The Augusta Planning Commission voted in favor of a proposed south Augusta neighborhood and an extended stay hotel during its December meeting on Monday afternoon.
Beazley Development had petitioned for a variance from Section 400-K(c) of the Augusta Land Subdivision Regulations, which requires at least four entrances be installed in any subdivision with more than 300 lots, for some 58 acres along 3038 and 3047 Manchester Drive.
The developer plans to build 95 new single-family lots, adjacent to the Cambridge subdivision, which already has 259 homes, with Manchester Drive serving as the sole street access to both neighborhoods.
Beazley’s Vice President of Land Development, Joseph Gulino, highlighted the fact that many homes in the Cambridge subdivision and several nearby subdivisions were built before Augusta-Richmond County adapted the ordinance in Section 400-K(c) in 2017, and that those neighborhoods are not compliant with the ordinance.
Gulino also stressed a need and desire for further development in south Augusta, saying that Richmond County had issued 233 building permits this year as of October, compared to Aiken County’s 1,065 and Columbia County’s 645.
“Beazley Holmes… is probably responsible for half of those,” Gulino said. “We want to develop properties. We want to build Richmond County, and particularly south Richmond County.”
Samuel Walker, president of the Cambridge Homeowners Association, spoke to the commissioners on behalf of Cambridge residents attending, initially, in opposition to the request.
Walker referred to a meeting between the Homeowners Association, developer Bill Beazley and Beazley’s attorney, saying that the parties had entered a memorandum of agreement that restricted Beazley from building more than 98 lots. Gulino and the planning staff noted that the development plan was for no more than 95 lots.
Patricia Jeter, a resident of the Elderberry subdivision, with relatives who live in Cambridge, opposed the petition, saying that a single entrance for such a large neighborhood is dangerous, and has proven problematic for her own neighborhood.
Planning staff recommended denial of the request, but provided three conditions in the event the commissioners voted to recommend approval: that the Fire and Engineering Departments approve the design and traffic mitigation, that there be a traffic study and that the Director of Engineering decide on any cost sharing for the traffic mitigation between the developer and the city.
All of the commissioners voted to recommend approval, save for Commissioner Locke McKnight, who was absent during this vote.
The board also unanimously voted to approve a request for a special exception at 3731 Wheeler Road, zoned B-2 General Business, where Florida-based Rimrock Holdings and Maryland-based My Place Hotels of America plan to build an extended-stay hotel.
Burt Fine with Cranston Engineering spoke to the commissioners on behalf of the applicants, noting the location’s desirability due to tits proximity to I-20 and Doctors Hospital.
Fine, along with Ernest Jones of Realty One Group Visionaries, requested to postpone their rezoning request for a proposed planned unit development (PUD) near Turpin Hill.
Realty One petitioned to rezone 22 acres, at 1312, 1314, 1408 and 1409 Steiner Ave. and 1733 Mill St., from R-1C One-family residential and LI Light Industrial to PUD. The developer plans to build a mixed-unit development along the five tracts, including 47 townhomes, 51 detached homes, 90 apartment units and 5,400 square feet of commercial space.
Planning staff acknowledged that the site is considered a brownfield area requiring environmental cleanup, as hazardous materials may have contaminated the soil from when a cotton mill operated on the property, though the contamination is likely limited to a roughly four-acre portion.
Fine told the commissioner that the developers anticipate changes to the site layout, if not the development’s master plan, and asked that the commission table the item. The planning staff recommended the item be “continued” until the second phase of the environmental study on the site is completed.
The Planning Commission voted unanimously to postpone the request until January’s meeting.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
