time it was issued. We
discovered it online approx. 3 weeks ago, so we feel we are legitimate in our right to request an
appeal.
The property referenced, 2505 York, was officially subdivided by owner, Bryan Benton. AFTER
your determination was made and the property in question is now 2503 York. At the time of your
determination, and as neighbors, we saw Mr. Benton actively try to hide the Spring/Stream by
keeping it covered with wood chips to deceive you into not being able to visibly see it. We have
all seen the wet area that continuously bubbled up on 2505 York for over 20 years. He was
successful in his deception, because you issued the above letter that states there is no visible
stream, even though it was located on your Soil Survey attached to the letter. We appeal that
decision, as we have seen and believe there is a water source of some kind there.
With the DWR's determination, he was able to subdivide and the survey of the new property.
2503 York, no longer shows the Spring whereas it was shown on the original survey of 2505
York. With the new survey he was then able to obtain building permits a few months ago. The
City of Raleigh had no idea of the water issue on this lot when approving his permits.
Now that excavation has started, we can see multiple streams of water in various places that
flow continuously and form pools of water. We have sent photos and videos of this to several
City officials, including yourself. The builder has already started to actively covered these up..
but they pop up in other places. We fear if he puts a house over this, the water will find it's way
to other adjacent properties. Also, there will be major issues for for the future owners of this
house.
After many discussions with the City of Raleigh Stormwater and Engineering Depts, they have
told us that only a determination by the DWR over a jurisdictional stream could potentially put a
halt to this project. Since construction is underway, this appeal is time -sensitive because as the
home goes up, this water may no longer be visible to you. So, by way of this appeal, we
respectfully request that this water be re-evaluated immediately.

We spoke to Shelton Sullivan of your office today and after that conversation we got the
that he is not sure of what is there and whose jurisdiction it might come under. He mentioned
the US Army Corp of Engineers. The folks at Stormwater told us the USACOE were unlikely to
be involved as this was a smaller residential lot. We are confused and sensing that a new
determination might take a long time. Therefore, I asked Mr. Sullivan if someone from the DWR
could look at the situation tomorrow or Monday to see the water while it is still visible. If they
feel there is something there of concern, then maybe we could get the project halted until a
complete evaluation is made. He said he would consult with you, but we did not hear the result.
In summary, we feel the DWR was deceived by Mr. Benton in hiding the water you were
evaluating in 2014 and we feel the City of Raleigh Permit Dept, was deceived by Mr. Benton by
pursuing permits and non -disclosure of the water on his proposed building site. We look forward
to your prompt action on this appeal and request to re -inspect the excavation at 2503 York. We
would appreciate coordination with one of us during that inspection.
Respectfully submitted,
Lynn & Jan van Dokkum
2500 Lewis Farm Rd., Raleigh, NC 27608
919-606-0099
vandokkum(c-)gmail.com
Nancy & Darren Brewer
2501 York Rd., Raleigh, NC 27608
336-255-6590
njkbrewer(o�yahoo. com