There were several items on the agenda for this month’s city of Greenville Planning Commission meeting, including two subdivisions, a new multifamily project off Keith Drive, a few annexations and requests to change zoning. Pretty busy for a June meeting. One board member, Michael Allen, was not present.
Salvation Army rezoning
This item was pulled from the agenda. City staff said they were told the Salvation Army wants their new director to have time to get up to speed and do some community outreach first. They will resubmit the application at a later date.
The Cottages at Overbrook
We’ve got a separate story in this week’s UBJ, so I’ll keep details on the actual subdivision short. The application is from Nathan Kaser, Renaissance Custom Homes, for a 25-lot cluster subdivision on 4.11 acres at 541 Lowndes Hill Road.
Several revisions to the design were made over the past few months. A neighborhood meeting was held based on the original proposal, but a number of changes were made since, including increasing the amount of open space provided.
Several residents of the Overbrook neighborhood spoke in opposition to the application. Joel Armstead, vice president of the Overbrook neighborhood association, told the board that even though Kaser has built some great homes in the area, the association is opposed to this one. Residents are concerned about clear-cutting of trees, lack of sidewalks, public transportation and bike lanes for a high-density development in the area.
David Mitchell, president of the Overbrook neighborhood association, also spoke and said that in the last 50 years, there hasn’t been a development of this size in the Overbrook area. The project would attract too many cars, and he voiced concerns over sidewalks and infrastructure.
Board members discussed stormwater (it will be required to be retained on site) and sidewalks. Board member David Keller encouraged those concerned about clear-cutting of trees to contact their City Council member, as the PC board has no jurisdiction over that. The board approved the application with the conditions that the sidewalk be extended, a decorative fence added and a landscape buffer included to screen the back of the cottage homes from the street. Board member Jonathan Pait voted no, saying he was a representative of those opposing density.
Congaree and Griffith Roads
This application made by Corley Family Realty Limited Partnership is to annex and zone 9.1 acres at Congaree and Griffith roads from S-1 Service District, to C-3, regional commercial district.
City staff said the application meets the criteria. The intent is for a new owner to acquire the property and develop it into a Vermont-based family entertainment venue with birthday parties, an arcade and bowling alley. The board agreed it would be a good addition to the community and approved unanimously. This application will go before City Council for a vote.
30 Market Point Drive
This application is to clean up the zoning as part of a land swap to provide connection to the property, which is intended to be developed into a new apartment community. The application is to rezone 0.7 acres from PD, Planned Development District, to C-3, Regional Commercial District. It will then take 0.858 acres and rezone from C-3 to PD. Confusing, huh? All in all, it’s just paperwork, and the PC had approved the apartments earlier this year. The application was approved unanimously. This one will also go before City Council.
39 and 41 Market Point Drive
This is actually two separate applications. The first one, to annex and zone 6.85 acres from PD to C-3, was an easy one. City staff said the land is intended to be townhomes and recommended approval. The PC board approved unanimously.
Part two went into a little more detail. Ryan Homes is planning to build 83 townhome units on 6.3 acres. Each unit will have two to four bedrooms. This went before of the Design Review Board earlier in the month during informal reviews, and the PC board reviewed the DRB comments.
New renderings showed additional landscaping, access points, green space and sidewalks. A lot of discussion was given to the “hammerhead” design of the streets within the development. Those are usually discouraged by the city, but in this case, the PC said it looks okay. As long as it complies with the fire department it should be fine, the commission said, as the streets won’t be public streets, only internal to the development.
The board approved unanimously with staff conditions.
860 S. Church St.
Another fairly easy discussion was for a final development plan to revamp the shopping center on Church Street. When the DRB reviewed earlier this month, they had suggested changing the paint color from white to gray so it wouldn’t show dirt as quickly. The owner agreed. The PC said the building is “blighted” and the rehab will be good for the property. The application was approved unanimously.
419 Croft St., Gateway House
Next up was an application to rezone 0.188 acres at 419 Croft St. from RM-1, Single & Multi-Family Residential District, to RDV, Redevelopment District.
PC Chair Matt Johnson recused himself, as he lives close to the project. The Gateway Center has an existing building, and the center wants to build a training facility on this property. This application is only for the rezoning — before anything is built, it would need to go before the board of zoning appeals for a special exemption for that use, said city staff. The PC board approved the application, and it will go on to City Council.
Keith Drive apartments
This application by The Berry Company is to build 199 multifamily units on 21.82 acres at Keith Drive and Circle Avenue.
Access to the project will be on Century Drive and the project will be limited to 199 units as there is only one access point for emergency services. The property slopes, so some buildings will be three-story and some will be four-story. An existing pond will remain for stormwater retention.
Building elevations were modified based on comments from the Design Review Board. While not required, a neighborhood meeting was held.
Allison Thompson told the PC that she owns a business and is concerned about traffic and property values. Another nearby resident said he was concerned about noise and busy streets. After some discussion on the single entry, the PC board approved unanimously.
Text amendment for covered breezeways and off-street parking
Last up was an application from the city for a text amendment to the accessory uses and structures section of guidelines to include covered breezeways. The change is to allow and include the square footage.
The other requested change wasn’t as easy. City staff was asking to modify the language for parking calculations for restaurants. The intent is to limit spillover from some restaurants (only new applications) into neighborhoods. PC board members were concerned about the wording and don’t want to limit uses in retail spaces in small shopping centers. The board also doesn’t want a sea of parking in front of shopping centers.
The PC requested the parking portion be tabled until the attorney can draft new wording. The amendment for breezeways was approved.
