A proposed agricultural community in Appling is getting its third shot at an approval before the Columbia County Planning Commission on Thursday after being postponed twice over the past five months.
Donald Tatum and Jeanne Whitaker submitted a rezoning request for their property at 3850 Kamper Klub Road from recreational residential district to special district on Oct. 22, 2021. Attached to their application was a proposal and narrative document for a development at Abundance Point, their 23-acre campground near Clarks Hill Lake.
The development project would be a neighborhood consisting of 10 residential family units and a horticultural space. There would also be a clubhouse with a commercial kitchen for rent, a lot with five vacation cabins, a public access recreation trail, a barn, a member’s pool and a farm store.
The project would progress through three phases to maintain the property and its profitability during its holding period, according to the proposal document. The first phase would entail clearing, timber harvesting, structural repairs and upgrades to the existing 40 campsites, and paving over a mile of access road. The second phase would include the addition of the clubhouse, cabins and farmer’s grab-and-go store.
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The final phase, projected to be complete by 2025, would have the beginning of lot sales to phase out the campground, and also installing the public recreation trail.
The Planning Commission first addressed the rezoning request on Nov. 18, 2021, but was postponed. Kamper Klub Road residents expressed concerns about a development before the paving of the road, including liability and safety, drainage and erosion issues.
The request was revisited by Planning on Dec. 16, 2021 and was tabled again to provide Tatum and Whitaker time to obtain written agreement from the other affected owners along Kamper Klub Road for the right of way and widening and paving of the existing road, according to the staff report, which recommends that the request be approved with conditions. The Planning Commission is scheduled to tackle the request again in its meeting Thursday.
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering education in Columbia County and business-related topics for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
