Greer planners to weigh 399 homes at Blue Ridge Plantation

Four new subdivisions with 399 single-family homes at Blue Ridge Plantation go to the Greer Planning Commission on Monday.

The plats cover about 113 acres along Ridge Crossing Drive, northwest of downtown Greer. City planning staff recommend approving all four. The details are in the Planning Commission agenda packet for Nov. 16, which the city posted Tuesday.

The meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16, on the second floor of City Hall, 301 E. Poinsett St.

The four subdivisions

Each is a preliminary plat, the first map of lots and streets a developer needs approved before building. The applicant on all four is ECS Development LLC of Campobello, with Gray Engineering of Greenville as engineer.

The figures come from the four staff reports in the packet. Each zone is required to set aside 20% of its land as open space, and each plan exceeds that. Blue Ridge Retreat sets aside the most, at 42.6%.

Other details from the staff reports and plats:

• all 399 are single-family detached homes
• homes must be larger than 1,200 square feet in three of the subdivisions and larger than 850 square feet in Blue Ridge Retreat
• the plans add about 12,200 feet of new streets, a little over two miles
• the plat notes say Blue Ridge Rural Water Company will supply water and Greer CPW will provide sewer

In each report, staff say the proposed density matches the density the site’s zoning permits. “In accordance with the guidelines set forth in the Unified Development Ordinance, staff supports the request,” each report says.

How it got here

Blue Ridge Plantation is a planned development. That zoning sets out zones, homes and amenities for the whole property in one plan.

In May, the owners asked the city for a major change to that plan. Their application, in the May 26 council agenda packet, said the development as a whole was approved for 1,347 homes. It proposed splitting one zone to add up to 151 attached homes, a clubhouse and a pool, plus space for shops and offices.

City planning staff and the Planning Commission both recommended denial. City Council voted 0-7 on a motion to receive it on first reading on May 26, according to the meeting minutes in the June 9 council packet.

The four plats on Monday’s agenda are filed under the existing planned development zoning.

The city’s planned Groce Meadow Road fire station also comes from the same land. The 3.79-acre site was deeded to the city by Homes of Blue Ridge Plantation LLC. The city then applied to rezone it out of the planned development for the station, case RZ 26-08, according to the Aug. 17 Planning Commission packet. City Council voted Tuesday on the station’s construction price; read our story on the $9.7 million fire station.

What happens next

The Planning Commission makes the decision on a preliminary plat. If the plats are approved, the developer still needs site plans signed off. Staff note that every comment from other city departments and agencies must be met before that.

The same agenda carries a staff update on the city’s Planning Advisory Committee reviews. That list includes a Royal Farms convenience store and gas station proposed at West Wade Hampton Boulevard and South Suber Road. Its annexation request is on hold, the update says.

What it means for you

• To speak or listen: the meeting is open to the public, at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16, at City Hall. The city asks anyone who needs language help to contact the Planning and Development Department at 864-801-2009 or planning@cityofgreersc.gov three business days ahead.
• To read the plans: the full plats, with lot layouts and street plans, are in the agenda packet.
• If you live nearby: Ridge Crossing Drive connects to Groce Meadow Road to the north and Milford Church Road to the south, according to the developer’s May application. Building on four new subdivisions would bring construction traffic to both ends.

For how zoning decisions work in Greer and the commission’s meeting dates, see our guide to building permits and zoning.