Council tables 2nd Reading on annexation
City Planner Lisa Chalian-Rock addresses council about the proposed housing development on Sartor Dr.
photo by Jana E. Pye
Standing room only as citizens speak in opposition to new recreational complex and rental housing development
By Jana E. Pye, Editor, editor@newsandpress.net
If you ever want to fill a city council meeting, propose building something in someone’s back yard.
Such was the case Tuesday, August 7 at the Darlington City Council meeting as residents filled the new municipal courtroom to standing room only, ready to have their say about two ordinances that council voted to approve for first reading in July: one to annex 100 acres off of Lawson Road to build a new recreational complex, and another for a proposed piece of land on Sartor Drive that builder Keith Evans wishes to build 35 – 40 small rental homes.
Coleman Cannon offered a motion “to table agenda items 11, 12, 13 and 14. …offer a motion we table this till we get further information instead of voting on those – 11, 12, 13 and 14.”
The motion was seconded by Carolyn Bruce.
A vote was affirmative for each of the council members, with the excepton of one, Bryant Gardner.
“ I would say in the future, I would appreciate we do our education beforehand, this is a lot of wasted time for us and these citizens here tonight.”
Mayor Gloria Hines allowed five members from each topic to speak, giving them two minutes a piece to speak. “We will let them speak because it might come back up, so we want to hear what they got to say now.”
Sartor Drive:
One resident of Sheffield Drive, Mark Face, asked members of his neighborhood to raise their hands in the audience; “You can see we are a group of concerned citizens- I really can only speak for the ones I’ve spoke to personally, but in regards to the housing development on Sartor Drive we are really concerned about this. I just found out about this on Wednesday night. I am not opposed to growth, I am not opposed to having rental properties… I am not coming here opposed to having a new housing development nor am I opposed to annexing it in- what I am opposed to and what I bring before the council … what we are asking, we have many, many questions that need to be answered.”
Linwood Epps, another resident also opposed: “I too am concerned on what is going to happen this is something new to us we didn’t know about it ahead of time had we known about it when it went to the planning committee, we would have been at the planning committee personally I don’t like R-8 and I’m led to believe that Mr. Evans doesn’t mind it being upgraded to an R-10 that is what I live in, I live in a community with R-10 I would like for him for this to be R-10 also.”
Charlie Gaskins questioned costs for the project to be annexed, stating that although builder Keith Evans has offered to pay for the water and sewer costs and paving the road, additional city services will be needed for that many new homes, such as a new police officer, etc.
Gaskins also asked about the layout: “How is this going to be laid out, is it going to be one house to one building lot, or is it going to be similar to Columbian St where he’s [Keith Evans Construction] got 9 houses on what was described as one piece of land …that I think it’s more like three lots?”
City Planner Lisa Chalian- Rock addressed Gaskins. “The first question is whether or not to annex this property. If we don’t annex this property, nobody in this room gets a say as to what that property will look like. If we stop this annexation he can still build over there the county has no zoning, they have no public input like this. He can put a mobile home park, he can put an apartment building…if we don’t have this annexed in the city we have no say whatsoever but you will still get the negative impacts regardless and we will not be able to do anything about it.”
Gaskins asked if the property will follow the same format as Springdale subdivision.
Rock replied if it is zoned that way.
“The zoning designation that we are reviewing, which has not been voted on by the planning commission as a recommendation, and this council has specifically not followed the commission’s recommendation to the response of residents they have chosen R8 as their recommendation. Either R8 or R10 requires a single-family home to be on a single lot. I cant tell you exactly what it is going to look like because I don’t have plans because he’s not supposed to or required to hand me plans if it is not in the city.
Mayor Hines asked if the plans will look like the nine Evans is building on Columbian Street; Rock said no, since that zoning is for R-6 which allows for more multi family homes.
Hines said, “They are close, the ones on Columbian Drive…they are a little too close for comfort.”
Gaskins replied, “I guess that’s all I am going to ask at this point but I do hope we get a chance to sit down and have a one on one council some type of committee as suggested. There are a lot of questions and there seems there will be a lot of questions that won’t be answered until you annex so it looks like somebody has somebody over a barrel. We don’t find out until we make the first move. I think personally, although he may decide to go with the county, I want to know what we are getting.”
