Longtime Hereford Farm Road residents will get a privacy fence, and developers will get another 25 feet of land to work with because of a compromise hammered out during a Columbia County Commission meeting Tuesday night.
The developer, Hughston Homes, plans to add 44 new houses to the Four Oaks subdivision located on Hereford Farm Road near Columbia Road. But county ordinances require a 50-foot buffer between their expanded subdivision and neighbors’ property. Tyler Findley, of Hughston Homes, had requested the commissioners reduce the buffer to 15 feet.
Neighbors weren’t happy with that. Carole Buki, of 5381 Hereford Farm Rd., told commissioners 15 feet was too close.
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“We are subject to trespassing and vandalism,” she said. “There’s neighborhood noise from dogs and such.”
She told commissioners she and her group were fine with a 25-foot buffer and a privacy fence that will be maintained by the Four Oaks homeowners association. And Findley said his company was good with that.
“I think we need to be fair with these guys, and I think we have a fair compromise,” said Columbia County commissioner Gary Richardson.
The commissioners unanimously approved the variance to a 25-foot buffer with a fence and a vegetation and landscape buffer, giving the neighbors more than they had asked for and satisfying the developer.
Four Oaks is located near Lewiston Elementary School and the Bartram Trail Golf Course in Evans.
Joshua B. Good is a staff reporter covering Columbia County and military/veterans’ issues for The Augusta Press. Reach him at joshua@theaugustapress.com
