- I can't find Seven Devils on my map. How do you
get there?
Coming from Boone, go South on Highway 105 (toward Banner Elk). Go 6 miles,
to Foscoe. At the (only) Exxon station turn right on Seven Devils Road. Town
Hall is on your right, approximately one mile up the hill. If you're looking
for a certain road, check out the maps section of this website; we have directions
to all Seven Devils streets posted there.
- What's your address?
The mailing address (and street address) for Town Hall is 1356 Seven Devils
Road, Seven Devils, NC 28604. Our telephone number is 828/963-5343. The
FAX number is 828/963-7418. We are working on setting up a generic e-mail
address for the Town. For the present, contact us via e-mail at 7devilsclerk@charterinternet.com.
- How do we arrange to get our mail delivered?
You need to contact the Banner Elk Post Office at 898-4334. They are the
folks who receive and deliver Seven Devils mail.
- I want to cut down some trees in my yard but
someone told me that no trees in Seven Devils can be cut, ever.
Is that true?
The Town is currently reviewing the Tree Protection Ordinance. Meanwhile,
some folks have some misconceptions about what the Ordinance says. The goal
of the Ordinance is to prevent indiscriminant clear-cutting and severe, tree-killing “topping.” The
Ordinance itself states, “The intent is not punitive, or to cause hardship
to any individual, private firm or agency who uses every care and diligence
to protect trees within the Town.” The ordinance does not prevent small
tree removal (6 inches in diameter, measured at 4.5 feet above the ground).
It does not prevent tree removal for safety, construction, trees located
within ten feet around the perimeter of a building and related driveway/parking
area, or when tree crowding prevents desirable tree growth.
Yes, a tree-cutting permit is required, but it is free and painless. Quoting
the Ordinance again, the objective of the tree permit procedure “is
to encourage the protection and replacement of trees consistent with the
economic and healthful enjoyment of private property.” If you need
a tree permit contact Don Fulkerson, the Town’s Zoning Administrator.
He will come to your house or lot to discuss tree-cutting and issue the permit.
His hours are Monday, Wednesday, & Friday, 10-5.
- We've moved. How do we get our address changed?
Call our office (828/963-5343) and we'll take care of the change for your
water bill. You need to call the Watauga County (828/265-8036) or Avery
County (828/733-8228) Tax Office to have the Property Tax bill changed
to the new address; we do not change tax bill addresses in our office.
- Can you turn off our water while we're away?
Yes. Call our office (828/963-5343) and we'll be happy to do that for you.
There's no charge for the first time we turn the water on & off in
a calendar year. After that it costs $10.00 for each "cycle" (on & off).
That's minimal compared to the cost of a having a burst pipe and running
water for days or weeks. Also, we put a lock on the meter when it's turned
off so that nobody can access your water without permission. Please give
us two or three (or more) days notice so that we can be sure it's done
on time --- remember, our Public Works men have a lot of things to take
care of!
- What's going on with these 911 numbers?
Our goal was to have all of the houses in Seven Devils in compliance by the
end of June, 2004, with the State Statutes on signage for emergency vehicles.
How you brought your house into compliance was up to you. We have numbers
available for free at Town Hall. We also have signs you can order ($15
for the sign alone, $50 for the sign w/ a pole; we'll install it for free).
If you chose to do something else, as long as you wound up in compliance,
that was fine.
There were three areas that had to be addressed:
The numbers have to be at least 3 1/2 inches tall.
The numbers have to reflect light.
The numbers have to be located so that they can be easily seen and identified
with your house.
Something to remember if you put your numbers on your mailbox is the amount
of snow we get here in the winter; the numbers need to be at least three
feet off the ground, so that they can be seen over the drifted or plowed
snow.
- Does the Town pick up garbage?
No. If you call us (828/963-5343) our Public Works crew can pick up a reasonable
amount of brush and leaves if you did the work yourself (if a contractor
or "tree guy" did the cutting, he is responsible for cleaning
up after himself). No large branches, no construction materials, no garbage.
You have to take care of those yourself. There are several private trash
collection companies in the area. A Watauga County dumpster/recycling site
is a short distance away (at the bottom of the hill on Hwy. 105, turn left
toward Boone. The site is about a quarter of a mile up the road, across
from Gallery 9). It is open Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday, 6:30
am - 7:30 pm (approximately - the hours are shortened in the winter).
The Watauga County Landfill is on Landfill Road, off Hwy. 421, on the far
side of Boone. It is open Monday through Friday 8-4, Saturday 8-noon. If
you pay Watauga County property taxes you can bring up to 1 ton of old furniture,
appliances, construction materials, etc. per household per year. You need
to bring your Driver's License with you (along with your Seven Devils address)
so they can enter you into their computer system. (Note: If you have not
brought anything to the landfill in a year, your name will be purged from
the system and you will have to re-register on your next trip.) Their phone
number is 264-5305.
- How do I get a burning permit?
You need to come by Town Hall and talk to the Police Officer on duty. The
Police Department issues burning permits. By the way --- if you get a burning
permit you need to use it that day. Technically, if you get it, don't use
it, and burn your brush at some later date "using" that permit,
that's a misdemeanor.
- Who scrapes Seven Devils roads in the winter?
Seven Devils Road and Skyland Drive are State Roads - NC DOT crews are responsible
for keeping them clear in the winter (incidentally -- they use salt). The
Lakes Community uses private contractors to clear their roads in the winter.
All the other roads in Seven Devils are taken care of by our Public Works
men. Salt is not used by our workers.
- I want to build a house on my lot. Who do I
talk to?