Other residents noted that the size of the lot for the amount of homes proposed, 35 – 40, will severely impact their properties in terms of traffic, potential noise and disrupting wildlife. Several have decided that if it goes up, they will put their homes on the market.
Chuck and Mary Ellen DeWitt on Gann Drive noted that they regularly see deer, owls, fox and more and bought their home specifically for the quiet area. “Now that and I was in Lisa’s office on Friday, and she did show me some plans and what was on the plans was long narrow lots with one house per lot looked to be really small houses,” said Mary Ellen. “But with all that going in back there I don’t mind it being rentals but I do mind the size and so many of them jammed in on top of each other. Each one of these homes have one or two cars plus people coming to visit them plus service vehicles coming in and out there are going to be 250 more cars passing my house every day right by our driveway that we don’t have now, we might have 10 or 12 now that I see in a day. I am against it being government subsidized if that is what it is, there’s houses going to be maybe half acre lots 12-1400 square feet or a little more in keeping with the neighborhood, I can deal with that, but from the plans that I saw I am completely and totally against the annexation and with that being said if that does go through, we will put our house up for sale.”
Recreation Complex:
Three residents spoke in favor of the complex, citing that the city needs it to grow and for the children of the community to have a safe place to be.
Mayor Gloria Hines told residents that the city had tried multiple times to purchase land but the prices were too high to afford.
One couple, the Goodson’s of Oleander Drive, warned council of issues with the land, including a gas pipeline, a great many tree stumps, and swamp land that “would need to be filled in” for examples. “I think you really need to look at that land and think about if it’s annexed then you are a going to have to perk it and that land won’t perk,” said Mrs. Goodson. “If it does I’ll be very surprised. So there just is a lot of stuff with that land that you need to look at before you decide to buy it.”
Donna Myers opposed the lack of privacy she would have, and the noise. “These people are going to be in the stands watching these kids play and looking right in my back yard, not to mention extra lighting, noise, and traffic that goes by. Basically I just wanted to be heard and I wanted that taken into consideration before you purchase this land.”
Suzie Berry questioned what it would take to be annexed into the city; although she would like to have new recreational area, her grandson now plays at Blue Street, she cites concerns. “ I am concerned about the traffic, the lights, noise…it borders the back my land and that has been used by my grandchildren for hunting, and I am concerned about the wildlife and how it will affect how we use the acreage that we have. I just think it needs to go somewhere else, where its not as much population and doesn’t affect so many people.”
Another resident echoed her sentiments: “The recreational complex is fine just not up in our backyard. It’s loud enough on Blue Street and if we can hear it there, it’s going to be on top of us. Some of us take call- we are nurses we get up at 4 o’clock in the morning, that’s just not going to work with me. I’m for it, but please think about the area you are looking at and try to move it somewhere else. If it needs to be in the city limits move it in the city, not out in the county.”
Larry McElroy asked to speak, and although he did not sign in, was allowed to speak.
He shared concerns with the water issue on the field, warning council that they could face the same problems that nearby Sumter did when they built athletic fields that do not drain well. “It (Sumter) lost me money when I had tournaments there because they couldn’t play – with one little brief shower the fields got saturated with the water. So it might look good on paper, but when you get down to it, it may look great right now but on site you start having problems you are going to have cancellations. And I am not just talking tournaments, I’m taking recreational programs, too.”
Resident George Knapp who addressed council last month with questions directed to Mayor of Darlington Gloria Hines requested that she address his questions – she did not. He chose to address the topics at hand, giving some suggestions that the city may wish to consider.
