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WINNSBORO – After cursing the Fairfeld County Planning Commissioners last week for not seeing things her way, Dori Brandenberg showed up at the County Council meeting Monday night with toned down rhetoric. but with the same goal – to persuade a vote in favor of a rezoning that would allow Alex Ferrell to place a mobile home on a five-acre parcel he recently purchased on Lake Monticello.

After the Commission’s vote to not send forward a recommendation to Council to rezone the property, Brandenberg, who does not live in the neighborhood, interrupted the proceedings to tell the Commissioners, among other things, that, “It’s [expletive] like this that kills this town!”

At issue is that the land is zoned Rural Residential (R-1) which allows only stick-built and modular homes. Ferrell requested a change in the zoning of his parcel from R-1 to Rural Residential (RD-1) which would allow mobile homes. But, according to the zoning ordinance it would also allow commercial development which is not allowed now.

Four residents from the Monticello community spoke against the rezoning.

“Our main concern is that if he [Ferrell] gets the property zoned for one mobile home, he would then be allowed to put five mobile homes there and it would open [the zoning] to all that is allowed in the Rural Residential zoning district.” Donna Glynn Holly told the Commissioners.

“This is an historic district and we want to preserve it. We aren’t trying to deprive anyone, but we don’t want it to be opened up for a store or car repair business,” Holly said. “They say that is not what they would do, but when you open it up to Rural Residential zoning, that is precisely what is allowed under that zoning.”

“We just want to preserve the integrity of our commumnity and keep it zoned for residential,” Holly said.

Council voted 5-1 against the  measure. Councilman Mikel Trapp voted for the rezoning and Councilman Doug Pauley was absent.

BLYTHEWOOD – Developer DR Horton’s representative Jordan Hammond was back before the Blythewood Planning Commission on July 5 after being turned down in April by both the Planning Commission and Town Council for R-5 and R-8 zoning for a 98-acre development on Wilson Boulevard that would contain 293 homes. At that time, Council told Hammond that it would approve nothing less than D-1 (Development) zoning (a minimum 20,000 sqaure feet per lot) within the Town. Council has since downsized the zoning on all R-5, R-8 and R-12 lots on which construction has not already begun in some form.

On Monday evening, Hammond presented revised plans for a 103-lot draft site on the same Wilson Boulevard property.

“The developer is proposing a project under the current D-1 zoning which requires a 20,000 square foot minimum lot size as opposed to the smaller lot size they were seeking previously,” Town Planning Consultant Michael Criss told Commissioners.

“A couple of months ago you were standing right there and it might’ve been me – it probably was me –  asked you point blank why you couldn’t develop the property as D-1, and you said it didn’t make sense economically,” Commissioner Donald Brock said. “My first question is why does it make sense now? What has changed?”

“I probably shouldn’t get into the specific negotiations with the seller too much, but you can probably also see that there is an entire piece of property that is no longer included in this – the Randall Road piece,” Hammond said. “So, I guess long story short is that the deal terms have changed.”

The newly proposed plans for the 90-acre site conform to the D-1 zoning, features two neighborhood exits – one street exit to Wilson Boulevard and a 30-foot-wide emergency access driveway, according to Town Administrator Gary Parker.

“I know Richland County requires something like this as well,” Hammond said about the addition of the emergency exit. Mr. Parker and Mr. Criss emphasized to us that having a secondary emergency access would be important to the Town, so we wanted to make sure to incorporate that.”

Emergency access will cut between the second and third lots and behind lots one and two.

“So if an accident happens between two and three on that main road, you’re kind of stuck for some period of time,” Brock noted.

Hammond said he could not argue with Brock’s assertion, but added that the allotted 40-foot minimum front setback, along with the 50-foot road right of away and an additional 40-foot included in ?????, would allow emergency vehicles 130 square feet to navigate the property.

DR Horton’s documents included an updated traffic study conducted by Ridgeway Traffic Consulting. The study examined the impact the new subdivision would have on traffic along the west side of Wilson Boulevard.

