[AUG. 5, 2005] Delayed progress on a road at the Legends
subdivision, a lapsed performance bond and the threat of a $17,500
fine brought developer Keith Hasprey before the Logan County
Planning Commission on Wednesday evening.
The Legends is located northeast of Lincoln, about two miles east of
Nicholson Road and just north of Interstate 55.
A minimum
construction road of gravel was laid to begin the construction at
the subdivision. A wet winter delayed movement in the spring. "We
were not able to get on the ground before April," Veronica Hasprey
said. And since then difficulties getting the road foundation
approved have hindered its completion.
According to Hickman, part of the holdup has been getting the
road to meet specs. He has been out there and done borings, but
there have been problems such as it was 3 to 4 inches too high in
areas and too low in other places.
He said that if they had had an inspector out there during
construction, he would only have had to look at the daily log and
could have approved it.
The layering and rolling of various substances to achieve
compaction is a precise process. It also requires wetting. Keith
Hasprey said that company doing the work has not wanted to bring
water trucks out; they've been waiting for rain.
When it meets specs and compaction is completed, it cannot be
driven on before the asphalt is laid; otherwise, it is loosened and
the process must be done again. This has already happened several
times.
Once it is asphalted it cannot be driven on for a couple of
weeks. At the end of the street in the subdivision, there are
several homes with people living in them. It was observed that those
people will have a long walk home when the asphalt goes down.
The performance bond is a standard requirement for all
subdivision construction and is handled through the developer's
lending bank. It protects the county from assuming the financial
responsibility of finishing roads and other infrastructure in case
of financial failure of the developer.
Veronica Hasprey said that the renewal of the bond was an
oversight related to a change of the person that handles their
business at their bank. They and the bank were unaware that it had
lapsed until a few days ago, when they were contacted. It was put
back in place earlier in the day on Wednesday.
County engineer Tom Hickman read a statute that says that any
violation shall be fined in an amount between $25 and $200
per day. The lapsed bond is a violation requiring the county to
assess a fee. With the two plats that have been OK'd for the
subdivision, there have been 700 days that the developer was out of
compliance.
"I've been liberal up to this point," Hickman said. "Keith needs
to get that road built. I'd just like to get it done and I know he
would too," he said.
Hickman said that the only way not to charge the fee was for the
commission to vote on it. He cautioned doing that because it would
open the county up to future requests of the like.
A motion was accepted to waive the fee pending completion of the
road by Sept. 1, with a stipulation that the fine would be
reinstated for the total amount of days accumulated up to Sept. 1 if
the road has not been completed by then.
The Haspreys found this quite agreeable.
In discussing future developments Hickman thinks that it would be
best if the county adopted a plan so that roads are done before
houses are built.
Logan County planning director Phil Mahler agreed
that it is no good to issue occupancy before the roads are in.
Commission member and Atlanta Mayor Bill Martin said that in
Atlanta they don't issue building permits until the street is done.
"The minute we approve the preliminary plat the county assumes
responsibility to see it get done," Martin said. "If 10 or 20 years
from now drainage is messed up, people come back to the county to
fix it. That's Tom's job as county engineer to bring it [development
issues] up now."
White subdivision
Another development to the west of Lincoln is progressing in its
planning stages. Rod White presented a preliminary plat of a
subdivision he has, to go in off Route 10, on the other side of
I-55. He pointed out the intended plots and roadways on the diagram,
describing how access to established roads is planned. It also has a
new 50-50 shared roadway between those homes and the Brad Luckhart
development, which is also in preliminary stages.
The entire parcel is approximately 100 acres and currently has a
row of 11 lots for homes to be built on. There is room to add lots
to the south and west.
White was at the meeting to get approval of the general layout. A
lot of planning work needs to be done yet. It still needs a drainage
plan, Hickman said.
Hickman's only concern is the size of the lots, which are 97.68
feet wide by 400 feet deep, about nine-tenths of an acre. They meet
the current county requirement of approximately 20,000 square feet.
However, this size is still pushing the limits, which could lead
to costly problems and drainage issues over time. Numerous problems
can occur where homes need a well and septic system and are situated
too close together. Just in getting started you can't drill a well
within 75 feet of drainage lines
The county lost a good lot size when they dropped the country
homes ordinance that required a minimum 1 acre to build on,
according to Hickman.
Soil boring for perk tests for the septic systems have been
collected and gone to the environmental specialist at the Logan
County Health Department, Kathy Waldo.
Business expansion
S.K. Davison Trucking of New Holland is planning to expand its
operation by 3.44 acres and asked for Lincoln/Logan County
Enterprise Zone designation.
Owner Sharon Davison intends to add a large office/maintenance
building and extend the truck lot. They will add employees to the
office and two new drivers.
The business started on Jan. 31, 1997, with its office out of the
owner's home, which is on the site. S.K. Davison specializes in
livestock, grain, rock, fertilizer and asphalt transport.
The property is right next to an enterprise zone that was
declared for a summer power "peaker plant" that never materialized.
The commission approved the request and it will now move on to
the city of Lincoln and the Logan County Board for their approval.
