rss
mobile
Feeds
But residents near the proposed site along the Okatie River remain wary.
A Beaufort County Planning Commission subcommittee gave the initial go-ahead to three planned unit developments or PUDs, Thursday.
The plans would put 1,252 homes, a waterfront park and more than 250,000 square feet of commercial space on 284 acres along a rural stretch of S.C. 170 near Okatie Elementary School. The proposals must still be examined by two more county panels before moving on to county council.
Jim Robinson, Jr., a former architect with Hilton Head Island-based Emerson Partners, is developing two of the three PUDs -- Osprey Point, a mixed use development, and River Oaks, a retirement community.
Winston-Salem-based La Casa Real Estate Development is overseeing the third -- Okatie Marsh, which is also mixed use.
Collectively the three developments, which would be interconnected by roads and paths, would be called Okatie Village.
John Thomas, a planning consultant for Edward Pinckney/Associates, who represents the developers, said research shows that Americans increasingly prefer living in walking-friendly communities.
He also argued that because Okatie Village residents would have the option to work, shop and play within their community, such a development would save the county money by pulling drivers off heavily traveled highways.
Thomas said he hoped the development would become a model for the county, as it comes to grips with a rising tide of new residents.
"You're not going to stop growth," he said. "Either manage it, or it runs you over."
The three subcommittee members who attended the meeting recommended the proposals move on to a full planning commission meeting, scheduled Feb. 4.
However, some Cherry Point Road residents living along the southern edge of the developments, were skeptical.
Terry Laseter, who has been fighting development near the elementary school for years, said many neighbors worried the new homes would change the character of the area.
"It's a different way of life back here," Laseter said. "You're canopied by trees and you don't hear much except for the birds." He argued the plans would bring noise and pollution to his neighborhood.
Several other residents wanted assurances that if developers get the go-ahead that they won't renege on promises of open space and trails, or sell to a different developer with different plans.
Thomas said developers would agree to design guidelines that would force them to stick with approved plans.
William Young, another Cherry Point Road resident, said he wanted the developer to offer the services it would provide to the new community -- including sewer, water, and fire protection -- to the existing one.
Young, said the plan wasn't perfect but "it could be a whole lot worse." He found the prospect of new local jobs appealing.
A number of issues remained unclear, however.
Developers have expressed interest in building some affordable housing for those working in the community. Thomas could provide no specifics as to how affordable that housing would be.
He also hinted developers might donate land for a public library, but so far, no commitment to the county has yet been made.
