One subdivision wins appeal to countySecond delayed until completion of another area
Published 11:35 am Tuesday, October 16, 2012
One of two Warren County subdivision developers seeking approval to turn over a new road for county maintenance won an appeal Monday to lower the line of credit stipulated.
Additionally, recommended changes to the county’s subdivision development ordinance were delayed, with supervisors citing a need for more information.
Developers of Littlewood subdivision were unanimously granted a request to secure a $142,000 letter of credit to back a two-year warranty on Madison Ridge Road, the subdivision’s main feeder off Lee Road. County engineers initially said a $488,000 letter of credit would be required to have the road maintained by the county. Developer Ronnie Taylor had appealed the initial amount.
Once he has obtained a letter of credit from a bank and presented it to supervisors, the ordinance requires Taylor to complete the road to county standards to have it accepted by the county.
A similar request to lower a line of credit letter from $188,000 to $70,000 for nearby Twin Creeks Road was left without a formal vote Monday. The letter of credit is required to cover the cost of a 1½-inch layer of asphalt on the driving surface of the roads in the subdivisioon, also off Lee Road.
Supervisors delayed action on Twin Creeks until work is completed and the county accepts for maintenance another road owned by the same developers, Richard and Robbie Cowart. That road is Camden Drive, off Oak Ridge Road in North Warren County.
District 2 Supervisor William Banks, in whose district Camden Place is located, told the board it shouldn’t address Twin Creeks “until we get through with Camden Place.”
Both county engineer John McKee and the Cowarts confirmed the three met privately late last week and agreed cracks and other small-scale base repairs were needed at Camden before the board would accept Twin Creeks.
McKee said, however, the Twin Creeks road looks good.
“We’ve looked at the existing road out there, and as far as our inspections show, in our opinion, there’s nothing wrong with the road,” McKee said. “It’s a good road.”
Reached later, Richard Cowart said he expected a separate motion that dealt specifically with Twin Creeks but was satisfied with how things stand between he and supervisors.
“We are all on the same page now,” Cowart said. “We are pressing forward.”
Current regulations, adopted in 2004, call for road and drainage drawings to be presented to the county so roads can be maintained by the Warren County Road Department. Discussions of changing those regulations have been on the table nearly ever since.
Supervisors said Monday they needed more time to nail down which parts of the subdivision ordinance to change.
Last week, McKee told the board the strongest advice from planners and other counties is to forbid developers from selling lots until roads are dedicated to the county.
District 4 Supervisor and board President Bill Lauderdale said another new wrinkle could result in mandatory maintenance agreements between developers and homeowners as neighborhoods are built.
The board’s next formal meeting is Nov. 5, the earliest any action on the letters or developer activity can be taken. A public hearing date must be set if supervisors want to amend the ordinance.