Resident raises safety and service concerns about proposed Clark Drive subdivision

Charles Estelle of 233 Clark Drive told the Circleville City Council during public comment that he is concerned about a proposed subdivision planned for the field at the end of Clark Drive, and urged careful planning for safety, traffic and services.

"Retention ponds ... they're required by the EPA," Estelle said, adding that "we don't have to have walking paths around them. They don't have to be open for kids to fall into them." Estelle warned that paths around ponds can become places where children enter the water in summer and said, "It's not worth losing a child's life to give up a home to have a playground for those children."

Estelle also raised traffic and road-condition issues, saying Clark Drive is congested in the mornings and that heavy construction and delivery traffic for a new subdivision will increase truck traffic on the road. "That road was put in 4 years ago very poorly...they tarred and chipped half of Clark Drive. That's already fallen apart," he said. He said emergency vehicles and garbage trucks already use Clark Drive and that additional development will increase wear.

He questioned whether the town's infrastructure and services — water, sewer, roads, fire and ambulance — can absorb more development without higher costs for existing residents, especially older homeowners. Estelle told council he had raised water and sewer concerns previously at the zoning board and urged the council to consider the financial strain on elderly residents who may face rising bills.

Council acknowledged receipt of Estelle's written materials. No formal response or council action was taken during the meeting; council members said the zoning and related issues would be handled through the judicial committee and subsequent ordinances already under consideration.