Don Fulkerson is our Code Enforcement Officer and Building Inspector. He
is in Town Hall Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 10 to 5. He is your
first point of contact to find out about the building requirements and permits
you will have to have. You can read our Zoning Ordinance to get a preview
of the regulations you will need to know about. Once you have a building
permit, if you make any changes in the building plan or the site plan, you
MUST let Don know. If you don't, your building permit can be revoked.
- I'm worried about leaving my house vacant while
I'm away. Can I ask the police to keep an eye on it?
Yes. In fact, that is a very important thing for you to do. The Seven Devils
Police Department has a security form that you should fill out and leave
with them. The most important thing it asks is who (locally) has a key to
your home and can be called on in case of emergency. There have been times
when the police have found an open door or window at a house and had no way
to contact the owner. When something like that happens they are more or less
helpless; they have no way of knowing what, if anything is missing, no way
to know if you've let someone use the house, etc.
If you are a seasonal resident, it is very important that someone (maybe
a neighbor) have a key to your house and be able to "deputize" for
you in case of emergency, and that we know who that someone is. We cannot
keep keys to your homes here at Town Hall. But we want your home and possessions
to be as secure as possible in your absence.
- My contractor is going to bring in a backhoe
to do some work on my land. Am I responsible if he damages the
road?
Yes. Depending on the wording of your arrangement with the contractor, either
you or he will be responsible for repairing any damage to a Seven Devils
road caused by bringing in heavy equipment. To avoid unnecessary problems,
call our office well in advance of the equipment coming in. We will arrange
to have someone from the Police or Public Works Departments escort the backhoe
to the site. That way there will be an official witness in case there's any
question about damage to the roads.
- A bear tore down my bird feeders and scattered
garbage all over the yard! What can be done about this? Can I call
someone and have it relocated to Grandfather Mountain or something?
There isn't much that can be done in this situation. Bears live by their
noses and are very curious. Dogs and bird feeders are like magnets for them.
If they can smell food, they will try to get it.
Relocation is not done any more, for 3 reasons:
The bears find their way back. There are documented cases of bears coming
back after being moved as far as 50 miles. Taking one over to Grandfather
Mountain won't work --- it will be back the next day.
Relocating used to be done to reintroduce bears to areas where the population
had been decimated. That's no longer the case --- the bears are everywhere.
Moving a "problem bear" someplace else to cause problems for someone
else is pretty tacky, don't you think?
If you find yourself face-to-face with a bear, here's what to do:
Do not turn your back on the bear.
Do not run.
Do not "play dead".
Take a few steps backward (to give the bear more space).
Yell, scream, clap your hands, bang rocks or pans together. Make as much
noise as you can.
There is no "report line" you can call if you see a bear. If you
feel a bear is a threat, you can call the Wildlife Management Office in Raleigh
(919/733-7291). However, according to that office, the only time they will
actively intercede is if someone has been injured by a bear. As they told
us, "Our philosophy is that we have to get along with the bears. This
is their home, too."
To get back to the original problem --- If you have a bird
feeder and there is a hungry bear in the area, you have just
provided a snack for him. Minimizing the number of feeders
will help. Keep your garbage, bags of dog and cat food, etc.
secured (in the garage with the door closed).
And keep your camera handy.
- What is there to do around here?
When enjoying the view starts to get old, there are lots of things to do
in and around Seven Devils. In Town Hall we have a notebook with various
topics: shopping, fishing, museums, music, biking, rainy-day activities,
etc. These will give you suggestions for ways you could spend your time.
Another place you might want to check is High Country Host. This organization
is a wonderful source of information on activities and facilities in the
High Country.
- I keep hearing about a resort club. What is
it? How do you join?
This question is beyond the range of knowedge of Madam Webmistress. I've
turned for assistance to Seven Devils' Mayor, Bob Dodson, who is also the
former President of the Seven Devils Resort Club. Click here to read his
comments about the Resort Club.
- Our water bill has been $30 a month ever since
we moved here. This month it was $42.99. What happened? Has the
rate gone up?
Yes, for the first time anyone can remember, the water rate has increased.
7D is making improvements to the water system, and the water revenue has
to pay for those improvements. The new rate is one cent ($.01) per gallon.
This makes the new base rate for 0 - 3,000 gallons $30.00.
After that, every additional gallon costs one cent ($0.01) instead of 8/10
of a cent.
- I'm going to buy/sell a house in Seven Devils.
What needs to be done to transfer the water bill?
Any time a Seven Devils house or condo is sold, the purchaser needs to send
Laura, the Finance Officer, an e-mail with Water as the subject. Her e-mail
address is 7devilsfinance@charterinternet.com. She needs your name,
the address of the house, the new billing address, your phone
number and when closing will
be.
You will
also
need to contact Karen, the Town Clerk, for
a security
form from the Police Department so they can contact you if
something happens while you aren't here.
- I want to know what's going on with this town.
Are there any meetings or things I can come to and see how decisions
are made around here?
Absolutely. All the Town meetings are open to the public (except for the
occasional closed session of the Town Council, when they discuss matters
that the State Legislature has agreed are confidential), in the meeting room
at Town Hall. Here's the schedule:
- Town Council: Second Monday of every month, 5:30 p.m.
- Planning Board: Third Monday of every month, 5:30 p.m.
- Board of Adjustment: as needed, Fourth Monday of every month,
5:30 p.m.
- Call Town Hall (828/963-5343) to find out if they will be meeting.
- Tourism Development Authority: Fourth Tuesday of every month,
9:00 a.m.
- Public Works Committee: Third Tuesday of every month, 10:00
a.m.
- Public Safety Committee: Fourth Tuesday of every month, 5:30
p.m.
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