The developer requesting a major revision for a planned residential development (PRD) along Evans to Locks Road withdrew its application, noted the Columbia County Board of Commissioners in its meeting, Tuesday evening.
Southeastern Development had submitted a petition to revise a little more than seven acres at 4045 Evans to Locks Road The proposed subdivision, called Hanover Place, is to consist of 35 one- and two-story cottages.
Southeastern sought to update the plan for the parcel, which the county rezoned to PRD in 2016, to include two duplexes, totaling between 1,800 to 2,000 square feet, along with a reduced buffer and additional parking space.
While planning staff recommended approval of the request with conditions, on Oct. 19 the Planning Commission unanimously voted to recommend denial of the request amid opposition from neighboring residents.
Deputy County Manager Matt Schlachter noted to the commissioners that the applicants had requested to withdraw the petition without prejudice. After a motion by Commissioner Don Skinner, the board unanimously voted to accept the request to withdraw.
The board approved a variance request by Thomas Banks for a tract at 3545 Riverwatch Parkway. Banks sought to reduce the required 30-foot buffer along the eastern property line, where the triangular parcel abuts a tract of land owned by the county, used as a detention pond, in order to build a 7,200 square foot commercial building. The vote was also unanimous.
The board voted to appoint Sandra Carraway to the Library Board of Trustees. Carraway was superintendent of the Columbia County School District from 2013 to 2021, replaced by current superintendent Steven Flint.
Ayman Fadel, a Columbia County writer, spoke before the board in response to Carraway’s imminent appointment to the library board, citing her decision as superintendent in 2019 to remove two young adult novels — “Dear Martin” by Nic Stone and “Regeneration” by Pat Barker — from the district’s supplementary reading lists.
“Not only did Dr. Caraway remove these books from the recommendations of the English language arts teachers, she also removed these books from the school libraries,” said Fadel, ultimately requesting that the commissioners confirm the county’s commitment to the American Library Association policies, which in are also those of the the greater Clarks Hill Regional Library, particularly the concept of a “reader’s bill of rights.”
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
