Land use
Neighbors file appeal of staff ruling on townhomes
A proposed townhouse development on Petigru Drive will cause drainage and traffic problems and conflict with the county’s future land use plan, opponents say.
But that’s only part of the reason they have asked the Georgetown County Planning Commission to overturn the staff decision to grant conceptual approval to the project. The commission is scheduled to hear the appeal at its meeting Thursday.
“I’m essentially appealing a decision I don’t think they have the authority to make,” said Cindy Person, chief counsel for Keep It Green Advocacy.
She represents neighbors and citizens groups who object to the 46 townhouses and three single-family lots proposed for the 8-acre tract in the Parkersville community at Pawleys Island.
The project, known as Sweetgrass West, is the first submitted since County Council revised its procedure to allow the planning staff to determine if it complies with the county’s rules and regulations. Previously, multi-family projects with more than 10 units were reviewed by the Planning Commission, which held a public hearing. They then went to County Council for final approval.
The process was changed after a series of projects drew public outcry but were approved because they complied with the county zoning ordinance and development regulations. Three of those projects are the subject of lawsuits.
For Sweetgrass West, the county sent notices to property owners within 600 feet and put a sign on the road that a multi-family project was under review.
The planning staff addressed the public comments in a report to the Planning Commission, noting that the project will need to meet a higher standard for stormwater management because it is in a “special protection area”; that wetlands proposed for filling will be done with a federal permit that requires mitigation; and that the current “general residential” zoning allows multi-family projects.
A portion of the property that is zoned for 10,000-square-foot lots will be subdivided to create the three single-family lots.
Person argued that the project is high density development on a site that the future land use plan designates for medium density use. That issue is among those raised in the pending lawsuits, in which she represents the plaintiffs.
But she also pointed out that Sweetgrass West meets the county’s definition of a “major development.” The county’s development regulations require that those be reviewed and approved by the Planning Commission following a public hearing.
“It’s ultimately the Planning Commission’s decision,” Person said. “It’s not state law, it’s a local ordinance that says major subdivisions have to be approved by the Planning Commission.”
The change in the review of multi-family projects conflicts with that. It’s unclear whether the issue can be appealed to the commission or whether it is for the courts to decide.
“It depends on what they decide the process is. I have no idea and apparently they don’t either since they’ve never outlined it in their ordinance,” Person said.
The commission meets Thursday at 5:30 p.m. in County Council chambers in the old courthouse.
