FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – Residents of the Lake Oakdale neighborhood are speaking out against a proposal for a developer to annex a section of the land at The Palms Course to the city. They say it will cause a number of issues in their community, including decreased home values and traffic congestion. They’re also worried it could lead to apartments and condos being built.
Residents say, if the developer, Gary Finklea, successfully gets the land annexed and zoned, he could construct multi-family and multiplex housing, which residents say they don’t want in their neighborhood.
“The code does open a door for either apartments, condos, townhouses or something that will increase the density of the population in the area. And we don’t want to give that up,” said John Cameron, a Lake Oakdale resident. Residents fear the addition of multi-family housing would bring down the value of their homes.
Right now, the land is privately-owned and is in Florence county. Mayor Stephen Wukela says Finklea is requesting to annex the land because he wants the benefits that the city provides. According to Mayor Wukela, Finklea will be subject to city regulations and taxes but other residents in the area won’t.
“That doesn’t affect his neighbors. He’s not annexing his neighbors in. They won’t get city services and they won’t be taxed by the city,” he explained.
Some residents are also concerned that the city is going against the development ordinance. They say, according to that ordinance, two pieces of land have to touch in order to be merged. They say city leaders are finding loopholes to abut the two properties.
“They’re connecting it with a 10-foot strip across the golf course and a lakebed. And there are regulations saying you can’t use a lakebed or a roadway to create the connection,” Cameron said. He also said residents were not informed about this proposal until last week when notices started popping up in the neighborhood.
“They had this sign that was put up at the end of this cul-de-sac. A couple of other ones, one where a road is washed out from the storm damage last year. And until Thursday, there wasn’t even one in the neighborhood that’s adjacent to the property that’s going to be developed.”
We reached out to Finklea for comment and could not get in touch with him. We also spoke with Florence County Councilman Willard Dorriety, Jr. He told us he understands both sides. The city’s planning commission is expected to hear the request on Tuesday night at 6. If the request is approved, it will then move to the city council for action. That meeting is scheduled for May 14th.
