Zoning Change For Subdivision On Hold
March 30th, 2006
By: Shalama C. Jackson
Town residents packed Monday's meeting for discussion of a request from developer Wade Caughman to change zoning on the Parrish property at 300 Wattling Road.
Caughman has proposed an 84-home subdivision on quarter-acre lots. Half-acre lots are the town's requirement unless approved by council.
But the commission postponed any action. It has up to 30 days to make a decision, which then would be forwarded to Town Council.
Some residents have voiced concerns about scaled-down lot sizes.
"Our intent is to enhance Springdale. We are thinking about the future of Springdale. We don't want to make a decision to devalue the properties. We have to think about the growth for now and future," said Vince Rhodes, commission chair.
Caughman wants to create a residential subdivision on the 40-acre site - the town's first such development in a couple of years. It would include a community pool, tennis courts, pond and upscale pricing.
"We're very aware that zoning in Springdale is half-acre lots," Caughman told the audience at Monday's meeting. "Technically, we could put 60 half-acre lots with 1,000-square-foot homes all day, but we decided not to do that."
Ann Thompson, who lives downstream from the property, said her yard already is "gushy" in the summer, and she's worried about the impact of new development on her property.
"I don't want to be a fussy woman," she said, "but I am concerned."
Other concerns about the development - including impact on traffic, runoff from a pond on the site and the town's elementary school - will be answered in studies required by Lexington County before construction, Caughman said.
But Mel Barringtonsaid that information is needed now.
"Those studies should have been done before hand," Barrington said. "Why should it be granted when we don't know the answers? Once the train leaves the station, it doesn't come back."
The next regular planning commission meeting is April 24.
Source: The State Newspaper
