By Jason Evans
Staff Reporter
jevans@thepccourier.com

PICKENS — Concerned residents and non-residents are set to discuss a proposed 200-acre annexation of property on Wolf Creek School Road with developers and Pickens city officials during a town hall meeting on Wednesday.

A change.org petition by Pam Winters against the annexation had gathered nearly 900 signatures as of Tuesday morning.

“We thrive in the charm of our small town and the tranquility of the surrounding community. This could be disrupted by the proposed annexation of parcel 4180-00-46-1109 and the development of 140 or more high-density housing units located at Mauldin Lake and Wolf Creek School Roads,” the petition reads. “Unwanted development threatens not only the aesthetics of our community, but the kind of life we’ve chosen for ourselves and our children.”

Pickens City Council discussed “negotiations incident to proposed contractual arrangements” during an executive session at its April 14 meeting but took no action on the matter.

Mayor Isaiah Scipio announced that a town hall meeting would be held to discuss the issue further.

The meeting is set for 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 23, in the county council chambers of the Pickens County administration building at 222 McDaniel Ave. in Pickens.

The agenda includes time for comments from Scipio, a presentation from the developer and property owner “as it relates to the development and site planning for property on Wolf Creek School Road,” comments from city residents, comments by non-city residents and comments by Pickens City Council members.

Opponents of the annexation say a no vote from council members will still allow the owner to sell the property and for it to be developed, but at a lower density of around 60-70 homes.

Ben Mann lives in Heritage Estates, across the street from the proposed development, and says the idea of the annexation and the high-density project that could result from it is an issue the city has been dealing with “for maybe a couple of years.”

“We oppose this thing because we’re against the high-density development,” Mann said. “We’re not opposed to development. What we’re against is all the problems the high-density projects bring with them.”

Those problems include water and sewer and additional burdens on fire, police and EMS, as well as “the traffic on two small roads, Wolf Creek School Road and Mauldin Lake Road,” he said.

Compounding the issue is the fact the developer cannot build on the entire property, due to the presence of Duke Energy transmission lines on its right of way on one portion and federally protected wetlands on another, Mann said.

“They’re only building on a small portion of the property,” he said.

As the Courier reported earlier, the issue has come before Pickens City Council before, with council set to vote on the annexation in September 2024 before voting unanimously to table the measure.

Following public comments at an October 2024 council meeting, Pickens city administrator Tim O’Briant said that council would not move forward until it received more information from the developer and a completed development agreement was ready.

Mann said that through “negotiations and complaints,” the proposal has been reduced from more than 200 units to a lower number.

“But then things went silent,” he said. “The city did continue negotiations with the developer, but none of it has been made public. We don’t actually know what the current proposal is that the city and the developer have reached. We do not know how many houses on how many acres are now proposed. “

While the other potential problems Mann mentioned can be addressed “given enough time and money,” he also has concerns about issues that might not be easily solved, if they can be solved at all.

“The first one is congestion,” he said. “Whether the number of houses is 200, 150, 180, congestion will come with it.”

You don’t have to drive to a big city like Atlanta or Charlotte to find congestion, he said.

“If you want to see congestion, drive down to our neighbor Easley; you’ll find plenty of congestion, as a result of these high-density developments that Easley has,” Mann said. “How will we avoid becoming Easley Junior?”

Pollution is another concern. Mann said 150 new houses will bring plenty of new vehicles to the area.

The pollution produced by them will add to the pollution “introduced by having 150 to 200 new houses condensed on a small area,” he said.

“Air pollution will be worse than it is now by far,” Mann said. “There will be a couple of hundred vehicles coming into that small area every morning and afternoon.”

Noise and light pollution are also concerns.

“Right now, this area is rural and agricultural,” Mann said. “At night we’re dark and we can see the stars. It’s going to diminish the ability to live in quiet, pleasant darkness. There’ll be a glow to it, that’s obvious.”

He doesn’t feel the developer will be able to argue about those potential impacts.

City officials may favor annexation due to the potential impact fees the city will receive from developments. Mann believes the number discussed earlier was $4,200 per unit.

“That would be a high sum of money to come into the city,” he said. “It should be used to mitigate the problems the developments will bring into the city. But fairly soon, the impact money will be spent and the problems will remain.”

Approving the annexation will make it harder for officials “to say no to the next one and the next one,” Mann said.

“The thing that makes Pickens so attractive will be demolished,” he said. “We enjoy the food and fields and lots of space and the close-by mountains and lakes.”

Of those who have been asked and who have signed petitions, around 90 percent oppose the annexation, Mann said.

“It seems like overwhelmingly it is not wanted by the people who live here,” he said.

If officials have different information, it should be shared with the public, as should any positives officials feel annexation will bring, Mann said.

“If this is such a good deal for the city and the community, why haven’t they been telling us about it for months?” he said.