Project resumes on Lady's Island clear-cut site following stop-work order
Beaufort County order related to encroachment on buffers
"I wish we could have acted faster," county councilman says
Work has resumed on the site off Sams Point Road
Beaufort County issued a stop-work order last week to developers of a Lady's Island site that had been clear-cut for a housing community, Beaufort County Councilman Paul Sommerville said.
The 40-acre property was cleared for a D.R. Horton project called the Village at Oyster Bluff. During the work, clearing encroached on a mandated 50-foot buffer on Sams Point Road and another buffer on Sunset Boulevard, Sommerville said.
A plan to replant what was lost in the buffer areas had to be presented to the county before work could continue, he added. It seemed that criteria has been met, as a bulldozer and a backhoe worked the site Wednesday.
"I wish we could have acted faster but realistically, county staff can't be everywhere," Sommerville said.
Attempts to reach a D.R. Horton representative weren't immediately successful Wednesday. Bennett McNeal, who owned the property before selling to D.R. Horton, said he is no longer involved in the project.
Some Lady's Island residents spoke out against the cutting and burning of debris after the massive cleared lot appeared at Sams Point Road and Oyster Factory Road.
During a Lady's Island Community Preservation Committee meeting this month, concerned residents were told developers complied with Beaufort County's tree ordinance, conducting a tree survey and paying the required fee for some of the trees removed from the site.
Sommerville said earlier this month he was disgusted by the scale of the clear-cutting and asked council's natural resources committee to review the tree ordinance.
The development is the result of decades of planning. The original planned unit development agreement was approved in 1996.
The agreement includes plans for 114 homes, a gas station, 10,000 feet of office space and 29,000 feet of self-storage.
This story will be updated.
Follow reporter Stephen Fastenau on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Stephen.
Related content:
- Clear-cut land a shock to some Lady's Island residents, Jan. 17, 2016
- Letter: Clear-cut land bad sign for Beaufort, Jan. 14, 2016
- Harris Teeter proposed for Lady's Island in former Publix building, Sept. 14, 2015
This story was originally published January 27, 2016 at 12:39 PM with the headline "Project resumes on Lady's Island clear-cut site following stop-work order."