Coach worries annexation is a game changer




Burke County commissioners have unanimously objected to a proposed annexation into the City of Waynesboro.

The city has provided notice to the county that it intends to annex two parcels into the city limits, one of which Coach Eric Parker believes would cause traffic problems on Brinson Road.

“Whenever a city is anticipating annexing a piece of property, state law provides that the city notifies the county board and the board has either 30 days to object or state that they have no objection to annexation,” explained County Manager Merv Waldrop during the panel’s monthly meeting September 14.

The annexation request was made by Mark B. Yoder Jr. and Polly D. Yoder. Following annexation, tract 2 of the property will be split into two parcels with proposed zoning of R-3 Residential and R-1 Residential Districts. Another parcel will be R-1 Residential. The principal land use will be residential for the annexed properties, according to an August 25 letter signed by City Manager Valerie Kirkland. Most of the site is already inside the city limits.

BCHS Football Coach Eric Parker objected to the annexation in-person and by a September 3 letter submitted to the board.

“The reason for this communication is to request that our county commissioners object to the proposed annexation of the .11 acres of land, located on Brinson Road …,” the letter states. “We are talking about a proposed, nearly 100 family unit project using a small neighborhood road, which is not equipped for this purpose – as an entrance or exit for the new development. My wife and I find it quite frightening.”

Parker said the new development will border his property and brings concern for the amount of increased traffic.

“We are not talking about 20-25 homes,” he said. “We are talking close to 100 families being in that subdivision upon completion.”

Parker said the proposed project brings concern for the impact to the esthetics and safety of the neighborhood.

“I really ask that you oppose the annexation from the county commissioners simply for the fact of what it will do to my home,” he said. “Right now, if you go out there, there are kids biking, walking their dogs. There are families out strolling in their golf carts. That is going to change if you annex that piece of property right next to my property… I don’t think it’s fair to uproot the way of life for people in that community.”

Parker said he also spoke for others who currently live in that community.

To ease worry, the developer stated that the townhouse traffic would be rerouted to the East forcing it to exit onto 4th Street.

County Attorney Barry Fleming advised the board that they could object to the annexation until written plans were submitted to Waldrop.

“You file an objection then when the city and the developer satisfy our concerns, then you can always drop your objection,” he said. “This gets you to the point of negotiations with the city.”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.