RTC’s study found that congestion in the Wilson Boulevard area would continue to worsen with or without Horton’s site development, and that the answer to that problem would be a realignment of Langford Road with Blythewood Road. The study also recommended a dedicated left-turn lane for Northbound Wilson Boulevard, but found that a right-turn lane would not be needed.

Traffic was a sticking point for Commissioner Cynthia Schull. “It’s already bad, and it’s getting ready to get worse. Your neighborhood is going to make it even worse. I don’t know who is supposed to address that. Who do I need to call because DOT or whoever builds roads needs to do something about this. It’s hard for developers to come here because of that,” she said.

“That was one of the major topics when we came (in April) for the rezoning from a much higher density, and that’s why we’re here today with a much lower density because of traffic concerns,” Hammond said. “As far as the traffic that’s coming in, you’re right, we can’t fix the intersection there where Langford and Blythewood Roads come together.”

Commissioner Brock recommended a traffic light, but, according to Hammond, that would be viable and even recommended for a commercial developer, but for DR Horton the costs associated with a traffic light would not be feasible unless the subdivision were much larger.

Brock also question the layout of the lots, and why the homes were primarily lined up on one side of the property, while the other side was essentially empty space.

“What I would prefer to see is not necessarily a tract. I would prefer to see a little bit of open space here and there,” he said.

“Sewer access would be on the admoining property,” Hammond said. “Getting sewer over there would involve additional lift stations. Most municipalities that provide these sewer services want to minimize lift stations.”

Any sewer and water designs must be approved by the municipalities that provide the service. The Town of Winnsboro will provide water to the subdivision and Palmetto Utilities will handle sewage service.

According to Hammond, DR Horton is confident the project will be completed in two phases, but the meeting did not include a vote, but was discussion only. The developer will have to appear before the Commission again for preliminary plat approval. The commission will need to see permits for water lines, permits for sewer lines and county issued land disturbance permits, at that time.

WINNSBORO – Longtime Winnsboro attorney Paul Swearingen was recently appointed as Chief Magistrate over Fairfield County. The appointment took effect July 1 and was ordered by Chief Justice of South Carolina Donald W. Beatty.

New chief magistrates were named in 31 of 46 counties in the state.

Reached Tuesday by The Voice, Swearingen said it was a surprise that so many chief magistrates were turned over.

“From what I’ve gathered,” Swearingen said, “the Chief Justice just decided to rotate leadership among the chief magistrates.”

Magistrates are city and county judges who hear crimes that have penalties of $500 or less and civil disputes involving up to $7,500. They also issue search warrants.

Swearingen said his term is until the end of the year but could be longer if the Chief Justice of South Carolina decides to extend his term.

RIDGEWAY – Recent conversations in Ridgeway Town Council executive sessions have, by several accounts, gone to the dogs. At least to one dog in particular – a Rottweiler named Bella who, for the last four years, has accompanied her owner, Town Clerk Vivian Case, to work every day at The Century House. There, Case told The Voice, she is usually the only person in the building. Both Case and Council sources say there has been no history of complaints or problems concerning Bella’s presence at Town Hall.

But all that changed in January of this year when Mayor Charlene Herring and Councilman Doug Porter issued Bella a pink slip, saying Council had made the decision, based on recent complaints about Bella’s behavior and breed, that she could no longer come to the office with Case even though the two are separated from the public by a locked lower half of the room’s entrance door and a glass partition and iron jail bars replacing the top half of the door.  So Case left Bella at home beginning in mid-January.

Already possessing separate certificates for three levels of obedience training as well as a certificate proclaiming that she passed the prestigious American Kennel Club ‘Canine Good Citizen’ test, Bella came back to ‘work’ in late February with a note from a doctor explaining to Council that she (Bella) would be fulfilling the role of service dog to Case and would need to accompany and have access to Case during the work day.

