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Residents ask Franklin County to press developer over unfinished Maple Creek roads
Summary
Residents of Maple Creek Ranches urged Franklin County to help resolve a yearslong dispute with a developer over unfinished roads, saying residents lack snow removal and pay county taxes while road work and promised amenities remain undone.
Diane Morgan, a resident and new HOA board member for Maple Creek Ranches Phase 2, told the Franklin County commission the neighborhood has waited years for promised road work and wants the county to push the developer to finish the streets so they can be accepted as public roads. "We're just asking for any way that you guys can step in, help resolve it," Morgan said, describing continuing negotiations with the developer and a lack of county follow-up since a June 22 meeting.
County staff said the underlying dispute appears to be between the homeowners association and the developer, and that responsibility for finishing the roads rests with the developer. The chair told residents the county cannot unilaterally convert private streets to public ones: "If you guys have got to get together with Guy, and between the two of you, whether that means you sue him or he sues you or you can just come to an agreement and we're gonna finish the road, that's where it's at right now," the chair said.
Residents told the commission that Phase 1 originally was created as private roads and that later phases were approved with an expectation of public roads once developer conditions were met. Morgan said some items on the consultant punch list have been completed but others remain; residents told the board a vendor estimate placed outstanding punch-list repairs in the $80,000–$100,000 range. Morgan also said the situation leaves many households without routine services: "We're looking at 23 residents that have no snow removal... Total of 33 residents who all pay county taxes at $4,000 a pop, and we're getting nothing out of the garbage service." Those numbers were raised as concerns by residents during public comment.
County staff told the public the developer's bond money is held in escrow and that release of funds requires engineer approvals and compliance with permitting. Commissioners said they would look into two specific questions raised by residents and requested a copy of the HOA's punch list so staff could follow up. The commission did not adopt new enforcement actions at the meeting; it offered residents the option to return after staff reports back or to meet with county attorneys if necessary.
