City to Consider Annexation of 22 Acres on East-West Parkway
Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
The City of Anderson will consider moving ahead on the annexation of 22 acres on the East-West Parkway just south of Kings Road as part of Monday’s meeting set for 6 p.m. in city council chambers downtown.
The request by the property owner, Anderson Real Estate Attorney Williams Richard McClellion, is seeking annexation of the property of the tax map identification TMS 121-00-04-009 north of the parkway for a planned development district. Approximately eight acres is slated for multi-family development. If approved on Monday, the plan would be sent to the City of Anderson Planning Commission which could consider the annexation at their April 1 meeting.
The city’s recent Comprehensive Plan, which council will use to determine development, includes development of properties along the parkway, a move that was verboten when the parkway was constructed. Property owners were assured by the county that the county council opposed development along the parkway proper and passed a resolution requiring a supermajority to make any changes.
Concerns of traffic, access to the parkway and slowing down the major route have been expressed by citizens who use the parkway daily or who live around the proposed areas of new development.
Water runoff issues are also of concern to those souths of the newly proposed development, especially in subdivisions where flooding along Cox Creek has already been a serious issue.
The move comes as Anderson County Council is considering new development standards based partly on concerns of unbridled annexation and mass development, which has created issues in annexed areas such as Midway Road where water and grading questions continue.
The East-West Parkway officially opened on November 8, 2013.
County Council Chairman Tommy Dunn told the Anderson Observer in 2022 that he is not pleased with the thought of such potential development which he sees as a betrayal of the promises to the communities adjacent to the land on which the parkway was built.
“We met with people in these communities and they voted overwhelmingly to restrict any future development of the land along the parkway to R-20,” Dunn said. “That area, with the walking track, lights and park is one of the nicest places in Anderson. You cannot go by there day or night where you don’t see someone enjoying the parkway. We have this beautiful mile stretch of frontage land along the parkway and the city wants to mess that up.”
Dunn said the reason developers turn to the city for annexation is because the county has stricter standards and does not grant such zoning changes as are being considered on the parkway. He said the city has already annexed other areas of the county without any real input from residents who live in areas of the county who cannot vote for the city council members who are making the decisions.
Many who live in the city south of the parkway along Concord Road still are concerned about solutions and progress on flooding and water damage issues, as the county leaders continue to be disappointed over what some citizens have called the city’s continuing “annexation without representation.”
