The courts have granted the Town of Boone a preliminary injunction allowing it to keep its ETJ until litigation may be finalized. A motion to dismiss from the defendants, the State of North Carolina and Watauga County, was denied.
Boone’s Mayor Andy Ball spoke of the action as granting “continued protections.” State Senator Dan Soucek, who is receiving credit for writing the bill, reframed the issue with a lens focused on liberating the captive:
“A week does not go by that I am not asked by a business or homeowner in Watauga County, ‘When will I be free of the oppression of Boone’s ETJ?'” Soucek said. “After the court’s decision, it will be a little longer, but I will continue to be their elected voice, since they have none in the Town of Boone.”
