Small Darlington County private development standards to change

DARLINGTON — Darlington County Council has passed an ordinance on second reading changing the county’s small private development standards and add the limitation to a family division or to “where a common interest between grantor and grantee has been determined.”

No residents spoke during the public hearing before Council’s vote Monday night. The ordinance passed with one dissenting vote from Billy Baldwin.

“I oppose this ordinance because it’s a deterrent,” Baldwin said. “It’s unfair to people who build the house on this kind of development.”

But Brenda Rich made a personal plea to Council for help concerning the condition of Romance Drive, located in a private subdivision.

The road to the private subdivision of five homes is impassable by emergency vehicles when it rains even mildly, and Rich said she and other residents have no recourse. She said they have talked with the planning commission and the mortgage holder.

Baldwin said this was a perfect example of why he opposed Ordinance 09-14.

“Property owners have nobody they can go to as far as maintaining the road,” Baldwin said.

Blackwell said the issue has been passed on to County Attorney Jim Cox.

A public hearing and second reading of an ordinance providing for $787,200 general obligation bond to provide funds for the new Society Hill Library also took place during Council’s regular meeting.

Resident Clarence Johnson came to ask for clarification on how the funds would be used. There was no other discussion, and Council approved a motion to carry it to a third reading.

Barry Kennett, jetport manager, and John Isgett, chairman of the jetport commission, also appeared before Council to close two secondary runways at the jetport to reduce the county’s liability.

“I can’t in good faith allow aircrafts to use that runway,” Kennett said.

Bits of asphalt are coming up and engineers have said the runways cannot be repaired, Kennett said. The Federal Aviation Association highly recommended that they be closed.

Repairing the runways would cost a minimum of $2 million per runway. Kennett said no federal grants are available for these secondary runways.

“We couldn’t justify that cost when we have an active main runway,” Isgett said.

In the future, if the economy turns around, resurfacing the runways would still be an option, he said.

Pilots can still use the runways, but at their own discretion and risk.

Closing the runways would cost the county nothing because the pavement would not be removed.

The motion to close the runways was approved unanimously.

Upon receiving the Solid Waste Study Committee Report, council members discussed two issues: limited service to certain areas of the county and service to county residents surrounded by the cities.

“We still have sites here in the county that there happen to be no dumping for citizens in that area,” councilwoman Mozella “Pennie” Nicholson said.

Residents in Mont Clare and Mechanicsville have to travel 8 to 10 miles to deposit their trash, she said.

For nearly three years, the county has been negotiating and looking for a site for such a location, County Administrator Phyllis Griffitts said.

“A lot of people are not willing to sell us the property for a site,” she said.

There are 13 convenience centers throughout the county.

“We need to address this problem before city placement problems,” Nicholson said.

“In the City of Darlington and in the City of Hartsville, you have jump sites, donut hole, pockets of county within the city,” Councilwoman Wilhemina Johnson said.

Wilhemina Johnson proposed trash pick-up for county residents in these areas, as well as monthly or quarterly pick-up for those in certain areas of the county.

“I don’t think we’ll have as much in the ditches as we have,” she said. Her main concern is that property owners are paying a $35 fee but not receiving any services.

“The way I interpret the report is that there is not enough money anywhere in our budget to accommodate this,” Council Chairman Wesley Blackwell said. “This is something we’ll need to address at budget time.”

Council approved a motion to give Griffitts up to $400 for postage from the discretionary account. The money would fund letters to 455 churches in the county to promote the Complete Count census project. Grant money will not be available until January, Griffitts said. She also said the city of Darlington has agreed to spend $100 toward this effort.

During the citizens’ comment period, Clarence Johnson held up a sign saying, “No Farms No Food.”

“You have two different types of farms. There’s factory farms and farms owned by the individual,” he said. “The factory farms are being subsidized by the government. The other farms, the private farms, are making a go at it without any government subsidy.”

Johnson also asked Council to think about the need for a development board.

In other business, council approved a fiscal year 2010 used oil grant modification of $4,000 for environmental services/recycling; a Highway Safety Grant of $94,007 for the sheriff’s department; a buffer zone protection grant application of $71,548 for the sheriff’s office; a budget transfer request for Darlington County Jetport and a budget transfer request for receipt and expenditure of state fiscal stabilization funds of $28,305 for Darlington County Library System.

Council had first readings for an ordinance to amend the development standard concerning fencing around detention/retention facilities within the county, and an ordinance to amend the development standards to amend requirement for turn around on dead-end streets within the county.

Council also passed a resolution is a corrective memo of agreement for acceptance of additional right-of-way for Fox Hollow Drive without dissent.