Man fights with city over sinkhole on property

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Keith Jefferson, a Charlotte homeowner, claims a city storm pipe broke creating a sink hole in his backyard.

He said he is not getting the answers he needs from the city of Charlotte and wants the pipe fixed.

His backyard is soft. The ground, wet. But after city workers came out to his property, the west Charlotte homeowner says the city will not fix the pipe since the hole is more than 10 feet from his house.

They wanted to make sure the sink hole had nothing to do with the house settling," Jefferson said. "And for me that's just like trying to say, we are not at fault."

Documents Channel 9 obtained showed the city estimates the cost to fix the pipe at nearly $60,000. But Charlotte city leaders say Jefferson's property is not one of the city's top priorities since the problem is not severe and a matter of public safety.

The city has more than 600 requests for storm water repairs. Some on that list have been waiting more than a decade.

Council asked the city manager to take a closer look at those requests in next year's budget.

The city offered Jefferson a 50/50 cost share where he could pay half of the cost of the project and it would move the request to the top of the list.

But Jefferson said it's not something he's interested in doing.

"I want it fixed, period," Jefferson said. "I want it fixed."

The city says they complete around 150 projects a year.

Staff estimates that the work required to design a solution for the sinkhole at Jefferson's home would begin two years from now.

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WSOC