The Saga of Franklin Dr

My apologies for the length of this but I want to present the facts!

In the spring, the neighbors in Wyatt Acres subdivision would enjoy the cute little calves running up to the fence to investigate the stopped car or the person walking by. Huge trees just off Daniel Dr offering shade to the cows in the hot summer. Many of the residents looked forward to that time of the year. Imagine seeing this when you lived in the city! But that land was county land and in 2021, the city annexed the 65 acres into the city. (Along with a lot of other land as we all remember too well!)

Back in December of 2021, this property was purchased by Mark III Properties from John and Charles Wyatt (Jr). Total of 65 acres of pasture land, part of it flat and part rolling. At the same time Wyatt brothers did a Quit Claim Deed giving the city Franklin Dr. The city always assumed this was a city road just like all the roads in the subdivision.  But the city was wrong in their assumption.

Franklin Dr is within Wyatt Acres and connects to Pearle Dr, it is about 250 foot in length, and there are only two homes that use the road. This road was built to access the interior property if it was ever developed, as well as giving access to two homes.   There are those that will say the road is not up to standard but if you drive through Wyatt Acres, none of the roads are in great condition. This year, I discovered the Quit Claim Deed, which the city still did not know about until I let them know. I spoke with someone at Pickens County Roads and Bridges, I was informed this was on the books as a private road. (more on ‘a private road’ later…)

The developer, from day one, wanted to use Franklin Dr as one of the entrance/exit points but was denied. 

Here is a synopsis of the meetings back in 2021: (these minutes should be on the city website if you want to read them)

*Planning Commission Meeting, October 18, 2021: Tommy Holcombe assured everyone at the meeting for the annexation Franklin Dr, Pearle Dr, and Daniel Dr would not be used to dump the traffic from the new development into Wyatt Acres. He even confirmed with Derrick (engineer for the project) the new development would not connect to existing roads.

*Council Work Session Nov 8, 2021: Tommy states developer agreed not to use Franklin Dr and another road which was a proposed entrance/exit onto Pearle Dr. No reason given for this. He also stated complications with entrances and said Meadow will be the entrance/exit. Mayor Womack stated Tommy has made it clear about the requirements and the roads cannot hold up to that kind of use.

*Council Meeting Nov 8, 2021: First reading of the annexation ordinance. The city once again states they will not allow any connection onto Daniel Dr. Meadow Lane is the only road they can connect to. Tommy Holcombe also states the staff can make sure all these issues are resolved and we can control the development.

*Council Work Session Dec 13, 2021: Mr. Holcombe stated he make it clear about the roads in the last meeting.

*Council Meeting Dec 13, 2021: Second reading of the ordinance to annex this property. No additional discussion on the roads. Ordinance passes by majority council vote.

Let us fast forward...  I am not exactly sure when the developer began the grading but I think it was sometime in 2023 as I remember filming this in one of my campaign videos.  On numerous occasions I have met with Mario DePietro on this development and Franklin Dr and I even met with the new administrator, Mr. Couch before I was elected and spoke to him about this development and Franklin Dr.  I met with Administrator Couch after I was elected and, again, pointed out the specific ordinances being violated in not allowing the developer to use Franklin Dr. The developer would bring Franklin Dr. up to city standards.

Please be advised this subdivision will have 159 homes. (There is a requirement in the Land Use Regulation that subdivisions shall have a minimum of two entrances when there are 51 or more homes in the subdivision.)  The development on Hwy 8/Wyatt Acres is unique because it has three sections that do not connect into one area.  One section is along Hwy 8 and is facing Meadow Lane and will have 15 homes. This section will have an entrance/exit onto Meadow Lane just up from where the stop sign is for Hwy 8. This is also where the subdivision amenities (pool) will be located. The second section will have 14 homes and the entrance for this will be where the curve is on Meadow Lane. The remaining section will have 130 homes and the entrance/exit for that section will be at the curve on Daniel Dr. So, when this is completed, there will be traffic from 130 homes dumping out onto Daniel Dr, allowing drivers to cut through Daniel to get to Pearle Dr to exit onto Hwy 8, or drivers cutting down Meadow Lane to Pearle to exit onto Hwy 8. (There is an ordinance to discourage use by through traffic). Can you imagine the bottle neck the one entrance/exit point will create when this subdivision is completed?  The city is not abiding by their own ordinances!

(FYI, the word “shall” means it is mandatory) This Land Use Regulations document can be found on the city’s website under the Planning Dept.)

In the current Land Use Regulations, Article III:

Section 3.2 item 7:

(a) The street system shall be designed to permit the safe, efficient, and orderly movement of traffic…

(b) …the street system shall be designed to serve the needs of the neighborhood and to discourage use by through traffic.

 ….To the maximum extent practicable, developments shall be located to preserve the natural features of the site….and to minimize negative impacts and alteration of natural features (this means no cut and fill unless it is totally not practical).

Article IV

Section 4.2 item 2

…development shall be located to preserve the natural features of the site, …and to minimize negative impacts and alteration of natural features.

Section 4.3 item 1

(c) The street system shall be designed to permit the safe, efficient, and orderly movement of traffic; to meet, but not exceed the needs of the present and future population served; to have a simple and logical pattern….

