Schools can’t handle 400 new homes along messy Highway 170 sector. Will it happen anyway?
In a debate Beaufort County will see occur frequently in the coming months and years, developers and affordable housing advocates again find themselves at odds with parents of school-age children and others interested in slowing the county’s aggressive growth.
This chapter of the saga involves a proposed development alongside an already over-crowded section of S.C Highway 170 in Okatie where builders have requested a zoning variance to clear the way for the construction of higher-density dwellings. On the other side, school district leaders are telling parents and county representatives that there are no empty desks available for new pupils. In this installment of the rock meets the hard place in local growth management, the focus is a place called Cherry Point.
According to Chief Operations Officer Robert Oetting, Beaufort County’s elementary, middle and high schools in Okatie don’t have the capacity or the funding to support any more students. And the section of Highway 170 near the school is already a mess without additional traffic.
But, with expected new development, more students and cars are a given. Now, the question is: How many more?
The County Council is deciding whether or not to change the parcel of land’s zoning to allow 18 times more homes per acre. Right now the 71.5 acre parcel off of Highway 170 sits undeveloped, but the new zoning and proposed development would mean around 400 new homes. The proposed development would be on Cherry Point Road and adjoin Okatie Elementary School and the River Oaks community. It would connect to the Malind Bluff community. Based on current mapping, students would be zoned for Okatie Elementary, at 91% capacity; Bluffton Middle School, at 84% capacity; and May River High School, at 91% capacity, even after a 22-classroom addition from the 2019 referendum.
The current zoning, called “T2 Rural,” limits non-residential uses, like apartment buildings, and only allows one home per three acres. The proposed new zoning, an alphabet soup mix of “T4NC” and “T3N” called “Village Place Type,” would allow six homes per acre or 18 homes per three acres. If the full 71.5 acres were to be utilized for homes, the total number of single family homes would approximately 400 homes versus 23 if the T2 Rural zoning is upheld. The permits being sought by developers would allow a community of single-family homes, duplexes and apartment buildings, according to Beaufort County codes.
The land hasn’t been sold to the developer who wants to build the proposed community yet, and the land rezoning is a condition of sale. In August the County Planning Commission recommended denial of the up-zoning. However, county staff still recommended approval of the up-zoning. Now it’s up to the county council.
County staff is recommending approval because guidance for the County’s development for the next 10 to 20 years, called the Comprehensive Plan, recommends the up-zoning, according to County Planning and Zoning Department Deputy Director Mark Davis.
In regards to school overcrowding, Davis said neighboring schools could shoulder the extra students. Council Member Joseph Passiment mentioned that there are plans for a new Bluffton elementary school in the proposed $439 million referendum, which is up for vote in November.
“Okatie Elementary has a very large attendance area so,” Davis said. “It’s our understanding this would have an impact of making their attendance areas smaller and it would be shouldered by the neighboring school.”
Bluffton’s population increased by over 150% from 2010 until the last U.S. Census report in 2021. It boomed from 12,530 to 31,191, and the district is reacting to the population growth. In the Bluffton area, Pritchardville Elementary opened in 2010 and River Ridge Academy opened in 2015.
When Beaufort County Schools were asked for comment on the proposed community in April, Oetting, the chief operations officer, said that Bluffton school’s “total enrollment already exceeds the total needed capacity.” They’ve already seen issues with overcrowding, including one instance where it will likely prevent children in a new Bluffton community from attending the elementary school less than a mile away.
Some council members also worry about traffic implications for an already chaotic section of Highway 170.
“It’s still 400-and-some homes there with at least 600 cars there,” County Council member Logan Cunningham said at the meeting. “2:1 ratio.”
Kevin Dukes, the lawyer representing the developer, said that they have worked with the planning commission and the public to create “solution-oriented development.”
“We made changes all along the way to try to be a solution to the problems that are in this area,” Dukes said. “Not to, you know, be seen as contributing to the problem. That’s the way it seems to be portrayed.”
Dukes said the developers will build a back entrance to the neighborhood, turn lanes at Cherry Point Road and an intersection at Riverwalk Boulevard, and they will commit to including workforce housing in the community.
The County Council will discuss the development at its 5 p.m. meeting Monday.
“The Council could either approve the agreement being presented, deny the agreement from being presented or return it back to the committee for further investigation,” Council Member Tab Tabernik said.
This story was originally published September 25, 2023 at 11:34 AM.
