Apartment complex wins key council vote

Greenwood County Council narrowly approved a zoning ordinance that would change the zoning of property on Langley Road to allow a developer to proceed with plans to build an apartment complex across from the Y in Greenwood.

In a 3-2 vote, council voted to change the zoning of land which stretches from Langley Road to Calhoun Road from R-1 and C-2 to R-6. Chairman Steve Brown and Councilman Robbie Templeton voted no.

The rezoning of the property to R-6 will allow the developer, ATC Development, to build more units in the apartment complex.

However, this change is contingent on the developer making several concessions to the nearby homeowners. Council voted 5-0 on a motion to amend the ordinance to include those concessions.

The developer must flag trees along the property lines, relocate the dog park to the other side of the complex and construct a six- or eight-foot privacy fence on the property of Lee and Crystal Collins, whose son is autistic.

Brown, who noted during a previous council meeting of his relation to some of the property owners in the area of the development, had the concessions read into the record.

This was the final vote for this ordinance.

Prior to the meeting at 3 p.m., Brown along with Greenwood County Capital Project Sales Tax Coordinator Josh Skinner, Greenwood County Engineer Rob Russian, Brad Cuttill and Tee Timmerman, both of Greenwood County Parks and Recreation, and Ninety Six Councilmembers Bridget Porter, Charles Stevens and Wayne Gilbert met with engineers from ADC Engineering at the J.C. Boozer Complex in Ninety Six.

Engineers from ADC Engineering were getting a first look at the property before discussing the project with county council. They presented their initial ideas at the council meeting at 3 p.m.

J.C. Boozer Complex is the first site of the parks and recreation phase of the capital project sales tax projects. The budget for this project is less than $1 million.

The plan is to add a fourth baseball field, as well as increase and improve parking, pedestrian flow and restroom location.

Brown said he would like to see flexibility in the design to allow the county to make changes to accommodate changing times.

Two council members — Mark Allison and Melissa Spencer — were absent from the meeting, which Brown acknowledged in his opening welcome.

“Both are dealing with COVID-19 exposure,” Brown said.

Later in the meeting during district reports, Councilwoman Edith Childs thanked the council members who went to be tested at the recent COVID-19 testing clinic in Hodges.

“We tested 590 people, 18 of those people were positive,” Childs said. She also announced the next testing would be 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 8 at the Brewer Recreation Center.

“I was negative, by the way, and that was good, all the rest of you that were negative, that was good,” Childs said. She said someone didn’t test negative and they were having to deal with that situation now.

Originally Published by Index-Journal on: Jun 17, 2020

By JAMES HICKS jhicks@indexjournal.com

Article Link: https://www.indexjournal.com/news/apartment-complex-wins-key-council-vote/article_beb6bfe0-82ff-56f1-b5bb-5967c1fe6ad9.html