In response, Council hired an attorney to advise them regarding Bella. That advice, according to Herring, led to Bella being crated and placed on the far side of the room from Case, effectively leaving the dog unable to perform her duty as a service dog.

While the attorney’s fees are approaching $2,000 and climbing, they are being paid out of the Town’s coffers.  Should Case choose to fight Town Hall, she will have to bear her own legal expenses.

Herring told The Voice that it was approved by Council that the dog must be crated even though it is a service dog because of its classification as a viscious animal according to the Town’s Ordinance Number 2-1010. She said the dog seems nice enough, but that the ordinance is breed specific.

“Based on the breed of the dog and the research our attorney found, the dog has to stay kenneled until she (Case) chooses another dog with less liability,” Herring told The Voice.

That is not a possibility, Case told The Voice.

After acquiring a copy of the town ordinance, however, The Voice found no mention of specific breeds, and Bella’s history does not meet any of the specifications of ‘viscious animal’ as outlined in the ordinance.  The only breed-specific Ridgeway Town Ordinance is No. 2-1011, a Pit Bull Registry that requires only Pit Bulls living in the town limits to be registered with the town. No mention is made of Rottweilers.

To combat local ordinances that are breed specific as to service dogs, the Department of Justice ruled in 2010 in Subpart A, Section 35.104 that “The Department of Justice (DOJ) does not believe that it is either appropriate or consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to defer to local laws that prohibit certain breeds of dogs based on local concerns that these breeds may have a history of unprovoked aggression or attacks.”

In accordance with HIPPA laws, The Voice is not disclosing Case’s disability.

In addition, Herring told The Voice, “Council approved us to go this route (crating Bella). We’ve had full approval.”

Noting that there was no public record of such a vote, The Voice asked Herring if the vote was in executive session, Herring responded, “We didn’t vote in executive session. We came out (to vote).

Asked why there is not a public record of Council voting on the matter in public session, Herring answered,” I used the wrong word.”

According to Council sources and meeting minutes, none of the orders, decisions, discussions or ‘votes’ that Herring and some other council members say were made by Council in regard to Bella’s removal and crating were made in public. According to the S.C. Freedom of Information Act, it is illegal for Council to make decisions or conduct straw polls behind closed doors in executive session.

Section 30-4-70 (6) of the FOIA states, “The only actions that can be taken in executive sessions are to adjourn or return to public session. No informal polling about a course of action may be taken in executive session.”

Council members who have spoken with the Voice, both on and off the record, are in disagreement about who made the complaints against Bella, how many were made and when.

Case says the complaints are frivolous and unsubstantiated.

The next Ridgeway Town Council meeting is scheduled for Thursday evening, July 13, at 6:30 p.m. in The Century House. The public is invited.

Members of the Lake Wateree Presbyterian Church voted Sunday to donate a 2.17 acre parcel to Fairfield County for use as a fire department substation. The parcel is located next to the church on Old Windmill Road in Ridgeway.

County Councilman Jimmy Ray Douglas, who facilitated the donation, was asked by the church’s elders, Joanne Reed, Curtis Blackmon and Ray Daniels, to address the congregation prior to the Sunday morning vote.

“The 4,000 square-foot building will house two bays for the fire department as well as one for EMS and one for the Sheriff’s department. The Sheriff’s bay will accommodate deputies on patrol at the lake, and it will house the department’s boat,” Douglas told The Voice .

The substation will also house a 1,200 square-foot recreation center with a small kitchen and two restrooms.

Douglas said the sub-station would serve 285 homes that do not currently have fire protection.

“It will also give these homes a 150 ISO rating and reduce insurance premiums drastically,” Douglas said.

The station will be manned by Southeastern Fire Department

Douglas said the EMS station will bring service closer to where problems would arise during holiday events and on days EMS is requested to be present at Lake Wateree.

Council recently voted to order a new radio service that EMS Director Mike Tanner said will enable all emergency vehicles to get a clear signal over 95 percent of the County, including the Lake area.