Update: Pritchardville rezoning passed by Beaufort County Council after heated debate
A controversial rezoning in the Pritchardville neighborhood got final approval from Beaufort County Council on Monday night, but nearby residents have vowed to appeal the decision.
After more than an hour of heated debate, the council agreed to rezone 36 acres just off Gibbett and May River roads that could allow the property to eventually become an RV park, as its owners have suggested.
But several residents argued Monday night the change will disrupt the character of their neighborhood, and nearly 90 Pritchardville residents have submitted letters of opposition.
Now neighbor and Beaufort County school board member Evva Anderson, who has spearheaded that opposition, vows opponents will appeal council's move.
"We'll do whatever we can," she said after the meeting. "It's just unfair."
Such an appeal likely would pit neighbors and the county in a civil lawsuit in the 14th Circuit Court, said deputy county administrator Josh Gruber.
At the heart of the debate was whether the change will negatively affect the dozens of homes surrounding the property along Gibbett Road. Ultimately, council voted 6-4 to approve the change, with Councilman Tabor Vaux absent for a family medical emergency.
Anderson and other opponents have argued that narrow, two-lane Gibbett Road can't handle the traffic of large RVs. They also contend the property could wind up with a series of other permitted uses under the new zoning, such as utilities or a waste facility.
Anderson and neighbor Michelle Mancini also have argued an RV park would bring "transient" residents, possibly increasing crime. Anderson came under fire earlier this month for condemning the rezoning because "pedophiles like to hide out in RV parks."
Backlash at Anderson's comments was swift and severe in comments online, and last week she wrote in an email that The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette misrepresented her concerns. She did not present the argument to the council again Monday night and said she stood by her email after the meeting.
But council members and planning director Tony Criscitiello counter that the zoning argument is irrespective of the eventual use of the property.
"The concerns I've heard expressed would be dealt with at the (planning department's Staff Review Team) ... that's where the details are ironed out," council Chairman Paul Sommerville said. "I'm concerned about everybody's concerns, but I think they're to be addressed with the staff."
Still, council members Cynthia Bensch, Rick Caporale, Steve Fobes and Stu Rodman opposed the change, saying it was not to the benefit of the entire neighborhood.
"I think a good case could be made that it diminishes the property values of those around it, and I haven't heard the case for a public benefit," Rodman said.
Bluffton resident Andrea Hubbard and Steve Huggins, Hubbard's cousin and owner of the six-parcel tract, have no immediate plans to submit a formal development plan for an RV park at the site, Hubbard said Monday.
For now the property will remain the site of 17 mobile homes and Andrea and Doug Hubbard, her husband, will meet with county staff to discuss their ideas, he said.
"We've finally got (the rezoning) done, but it's just a first step," Andrea Hubbard said. "We've got a long way to go."
Follow reporter Zach Murdock on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Zach and on Facebook at facebook.com/IPBGZach.
Related content:
- School board member raises spectre of pedophiles in mobile home park rezoning fight, Jan. 13, 2016
- School board member defends 'pedophile' comment on proposed Bluffton RV park, Jan. 19, 2016
This story was originally published January 25, 2016 at 3:18 PM with the headline "Update: Pritchardville rezoning passed by Beaufort County Council after heated debate."