COASTAL OBSERVER

A 300-foot stretch of dirt road in Hagley Estates became public again this week, 10 days after being closed by a court order that set off a furor in the community.

“The road was closed before we knew anything about it,” said Glenn Wilson, an area resident. “You have to make sure that even though they’ve withdrawn this, we have to have a legally binding agreement that it can’t be done again.”

The order to close the road was vacated this week at the request of the property owners who sought to close it.

The road is a portion of Heather Drive that runs past four lots between Clifton Drive and Woodbourne Lane. There is a 40-foot right of way, but the road is only 8 feet wide.

Three adjoining property owners filed a petition in Circuit Court in May to close the road in front of their property. Georgetown County, which owns the road, offered no objection “to close Heather Drive so long as the same does not adversely affect or infringe upon the rights and duties [of the county] to carry out its public duties and services,” according to court filings.

The petition said the owners would publish a notice of their intent in the Georgetown Times for three weeks and mail a notice to “all abutting property owners,” who were the same ones who filed the petition.

Area residents said handmade signs were posted on the street saying it was private just before a hearing was held before the county master in equity on Sept. 18. 

Joe Crosby, the master in equity, issued an order to close the road three days later. He noted that the owners  – Randall W. and Martha C. Batch, Robin A. and William D. McCall Jr., and David S. and Madeline M. Epstein – agreed to grant the county easements to install or maintain  utilities and drainage across the now-private street.

“The public’s interest will not be adversely affected,” the order stated.

Neighbors disagreed.

“It makes a big difference,” said Tom Stickler, president of the Hagley Estates Property Owners Association, who received many complaints about the closure. “Why should all these other people drive considerably longer distances just because these three people are inconvenienced?”

Stickler acknowledged that the road system in Hagley, which was platted in 1966, is quirky. He estimated that losing access from Woodbourne to Clifton along Heather Drive would add about a mile to the drive of people who regularly take that route to reach Hagley Drive to the north or Old Plantation Drive to the south.

Some residents said their mail delivery stopped when Heather Drive was closed. Others were concerned about reduced access for emergency vehicles.

“They have a valid issue,” Stickler said.

Kathy Henderson told County Council last week that her grandchildren use Heather Drive between her house and her son’s as a safer alternative to the paved streets.

“I have always used that road,” she said, noting that she had lived in Hagley for 33 years.

Her son, Doug, organized an online petition to try to reverse the decision. It garnered over 500 signatures.

“I knew that there were some things in the works trying to vacate the order,” he said. “I’m just glad I was able to be there and add a little bit of real estate background.”

The opponents said there was no evidence that a public notice about the road closure had been published. The S.C. Press Association maintains a public notice database for the state’s newspapers. It contains no notice of the Heather Drive closing.

Stickler also pointed out that state law requires posting a sign about the proposed closure on the road in a location that meets the county’s approval and in a form that meets state Department of Transportation regulations.

“That process wasn’t really followed,” he said.

Stickler talked with Dan Stacy, attorney for the property owners, after the petition was filed.

“We didn’t sign off on it,” Stickler said. “I said, ‘what about the people who live in the neighborhood?’ ”

Stacy declined to comment on the matter.

County Council Member Bob Anderson, whose district includes Heather Drive, said he became aware of the situation when the petitioners contacted him before the court hearing.  “They wanted the county to put up some signs that said ‘Dead End,’ ” he recalled.

He looked at the road and heard complaints about under-age drivers, drinking and drug use.

Anderson said he spoke with the sheriff and was told that patrols would be increased in the area.

He said he also noted that a large live oak is growing into the right of way. Anderson is concerned that a road scraper could damage the roots of the tree. 

“I’m looking at that now,” he said.