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Council denies annexation request for small access parcel tied to Williams Reserve development
Summary
Council voted to deny annexation of a 1.99-acre parcel that developers sought to convert to a public access road into the Williams Reserve subdivision; council clarified the vote concerned maintenance responsibility (public vs. private) for the access and not the underlying zoning for the larger development.
The Fort Mill Town Council voted to deny a request to annex a 1.99-acre parcel that developers proposed to convert into a public access road for a portion of the Williams Reserve subdivision.
Penelope (town planning staff) and developer representatives explained the narrow scope of the decision: the annexation vote concerned whether the small parcel would become town-owned and the road public, or remain outside the town and therefore be maintained privately. Penelope said the broader Williams Reserve development is already zoned for the proposed uses; the specific annexation before council applied only to the access for 50 single-family lots within the larger planned neighborhood district (which was described as a 113 single-family and 80 townhome lots development with up to 220 retirement units across the entire project footprint).
Residents from Old Williamsburg and nearby neighborhoods urged denial, citing traffic and safety concerns on Williams Road and nearby intersections. Multiple speakers, including long-term residents, said Williams Road already functions as a cut-through and that additional access could worsen congestion near schools and on routes used to reach Fort Mill Parkway.
Developer consultant Sarah Shirley (Kimley Horn) and other representatives said the annexation request is a sketch-plan requirement and that the parcel’s annexation would not increase lot count but would allow the access road to be public rather than private. Town staff noted the parcel is contiguous to town limits and therefore eligible for annexation.
After discussion, a motion to deny the annexation request carried; council clarified denial would mean the road would remain private and that the developer would need to pursue county approvals if they wished a county-maintained entrance. Staff noted multiple traffic impact analyses have been performed and that additional transportation mitigation work (right-turn lanes, parkway improvements) was under review; SCDOT would make final determinations for roadway encroachments on state roads.
The motion to deny was made and seconded; the meeting record shows council members voted in favor of denial.