Agenda items:
4. Darlington Downtown Revitalization Association (DDRA) Lisa Chalian Rock:
Rock addressed council, and shared that the Market on Darlington Square (MODS) to feature a large Scrabble game for children and adults to enjoy in August, and in September the Kid’s Sidewalk Chalk Art Contest will return. A special Race Week Kick Off Party will be held on August 26th from 7 – 9 p.m. at Liberty Lane in Darlington, a limited ticket event featuring beer and wine and, good music and racecars. The commemorative tickets are $50 each and will have places for signatures from Blue Sky (who painted the Southern 500 mural at Liberty Lane) on a Too Tough to Tame lanyard. In October 6, the Yam Jam will return before the sweet potato festival. Music by the Recollections Band and Jim Quick and the Coastline band with Dan E. Lokemy as emcee. Scare on Square October 27th looking for churches and civic clubs asked to participate on the Square to create one evening of Halloween fun. Next year’s free concerts at Liberty will be held Friday March 17, Sat April 29, Friday May 19, Fri June 9, and Fri July 21st feature local musicians and feature food and beverages for purchase.
5. Greater Darlington Chamber of Commerce: Norm Steadman
Steadman announced two new members: Hartsville Balloon Company, who provided balloon decorations at Freedom Fest, and Carolina Business Equipment. New changes coming for the Chamber website adding community calendar open to members and non-members and a blog to celebrate and spotlight new members. Upcoming events: Genesis Healthcare Ribbon Cutting in Lamar and for the Place of Healing on August 20th at 712 Pearl Street for disadvantaged expectant women and infants. Toast of Darlington on October 6 from 6:30 to 9 p.m.
6. LED Outdoor Lighting: Francis Parnell. Absent, will be next month.
7. Storm Water Program Update: Jannie Lathan Council approved City of Darlington storm water ordinance in June, approving the fee which laid basis implementing storm water management plan. Six major areas that need to be implemented and well documented. Asked for public education and outreach and public participation and involvement and awareness of the storm water fee which is to be implemented in October of this year Information cards are prepared, requesting council to be strong advocates in their wards and throughout the community. Information sheets will be placed in the water bills, flyers to be posted in local businesses, and informative meetings will be held at groups in the community. “We are developing this storm water management program in anticipation of the compliance with some MS4 requirements from the federal government,” said Lathan. (Note: though the EPA mandates through the Clean Water Act for municipalities, the Federal Government does not fund it.) “The requirements are regulatory driven so in order to do that we must track the storm water fees collected and put them in a separate account; money collected through these fees can only be used for storm water within the city. The storm water comes from the rain and the runoff of storms, and the federal mandates require that the water that runs off the city proper must be free from dog waste and illicit discharge to not pollute the public waterways. The city infrastructure for underground storm water pipes and catch basins will allow us to control the runoff, and send it specifically to the eight outfalls in the city – and does not back up and flood our yards and create mosquitoes and other infestations and other health issues.”
8. Free Medical Clinic of Darlington County: Kathy Baxley. Baxley provided a power point display highlighting the 16 years of the clinic in Darlington (the Hartsville clinic has been operating for 10 years.) “Our mission, Free Medical Clinic is an interdenominational Christian ministry we provide free medical care, medications pastoral support for residents of Darlington who do not have health insurance and do not qualify for government health programs. We are committed to honoring the God given dignity of all people regardless of race, nationality or creed.” The clinics are available five days a week between the two locations, Hartsville site: open Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday and Darlington site: Wednesday afternoon, Thursday and Friday. Pharmacy hours remain the same on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Volunteers include 17 medical providers. In 2015, the clinics had 906 visits, referred 579 tests out, provided medications, and so far to date are registered at right at 5,000 patients in our county that have been treated at the Free Medical Clinic. New service this year is a mental health counselor that was won as a grant with Blue Cross/Blue Shield to assist patients with stress reduction, anxiety and depression, which often affects physical health.
Second Reading Ordinance 2016-08 Water/Sewer Rate Increase
Council voted to approve
Second Reading Ordinance 2016-10 General Obligation Building Maintenance Bond Not to Exceed $1,000,000
Council voted to approve, to repair buildings in the city affected by heavy flooding in October of 2015.
Second Reading Ordinance 2016-11 Hospitality Tax Bond For Recreation Complex Not to Exceed $1,500,000: Tabled
Second Reading Ordinance 2016-12 Annexation of Sartor Drive: Tabled
First Reading Ordinance 2016-14 Zoning Designation for Sartor Drive R-8: Tabled
Second Reading Ordinance 2016-13 Property Purchase 100 acres off Lawson Road: Tabled