The Royal Oak Concerned Citizens Association case against Brunswick County was resolved on June 16, 2014 with the County’s approval of the settlement agreement. See the Star News article from June 18, 2014 for more information about the settlement.
The UNC Center for Civil Rights initiated the lawsuit in Brunswick County Superior Court in June 2011 and subsequently joined forces with the Fair Housing Project of Legal Aid of NC and pro bono attorney Ray Owens of Higgins & Owens in Charlotte, to represent the Royal Oak Concerned Citizens Association (ROCCA) and three individual plaintiffs in this environmental justice case filed under the North Carolina Fair Housing Act. The procedural impetus for filing the action occurred when the County bought and rezoned from Rural Residential to Industrial General two parcels of land adjacent to the County’s current landfills, all of which have been and continue to be located in the historic African American community of Royal Oak. Public information related to the litigation, including pleadings and orders, can be accessed on the website of the UNC Center for Civil Rights.
ROCCA’s members are happy that the land will be used not for a landfill, but for a new school, and they look forward to continuing to work with Brunswick County for the economic development of all the county’s residents and communities.
