A hearing on the already contentious official abandonment of Yellow Bluff Road at the east end of Islands Highway has led the county commissioners — again — into discussion of complaints by Gary Barnes about road access to his home at 295 Oyster Point Drive.
Attorney William Glass, representing Barnes, told the commissioners during their hearing on Yellow Bluff Road that they should deal with the abandonment - or the maintenance — of all the roads at Yellow Bluff at the same time and in the same way.
Glass and his client have discussed streets in Yellow Bluff, Van Dyke Road and what they call Van Dyke Extension, which they say are public roads and the responsibility of the county.
County attorney Kelly Davis said his research revealed some possibility that Yellow Bluff Road from Islands Highway to the marina had been maintained in the past by the county. He recommended the commissioners recognize that portion of that one road as having been county maintained and that they continue the formality of abandoning it.
When Glass continued, attorney Andrew Johnson, representing the Yellow Bluff Development, objected to the discussion of roads within the development, except for Yellow Bluff Road that was listed specifically on the commissioners’ agenda for the November meeting.
As Commission Chairman John McIver began to ask if any further investigation of the status of Van Dyke Road should be made, other commissioners and member of the audience starting conducting conversations, none of which were audible to all.
At one point, it was obvious some commissioners and others had confused Van Dyke Road, which is entirely within the Yellow Bluff community, with the similarly named Van Dyke Creek Road.
Van Dyke Creek Road, which is county maintained, is near Yellow Bluff as the crow flies, but its only road connection with Yellow Bluff is via Islands Highway.
A member of the audience identifying himself as Wayne DeLoach said he lived at 66 Yellow Bluff Road and that if the county was abandoning the road it should be given to him. Failing that, he said, he should have the opportunity to purchase the abandoned road.
Before that question could be addressed, the commissioners decided to continue the road abandonment matter at a future meeting.
The possibility of abandoning Yellow Bluff Road has been discussed for more than a year. It arose when developers and contractors made most of the road unusable by their placement of curb and gutter and other construction.
Residents of the small remaining part of Yellow Bluff Road then began putting up traffic cones, homemade signs, etc., to warn drivers that what had been the route to the marina had become — without any official signage — an extremely short, dead-end street.
Attorney William Glass, representing Barnes, told the commissioners during their hearing on Yellow Bluff Road that they should deal with the abandonment - or the maintenance — of all the roads at Yellow Bluff at the same time and in the same way.
Glass and his client have discussed streets in Yellow Bluff, Van Dyke Road and what they call Van Dyke Extension, which they say are public roads and the responsibility of the county.
County attorney Kelly Davis said his research revealed some possibility that Yellow Bluff Road from Islands Highway to the marina had been maintained in the past by the county. He recommended the commissioners recognize that portion of that one road as having been county maintained and that they continue the formality of abandoning it.
When Glass continued, attorney Andrew Johnson, representing the Yellow Bluff Development, objected to the discussion of roads within the development, except for Yellow Bluff Road that was listed specifically on the commissioners’ agenda for the November meeting.
As Commission Chairman John McIver began to ask if any further investigation of the status of Van Dyke Road should be made, other commissioners and member of the audience starting conducting conversations, none of which were audible to all.
At one point, it was obvious some commissioners and others had confused Van Dyke Road, which is entirely within the Yellow Bluff community, with the similarly named Van Dyke Creek Road.
Van Dyke Creek Road, which is county maintained, is near Yellow Bluff as the crow flies, but its only road connection with Yellow Bluff is via Islands Highway.
A member of the audience identifying himself as Wayne DeLoach said he lived at 66 Yellow Bluff Road and that if the county was abandoning the road it should be given to him. Failing that, he said, he should have the opportunity to purchase the abandoned road.
Before that question could be addressed, the commissioners decided to continue the road abandonment matter at a future meeting.
The possibility of abandoning Yellow Bluff Road has been discussed for more than a year. It arose when developers and contractors made most of the road unusable by their placement of curb and gutter and other construction.
Residents of the small remaining part of Yellow Bluff Road then began putting up traffic cones, homemade signs, etc., to warn drivers that what had been the route to the marina had become — without any official signage — an extremely short, dead-end street.