A proposal to rezone a large area of land in Horse Creek Valley is moving forward.
The Aiken County Planning Commission voted unanimously Sept. 16 to recommend the plan to Aiken County Council, which will have the final say on the matter.
There are 1,125 parcels in a 2,145.58-acre swath that would be affected.
The zoning for those properties currently is Rural Development (RUD), but it would become more restrictive as far as future development is concerned.
The new designation for 684 of the parcels, with a combined total of 1,382.1 acres, would be Residential Multifamily Development (RD).
The zoning for 435 of parcels, with a combined total of 664.05 acres, would change to Residential Single-Family Conservation (RC).
And the new designation for six parcels, with a combined total of 99.43 acres, would be Limited Development (LD).
The Planning Commission reached its decision during a meeting at the Aiken County Government Center.
The panel previously had held two public hearings about the proposal.
More than 60 people attended the first one in June. Many expressed concerns, and their comments, at times, were heated.
The Planning Commission discussed the plan further at its July meeting, and then there was another public hearing in August.
In addition, some property owners met or spoke individually with the county’s chief development officer, Joel Duke, and his staff in the county’s Planning and Development Department.
The proposal was revised several times.
Duke, who also is an assistant county administrator, told the Aiken Standard in June that County Council member Danny Feagin had asked for the Planning Commission to take a look at whether or not zoning changes were appropriate “based on some recent commercial development” in the area.
Feagin represents District 3, which includes Graniteville.
“The concern was that commercial uses were allowed by right under the current RUD zoning, but that much of the area had been developed over the last several decades as residential,” Duke said.
In the version of the rezoning plan approved for recommendation to County Council by the Planning Commission, properties on Addie Road and the northern end of Sudlow Lane would remain RUD.
In addition, large parcels on the east side of Williamson Drive would remain RUD and so would a 31-parcel block that includes Be Nice Court, Hayes Drive and Dunbar Court.
Existing commercial properties on Sudlow Lake Road would be designated LD for zoning purposes.
Other revisions to the original proposal also were made.
Those changes reduced the number of properties and amount of acreage affected.
Based on materials provided by the Planning and Development Department to the Planning Commission in June, the area in the rezoning plan back then was made up of approximately 1,190 parcels with a combined total of more than 2,400 acres.
