04/14/2019
For those of you who do not know Clermont county is extending Clepper Lane on my property at Kennedy's Landing. I am all for economic development but what they are doing to us is a crime. They have their easement 17 ft 7 in away from my building and then there is a sidewalk and a 35 foot wide road that is only 50 feet from my buildings. There is 64 street lights, of which (7)are directly behind my buildings. We own about 235 feet wide of woods by 650 ft of woods, but they have to be that close to my building because they let Jeff Wyler expand his parking lot! And the parking lot is not used for new cars, it's just a catch all & junk cars area!
Last year the appraiser came to my apartments with a final plan of this road on my property and a canal running behind the building. I just cried.
The plans showed a private drive from my property to Jeff wyler's that was 135 feet long and 35 ft wide. This is illegal! Can you believe that the county was going to take my property by eminent domain and give it to Jeff Wyler for his own personal entrance to his car dealership! And who do you think was going to pay for that private drive? You and me, the taxpayers!
But Clermont county was so sure that they were going to take all this property from me at Kennedy's Landing, they already recorded it on my property before they even came to me with the final plans. This is illegal!
I was never notified that the road was being changed. I was never notified that Wyler was extending his parking lot, even though I am the adjoining property owner. As a matter of fact, they did not contact me at all until the final plans. But the County Engineers was in contact with Jeff Wyler because he knew that he was going to put a new sign up, at the new gate, which was the Private Drive all on my property!
I asked the county Engineers, Pat Manager and Craig Stevenson to meet with me and my attorneys. I also had Dave Painter, the Clermont County Commissioner and John Becker, the State Representative at the engineer's office for the meeting. I said we need to work together because the road is too close to my building and Jeff needs an access and it's not going to be on my property. They told me the road was set in stone and it was at the maximum radius. But I had an engineer survey it and it was NOT at the maximum radius, they could move the road over if they wanted to.
There is a lot of other things that the county is taking from Kennedy's Landing, that I have been fighting for, that I have not mentioned here! I could write a book on how wrong the Clermont County Engineers has handled this, in secret and only to benefit their self and Jeff Wyler!
Of course I had to hire an attorney and we subpoenaed all these records. And I did find a blueprint that it showed that it was a private drive in the earlier drawings from the county. My attorney contacted the Clermont county Commissioners and said this private Drive is illegal and you need to have this removed! So finally in October of 2018 the private Drive was removed off my property. Now the county has a dilemma on how to give Jeff Wyler the access to his property.
There is a law that you have to be 600 feet away from an exit ramp off of an interstate. There's going to be an exit ramp to Fayard that connects to the Clepper Lane Extension, so all those houses on Clepper Lane within 600 feet are going to be taken out, going to be torn down. When we subpoenaed the records from the County, State and Union Township it showed in an email from the Clermont County transportation, ODOT, the County Commissioners and Union Township. It said that they were going to wait till after the Public Meeting on the Clepper Lane Even, before they told those people on Clepper that their house was a whole take. They said they would follow up after the meeting with some letters and tell them that their house was going to be taken. Unfortunately, I am also one of those victims. I was at that meeting and the road was not 50 feet behind my building, and the easement within 17 feet of the back of my building.
So how are they going to give Jeff Wyler an access, now that it's not on my property? they are going to allow him to be within 550 feet of the exit ramp off of Fayard. So he doesn't lose any of his parking spaces, they do not want to put go on Jeff Wyler's property. As a matter of fact Jeff is only losing three trees!
I was offered money for the eniment domain from Clermont County. But there is no amount of money they can give us to replace what they are taking from Kennedy's Landing! How they are taking it, is not ethical. The illegal activity is ridiculous.
I called OR Colan, and talk to my mediator Anna Lee and I asked her where the appraisal was for the take? It had to be turned into me by November 6th. And she said that the Clermont County Engineers are making changes. I said what do you mean the Clermont County engineers, Pat Manger and Craig Stevenson are making changes? They can't change the appraisal? So I wrote the Clermont County Commissioners and said somebody needs to monitor the engineer's because I heard they're trying to change my appraisal for the amount of money they're going to give me for the eniment domain take. Needless to say after they filed a 30-day extension they did not change my appraisal! But they were definitely going to try!
So just pray for me, as we go forward and try to save some of our trees and try to get them road moved over! We definitely want to get this story out because it is not right. It is the principle of it now!
Thank you so much!
Drena Francis
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