Correction note: this story has been updated to include information regarding the outcome of the Board of Commissioners’ vote to rezone the property.
After voting to revoke the alcohol license of Stay Social Tap & Table during its meeting Tuesday, the Columbia County Board of Commissioners tackled a proposed new subdivision on Harlem Grovetown Road.
“You all have asked me before, ‘I want larger lots, I want larger lots;’ I give you: larger lots,” said Mark Ivey of Ivey Development, who in August submitted a request to rezone 102 acres of property it owns off Harlem Grovetown Road from residential agricultural to R-1 single-family residential.
Ivey noted that the R-1 zoning would allow the developer to build 20,000 square foot lots for its planned neighborhood, called Marshall Mills. The plans currently include 73 of these lots. Though the parcel is not in the City of Grovetown, this would also allow the development to use Grovetown’s water and sewer.
One item in the rezoning request was the issue of sidewalks. In reviewing the petition, planning staff recommended approval of the rezoning, with one of the conditions being sidewalks added on at least one side of the roads, at a minimum of five feet wide and a minimum six-foot planting strip between the curb and the sidewalk.
The Planning Commission, however, voted to recommend approval without this condition. Ivey contended that the developers did not consider sidewalks because of the dissected roads, the size of the lots and the overall rural feel of the subdivision.
MORE: Columbia County Commission approves two rezoning projects
“In larger lot neighborhood, you don’t have the same congregation of people that are trying to walk through the neighborhoods,” Ivey said. “The houses are a little more spread out.”
Kyle Titus, the county’s director of Engineering Services, also noted that residents have been sending the county one to two requests a week for sidewalks in residential areas.
“We’re having residents press the county for more sidewalks, and unfortunately we don’t have any money identified for these projects,” said Titus. “So we’re compiling a list of unfunded sidewalk projects, now, throughout the county.”
Commissioner Don Skinner motioned to approve the rezoning with the sidewalk requirement included, but it was voted down, as only he and Vice Chairman Gary Richardson voted in favor.
Commissioner Connie Melear then put forward a motion to approve without the sidewalk condition, but then only she and Chairman Doug Duncan voted in favor. After this, the motion died.
Then Richardson put forward yet another motion to approve the rezoning with the sidewalk condition requirement included. Skinner seconded this motion, and he, along with with Duncan, Richardson and Melear voted in favor, while Commissioner Dewey Galeas voted against the motion. The motion carried.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering business for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
