County Agrees to Settlement Of Suits Over Sewer Capacity Fees

The Oconee County Board of Commissioners Tuesday night approved a settlement agreement with the owners of Parkside and Westland subdivisions that will allow the massive residential master plan developments in the center and west of the county to move forward.

The developers did agree to concessions, including the reduction of the number of lots in both developments, elimination of proposed attached homes from Westland, inclusion of lots reserved for persons 55 years old and older in Parkside, and that no more than 75 building permits would be issued per year.

The developers are to bring the agreed-upon plans before the county Planning Commission at its Dec. 10 meeting and before the Board of Commissioners in January, but neither body could modify the plans without upsetting the agreement approved by the Commission tonight.

County Attorney Daniell Haygood also said consent orders will need to be entered in Oconee County Superior Court finalizing the settlement, which puts to an end the county’s efforts to refund sewer capacity fees to the developers.

The Board took the action after a 45-minute executive session that followed its agenda-setting meeting.

For details of the settlement, with a video of the meeting and announcement, please go to Oconee County Observations.

Pictured: Chair John Daniell