New 365-home neighborhood planned for site next to Bluffton’s May River High

The rapid growth of the Bluffton area could continue as 365 new homes have been proposed for a neighborhood in the New Riverside development directly adjacent to May River High School.

Bluffton’s Planning Commission voted unanimously Wednesday evening to recommend approval of an initial master plan for the proposed gated community near the intersection of New Riverside and Old Palmetto Bluff roads.

Plans for the new residential roughly 230-acre neighborhood, which is expected to be built in phases, call for construction to begin later this year, town documents show.

In addition to the new homes, the proposed master plan calls for several new private roadways; a series of lagoons and ponds; sidewalks and walking trails; and amenities that could include a pool, an open air pavilion, restrooms, a picnic area, and sports and recreation areas.

With the future of the Hilton Head National Golf Club redevelopment project just east of the Bluffton town limits uncertain, growth on the western side of Bluffton near the May River Road and U.S. 170 traffic circle may become a new focal point for scrutiny.

Town leaders have voiced concerns in recent months about rapid growth in areas such as New Riverside.

In February, Bluffton Town Council members delayed — but ultimately approved — a measure to grant preliminary approval to a project that would add as many as 300 new homes and a 50-acre retail area to a different New Riverside subdivision off S.C. 170.

“We’ve got to be very careful” about what kind of development the council allows in the future, Mayor Lisa Sulka said at that time.

During a discussion earlier this month of the town’s new 2018 fiscal year budget, town leaders stressed the importance of managing growth and density, even in communities where development agreements between landowners and the town are in place.

New Riverside is one such community.

The agreement — known as a Planned Unit Development — adopted in 2004 and amended several times allows for the construction of about 4,000 homes over a sprawling 4,000-acre parcel several miles west of Bluffton’s historic district and directly adjacent to Palmetto Bluff.

“It’s important for us to create a really nice environment,” property owner Avery Cleland said Wednesday.

The proposed 365 homes represent “a really low lot count for 230 acres,” he said. “... We are trying to keep it as comfortable in there as possible.”

Should the property owners decide to build more homes on adjacent parcels outside of that 230-acre property, they would have to seek to amend the master plan, town planning manager Kevin Icard said Wednesday.

Bluffton Planning Commission chairman Josh Tiller said Wednesday that “these are the kinds of communities that create a lot of school kids.”

He stressed the importance of providing connectivity between the neighborhood and the adjacent May River High School facilities.

Documents describing the initial master plan do include a gated roadway between the two properties.

In a letter earlier this month, Beaufort County School District superintendent Jeff Moss wrote that the district supports the proposed master plan for the new subdivision.

“Beaufort County School District values the partnership with all of our neighboring communities within the New Riverside (development),” the letter said.

The developer and the town of Bluffton have “worked with (the school district) to ensure (the district) will have the infrastructure required to meet the capacity needs for the rapidly growing student population of Beaufort County and the New Riverside community,” Moss wrote.

May River High School, which opened last year, has an enrollment of about 970 students, according to data from the S.C. Department of Education.

The current building has the capacity for 1,400 students and future expansion of the school could increase that capacity by several hundred, school district documents show.

Town council members will consider the Planning Commission’s recommendation on the New Riverside proposal at a meeting set for June 13 before voting to approve the master plan.

If approved, the community would be subject to the town’s standard development plan review process prior to breaking ground, Icard said.

This story was originally published May 24, 2017 at 7:43 PM with the headline "New 365-home neighborhood planned for site next to Bluffton’s May River High."