COASTAL OBSERVER

A plan to develop a tract between Highway 17 and Pawleys Creek will limit the density of future homes, which has the support of some neighbors and a citizens group.

But developing homes between two commercial tracts will set the stage for future conflicts, the Georgetown County Planning Commission was told last week.

“These people are going to be right in our backyard,” said Micky Stikas, owner of the Village Shops, which is on the south side of the proposed Magic Oaks development.

The commission recommended approval of the “flexible design district” zoning that will allow RCB Holdings of Conway to develop 27 lots on a portion of the 19-acre tract. There are 10.7 acres of salt marsh zoned “conservation preservation” and cannot be developed.

The property was once the home of Reese Hart, a chemist, inventor and magician. 

The uplands are a mix of “general residential” and “general commercial” zoning. Although residential development is allowed in the commercial district, dwellings must be set back farther from the street than in the residential district.

A request to rezone the uplands to “general commercial” was withdrawn last month after objections from neighbors. That would have allowed high density development on the property even though the plan called for single-family lots. The flex district restricts the site to 27 lots.

The reduced setbacks for lots within the 3.2 acres that are currently zoned for commercial use is the key to the request, said Dan Park, a landscape architect with the Earthworks Group, which is designing the project.

“That’s the only reason I’m standing before you tonight,” he told the commission.

The setbacks will keep the future homes as far as possible from the adjacent businesses, Park said.

The developers also agreed to include a statement in its community documents acknowledging that noise and odors from commercial activity may require screening by homeowners. It will also recognize that the zoning allowed for commercial uses.

“The developer has been very gracious,” Stikas said.

The village shops is adjacent to four of the proposed homesites. He pointed out that the Island Bar and Grill backs up to the adjacent property and includes a bandstand and a kitchen exhaust vent.

“It’s going to be a problem for my tenants to be harassed with noise complaints,” Stikas told the commission.

He pointed out that the zoning ordinance currently does not allow a tavern or nightclub within 300 feet of property zoned for residential use.

In addition, Stikas noted the current zoning would require that any commercial development on the Magic Oaks tract connect with  the Village Shops and the Hammock Shops. The flex district plan doesn’t include a connection. The new development will have a gated access to Highway 17.

Stikas said afterward that he plans to fight the zoning change, which requires three readings by County Council.

Cindy Person, chief counsel for Keep It Green Advocacy, said the group and two adjacent property owners support the flex district zoning. While Keep It Green would normally oppose additional residential development, she said, the proposal will limit the density on the existing residential property.

She told the commission that the issue was complicated by the “major inconsistency” between the zoning on the property and its designation on the county’s future land use maps. On the maps, the entire parcel is shown as “conservation preservation.”

“It is unusual to have a CP designation on an upland piece,” Holly Richardson, the county planning director, said. “I can’t really give you an explanation.”

Her staff researched the property records, found there was no conservation easement on the property and determined the designation was most likely a mapping error.

Park told the commission that the development plan calls for protecting live oaks on the property by placing a stormwater retention system under the street rather than digging ponds.

“That allows us not to have to clear all the trees,” he said. “We kind of like the live oaks that are on the site.”

Two neighbors, Beth Martin and Kathy Reed, said they appreciated that the property will be limited to medium density development, but told the commission they are still concerned about stormwater and wetlands.

Commission member Marla Hamby asked about the standing water on the north side of the property, where three lots are proposed. 

“They’re not proposing any impact on those wetlands,” said Charles Oates, the project manager for the Brigman Co., which is doing the wetland delineation.

Even with the wetlands, the proposed lots have enough buildable area for houses, he added.