Speculation about cleared land
By SANDRA STONE Anytime land is cleared, questions arise as to what is going to be built, what is going to happen in that area. The two-acre parcel at the corner of the Bypass and Four Oaks Road is the latest subject of such wonderings and a source of concern for residents of the Four Oaks Subdivision. “We’re concerned about what might go in there,” said Four Oaks resident Diana Vessels. Vessels cited two concerns about deed restrictions and the violation of same. The first is an adequate buffer between the commercial property and the residential property (Four Oaks Subdivision) behind it. The second restriction regards thoroughfares being planned so commercial and industrial traffic is directed away from residential streets. “We don’t want that to bring traffic back to our subdivision,” she said. “We’re a very quiet neighborhood.” The property is owned by Heritage Center, Inc. According to Doug Reed, who is part owner of this property, it was purchased as an investment in the 1990s and rezoned from R-1 (residential) to C-2 (commercial). Eight of the 10 acres were sold. Pamida was built, followed several years later by two restaurants, an auto parts store and a small strip of storefronts, including another restaurant. The remaining two acres have remained undeveloped. With the planned widening of the Bypass, said Reed, the owners of this property considered this an opportune time to clean up the property and sow it in grass seed as part of the trees on the property would be cut down anyway to make room for the wider road. At present, there are no plans for the property, said Reed, other than to clean it up. “There’s been nothing presented to us that they’re (Heritage Center, Inc.) going to do anything but clean it up,” said Brandenburg Mayor David Pace regarding concerns about plans for this property. With regard to the concerns about a thoroughfare, Pace said, “This is not a thoroughfare. It will be the one lot that ties into the roadway.” And it is a public roadway. When the property was sold in February 1970 to Midland Corporation, the deed reads, in part: “It is understood that a road, 50 feet wide by approximately 800 feet long as already agreed on by the buyer and seller is to be built by the buyer and dedicated to public use. With regard to the buffer, Pace said, there is still a buffer of trees on the southwest and west sides of the property. The trees are large, however, and the site can be seen from the residential properties. “Who determines adequate?” asked Pace. “It’s probably something we have to present to our planning and zoning commission to look at.” The Brandenburg Planning and Zoning Commission will hold a public hearing March 13 at 7 p.m. in the annex of the Meade County Public Library to receive public opinions and have discussion on this property.
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Photo by Sandra Stone