Neighbors angry over Allison Creek development proposal

York County residents on the Allison Creek peninsula are angry over a proposal that could more than double the number of homes in the lakeside community between Hands Mill Highway and Lake Wylie.

Neighbors of the Lakeside Glen development on Allison Creek Road are upset with a recently approved plan to increase the density within the residential subdivision from one house per acre to two, which would allow almost 600 new homes to be built on the peninsula. They are angry that the development went through the planning process and gained approval from York County without anyone in the community knowing about it, which they say violated a previous covenant agreement for the area.

“We worked for months on that, had presentations for the community, and everyone was OK with it,” said Jane Finch, vice president of the Allison Creek Peninsula Homeowners Association. “And then boom, it changed.”

Now, the homeowners group is consulting an attorney on behalf of its 300 members about possible legal action against the developer, Crescent Communities, and York County.

In 2008, the Allison Creek Peninsula Homeowners Association believed it had avoided exactly this issue after negotiating a covenant with Crescent that would keep any future home construction in Lakeside Glen to about 350 homes. But in June 2014, the developer decided to terminate the density restriction.

At a public hearing before the York County Council on May 5 of that year, two Crescent representatives spoke in favor of the change they said would give them the flexibility to reduce density in the nearby Crowder’s Creek development, dropping the number of planned homes from 2,400 to 950. No one else at the meeting rose to speak on the issue, and the motion passed without controversy.

This past Feb. 17, the County Council voted unanimously to approve the amended covenant for Lakeside Glen allowing for increased density and paving the way for March 9 approval by the Planning Commission of Crescent’s subdivision review that would allow 617 new homes in Lakeside Glen, 550 of them on the peninsula itself.

It was only after the fact that residents on Allison Creek learned of the changes. Billy Hagner said he only heard about it by chance from someone who attended the Planning Commission meeting on a different matter. He brought it to the attention of the homeowners association, whose members were surprised to learn the covenant agreement they put in place seven years earlier had been vacated.

“We were sitting here fat, dumb and happy, because we thought the covenant was still in effect,” said Jack Lockwood, HOA president.

Residents say they never received any notification of a proposed change, and claim no signage was posted around the tract letting neighbors know of any upcoming hearing.

Attempts to clarify residents’ complaints with York County officials were unsuccessful. Planning Director Audra Miller referred questions about the development to the county manager’s office, citing county policy. Phone calls and emails to county administration received no reply.

Lockwood said he’s heard that because changing the terms and restrictions on the deed did not require a zoning change, no notification was required. But Hagner believes he and other property owners should have been notified because they bought adjoining property from Crescent under the terms of the 2008 covenant, which technically makes them homeowners in the affected tract.

“By law, we are entitled to keep those covenants in place as written, unless we agree to something different,” Hagner said. “And increased density is the last thing we should want for this area.”

James Martin, vice president of Crescent’s residential division, admits the company didn’t initially take the surrounding landowners’ reaction into consideration.

“We strive to work with surrounding owners as much as possible,” he said. “Did we reach out to them in this instance? We did not. But we are committed to do it now and involve the greater community in the process.”

Property owners on the peninsula worry the new development could negatively affect their property values. The construction of 500 new homes and the necessary infrastructure will have a negative environmental impact on the lake, they say. They worry about increased traffic on Allison Creek Road, the peninsula’s only access point to Hands Mill Highway (S.C. 274).

Lockwood notes a planned second road leading into Lakeside Glen was never built and doesn’t appear to be part of the development plans.

Hagner is especially worried about the peninsula’s proximity to the Catawba Nuclear Station, less than two miles from any site on the peninsula. If the homes are built, he estimates the population on Allison Creek could grow from its current 563 to nearly 2,000, potentially complicating an evacuation during a disaster scenario.

Residents accuse the County Council of not properly considering the proposed changes before voting it through, but Councilman Bruce Henderson, who represents the Lake Wylie area, said developers sold the changes in 2014 as a means to reduce density in Crowder’s Creek.

“I would say a full disclosure was not presented,” Henderson said.

But Martin said the agreement was never a quid pro quo.

“Nothing was said that because of (the Crowder’s Creek reduction), we’re going to increase Allison Creek down the road,” he said. “But it did mention the county would work with us to amend the incumberances on Allison Creek, not to increase, but to amend.”

While saying the council should be “more skeptical” of recommendations coming from developers, Henderson said he’s spoken to Crescent executives about making changes to their plans for Lakeside Glen. Homeowners association members had an informal meeting with the company last week, and both sides have been in a dialogue with planning staff.

Martin said Crescent hoped to share a revised plan to the concerned residents soon that will address their concerns.

“I hate that they got so upset,” he said. “But hopefully now it’s time to dial that back.”

This story was originally published April 9, 2015 at 9:14 PM with the headline "Neighbors angry over Allison Creek development proposal."