Around 70 residents from the Foxhall, Montclair and Ravenwood subdivisions attended a meeting of the Augusta Planning Commission Monday to oppose a new townhome development on Pleasant Home Road near the intersection of Davis Road; and the commission, after hearing from both sides, voted against the development plans.
The commission voted 6 – 4 to turn down the rezoning request by the Ivey Group, a local development company. The group asked for an 18.86-acre parcel adjacent to the three nearby neighborhoods to be rezoned to allow for a 191-unit townhome complex to be built.
Currently, the property is zoned for single-family home dwellings only.
Although the planning commission denied the rezoning request, the developer can still appeal to the Augusta-Richmond County Commission.
The plan, according to documents released by the Ivey Group, is to develop one, two and three bedroom, two-story townhomes along with one-story units with enclosed parking garages. The group also plans for 440 parking spaces (some covered) as well as a clubhouse, rental office and large areas of greenspace to mitigate any drainage issues within and around the development.
According to Mark Ivey, his company attempted to meet with the local homeowners associations, but only the residents of Foxhall were agreeable to a meeting. Ivey told commissioners members of the West Augusta Alliance specifically told him they were against any close density development; therefore, a meeting with Ivey’s company was futile.
Ultimately, traffic concerns and a plan to place a stoplight at the entrance of Foxhall caused the most grief with the area residents.
The Ivey Group commissioned a traffic study by longtime Augusta and Columbia County traffic engineer Steve Cassell and his consulting firm, Infrastructure Systems Management. Cassell determined the placement of the traffic light at Foxhall would be the best way to limit the flow of traffic in that area and make it easier for ingress and egress from the properties.
“Rather than have a steady stream of traffic with no gaps, (the traffic light) would create a platoon situation which slows traffic creating those gaps needed to get in and out,” Cassell told the planning commission.
A second entrance to the property would allow only for right lane entrance and exit.
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Randy Sasser, who spoke to the commission on behalf of the Foxhall Neighborhood Association, said the city of Augusta needs to conduct its own traffic study since Pleasant Home Road has become a link, or short cut from Bobby Jones Expressway and I-20 to Riverwatch Parkway.
“The cars come flying up Pleasant Home Road. There was a lady who recently came around the turn and lost control and hit our brick entrance, went through a neighbor’s fence and hit his car,” Sasser said. “There is a lot more traffic on that road than they want to admit; I see it everyday.”
Ivey said he is sensitive to the resident’s feelings, and he wants to work with them to create a solution everyone is happy with, but that he is confident his plans are exactly what is best for the parcel of land. He stressed that he is not planning on building a high-density apartment complex, but rather a collection of single family luxury townhomes that will ultimately help raise the property values of the entire area.
“If they continue to deny these projects, well, sooner or later developers like me have to just pick up our toys and move to another sandbox, and that is not good for the community,” Ivey said, adding, “ I want to invest in our community, I live here too, but the project has to be right for the community or I will have to walk away.”
Sasser said he and the Foxhall residents agree with Ivey that growth is essential for the area and said the neighborhood association has in the past advocated to the planning commission zoning changes that allowed for Harrington Park Health and Rehabilitation Center and Lakemont Presbyterian Church.
“We want this area developed, trust me. I’m a capitalist and I am all for progress, but it has got to be the right progress and not just rushed through. This is the future of our neighborhood, so it has to be the right progress and the right kind of growth,” Sasser said.
The matter will go before the full Augusta Commission Tuesday, Nov. 16 with no recommendation from the planning commission.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Reporter for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
