Earle Street keeps Waffle House fight alive

By Charles Sowell  

JULY 27, 2009 5:12 a.m. (1)

Waffle House will likely seek legal recourse should they be denied permission to operate a restaurant at 11 E. Stone Avenue on a 24-hour a day basis, said Rivers Stilwell, the attorney representing the company.

Ever since plans for the restaurant first came to light in late June residents of the historic Earle Street and North Main neighborhoods have protested the proposal due to the potential for increased crime and noise.

In response, a change to Greenville’s C2 Zoning law passed on first reading earlier this month. It would require Waffle House to seek a special exception from the Board of Zoning Appeals to operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

The change will affect businesses in C2 city-wide, but was promulgated specifically with Waffle House in mind.

The measure will come up for second and final approval in early August, according to city officials, and should easily win passage.

“Of course the change in zoning hasn’t passed council yet, and we plan to ask for the special exception,” Stilwell said earlier this week. “We’re talking about many millions of dollars of potential profit over the lifetime of this restaurant and we’d ask (a court) for recompense. This is a lot more than just the $50,000 down payment money.”

Councilwoman Amy Ryberg-Doyle said she was proud of the work done by city staff and council to come up with the C2 zoning change that would hold businesses accountable and give some measure of protection to neighborhoods.

She wouldn’t comment on any potential legal action beyond saying that Waffle House has a right to protect their interests and that the zoning board would handle any request by the chain fairly and according to the law.

Mayor Knox White and City Manager Jim Bourey, along with other officials, were out of town this week and unavailable for comment.

During the first reading on the zoning change city attorney Ron McKinney said the measure should be applied to Waffle House even though the restaurant chain had already submitted a site plan and other documents to the city, a move that Stilwell says isn’t fair to his client or the owner of 11 E. Stone, Russ Stevens.

Stevens, a teacher at Dorman High School in Spartanburg County, said his family has owned the property since 1901 when his grandfather purchased the lot.

“Over the years there have historically been businesses all around the lot,” Stevens said. “I know we’ve tried to be good neighbors. My uncle turned down an offer by Eckerd (pharmacy) to purchase part of the property because they sold alcohol.

“There have been several other deals that came forward and fell through since I’ve been trying to sell the property. Waffle House is the first credible offer in a long time.”

Stevens said he’s talking to attorneys and plans to defend his property rights.

“This is my kids’ college money we’re talking about here. My wife and I are both teachers and the $200,000 sale price on the property is a lot of money to us.”

The .53-acre property is located between the Rite Aid pharmacy at the corner of North Main and Stone and auto service center. The 1,800-square-foot building would have parking for 24 vehicles and seat 32 customers.

According to city planning officials the revised Waffle House plans meets all city design standards and standards for landscaping.

Waffle House has said it hopes to prove itself a good neighbor to the North Main area. “We’re looking forward to opening our newest Waffle House in Greenville,” said Pat Warner, a company spokesman. “We have a decades-long relationship in the area and feel this restaurant will build on that.”

Stilwell said the neighborhood reaction caught the company by surprise.

“I think it was much the same with Rite Aid (the pharmacy that took Eckerd’s place at the corner of North Main and Stone). But that’s changed. I shop there several times a week now.”

The attorney lives on Earle Street, a short distance from the pharmacy.

Mike Cubelo, a neighborhood activist opposed to the Waffle House plan, launched a city council vote and position tracking survey shortly after the controversy erupted.

“I want to give the neighborhood a sense of how their council members stand on the issues,” he said.

Ryberg-Doyle said many of the questions poised by Cubelo couldn’t be answered with a simple yes, or no – for or against – answers and she plans to stop participating in the survey.