(d) In residential subdivisions, the street system shall be designed to meet the needs of the neighborhood and to discourage use by through traffic.

Section 4.3 item 3

(d) The arrangement of streets shall be such as will not cause hardship to owners of adjoining property in providing convenient access.

The Petition (my comments are in parentheses in the petition)

One of the residents living on Franklin Dr created a petition and got around 250 signatures. I went to the city and requested a copy of this petition. The city administrator said it was a bound copy and he would make me a copy.  The next day he sent me an email and said the mayor gave the copy of the petition back to Mr. Nealy.  I do not know the rules of petitions but I do know a petition does not override an ordinance. I do not care if the petition contained 1000 signatures; it still does not override an ordinance as the Land Use Regulations was passed by ordinance.  One of the mayor’s responsibilities is to see that ordinances are followed per SC Code of Laws: SECTION 5-9-30. Responsibilities and powers of mayor. (4) to act to insure that all laws, provisions of Chapters 1 through 17 and ordinances of the council, subject to enforcement by him or by officers subject to his direction and supervision, are faithfully executed; 

(Is the mayor aware of this responsibility?)

Whereas, the undersigned residents of Easley area, are in opposition to the use of Franklin Drive as an entrance/exit to the new subdivision known as Stillwood Farms for the following reasons:

1. Franklin Drive is a substandard road with no curbs and sidewalks. (none of the roads inside Wyatt Acres have sidewalks (there are sidewalks on Hwy 8 homes) and most of the roads do not have curbs)
2. Pearle Drive is a substandard road with minimal curbs, no shoulder, and no sidewalks. (the city does not care about substandard roads? (Repeat-most roads do not have curbs and there are no sidewalks inside Wyatt Acres)
3. The curve of Pearle Drive at the intersection with Daniel Drive has a minimal sight view with a dangerous shoulder drop off. (If there is a minimal sight view and a dangerous shoulder drop off, it was of no concern of the residents there before the new subdivision wanted to use Franklin)
4. Pearle Drive, due to it's minimal width, forces drivers to almost stop when meeting another vehicle. (The same holds true for all the roads in Wyatt Acres)
5. The intersection of Pearle Drive, Patio Road, Terrace Road, and Flagstone Road with Highway 8 is currently a bottleneck due to no median or turning lanes on Highway 8. With Easley High School located south of these intersections and with more drivers using Highways 86 and 8 from exit 35 on I-85, traffic is continuing to increase.  In addition, Pickens County Schools has purchased 41 acres across from the high school for what is rumored to be a new middle school.  This will only exacerbate the traffic issues. (Bottleneck??, intersection?? There is no “intersection.” I have lived in this subdivision for 17 years and I rarely see any cars coming out of the road closet to Pearle. That is a small subdivision with FOUR entrances/exits for 47 houses. The end of day school traffic is an issue and has been for years.)
6. With the number of houses being built in Stillwood Farms, there will certainly be some students riding the school bus. Neither Pearle nor Franklin are in shape for bus traffic.  In addition, should the bus drop off students at the intersection of Highway 8 and Pearle, students won't have a sidewalk on Pearle and will be forced to walk in the street.  This could be a large liability to the city. (There has never been any bus traffic inside of Wyatt Acres. The bus stops on Hwy 8.  There was no prior concern for children’s safety before this new subdivision so why is it an issue now?)
7. Any work to Highway 8 at Pearle will be done with funds from SCDOT, Pickens County, and/or the City of Easley. Are any of these entities willing and ready to spend the money? (Hwy 8 is a state road. The developer is responsible for putting in turn lanes. No city or county funds should be spent.)
8. Stillwood Farms was approved as designed by both the city and the developer. The road layout as submitted was approved and there is no reason to revisit the situation. (The statements by the city employee during the Planning Commission meeting or the council meeting including the workshops were not adhered to. (Were the residents lied to just to shut us up? Decisions impacting the citizens of Wyatt Acres were made during the non-public meetings with the developer. Knowing this was a hot topic, the city ignored the citizens and proceeded to do as they pleased. And the person(s) making the decisions were not the person(s) per the ordinance! Total disregard to these ordinances. There is a process in the Land Use Regulations and I know this was not being followed.)

The city HAS NOT provided a plausible reason why they will not allow the developer to use Franklin Dr. Why is that???? 

As a side note, if you have not seen the fiasco on Iris Dr and the Livingston Park subdivision they built across from existing homes, take a drive over there. There is an ordinance that says the setbacks are to match existing homes within 100 feet. These do not!!  Another example where ordinances are ignored.

And last, but not least:  The debacle located at the corner of Liberty Dr and S 5th Street!  The setbacks on this property are not as per the ordinance. The setback variance DID NOT go before the Board of Zoning Appeals as per state law.  The person who approved this did inform the mayor and city administrator of the mis-deed. It is this person’s job to know the rules (ordinances). This is another example of ordinances being ignored and nothing being done. Why have ordinances when you get to pick and choose which ones to obey and which ones are ignored. 

Oh, about the private road…according to the Public Works director, the city does not pickup trash or yard debris if the road is private. So, let us see how quick Franklin Dr gets back on the agenda to be accepted into the city.  And, in the meantime, the residents on the private road gets trash collection and debris pickup.

Off my soapbox now. I warned you it would be long! Thanks for reading!