Planning and Zoning - Regular Meeting

Thank you. Thank you. So, Thank you for watching. Amen. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Amen. Thank you. Amen. Thank you. Thank you. Amen. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

I would like to call the Planning Commission meeting to order. And I've asked for Christy Gore to provide the invocation. And I will provide the Pledge of Allegiance to the United States of the flag.

Please bow your heads. Dear Lord, as we come together tonight, I just ask that you give this board wisdom and patience and ears to hear the constituents speak. Lord, I just thank you for the safe arrival of all these citizens, and we're here to serve you. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.

Please place your cell phones on silent. The meeting will proceed as follows. I will read the item into record. Staff will present an overview of each item. The commission will ask staff any questions that it may have. The applicant will then be called upon to speak to his or her request for a period of up to three minutes. And any citizen present who would like to speak will have the same opportunity. Following the discussion, Planning Commission will make a recommendation for rezoning items and a final decision for request for waivers. County Council has the final decision-making authority on rezoning items, so please follow the items of interest through to County Council. The Planning Department can provide you with updates for upcoming Land Use Committee and County Council meetings. Unruly and disrespectful conduct will not be tolerated. Attendees demonstrating unruly and disrespectful conduct will be escorted out of the meeting. Are there any updates to our agenda or deferrals?

No, ma'am.

All right. The first item on the agenda is the approval of the minutes from the regular meeting.

Motion approved.

I have a motion and a second. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. All right. The minutes have been approved. The second item for consideration is a request for waiver, a request from Henry and Richard Nixon for a waiver of the requirements applicable to a shared travel way established in 59-45A of the land development and subdivision regulations of the Berkeley County, South Carolina, of Berkeley County, South Carolina, for an intended seven lot subdivision of TMS number 199-00-00-008, extending from Truth Way in the Coordsville vicinity in County Council District 8.

Madam Chairwoman, we're having some technical issues with the clicker. Jason, would you mind taking a look at this?

Sounds like that matters.

Thank you.

Amen.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Yes, the applicants are requesting a waiver of the private unpaved road standards per section 59-45. As you can see on the map, the lot that's highlighted in blue, they're looking to subdivide to create six new lots, seven new lots inclusive of the residual lot. The property is owned flex one. Currently, Truthway is... operating as a shared travelway and serves nine existing lots. The applicant is proposing to subdivide an approximate six-acre parcel consisting of six new lots and one residual. If approved, the subdivision would increase the total number of lots served by Truthway from nine to 15 lots pursuant of Section 5945 at the creation of the 11th lot by a shared access travel way would trigger the requirement to improve the access to the applicable unpaved road standards. This is an enlarged map. The green indicates that Dixon Lane is a county unpaved road. However, Truthway, which is shown in the blue, that portion is the portion that would need to be improved to the unpaved road standards, which would include drainage on both sides and aggregated grading. This is the proposed subdivision. The zoning map reflects one, and it is within the rural living designation for the future land use map. This is just explanation of the requirements for the shared travel way versus requirements for the private roadway, unpaved road standards. Just to note that there are some areas of the existing shared travel way that contain a 30-foot ingress-egress, but those would need to be increased to 50 feet, but where the new lots are being subdivided, those would be able to maintain a 30 foot wide ingress-egress easement. The access will also be required to conform to international fire code standards with a minimum of a 20-foot unobstructed width constructed adequately to support the weight of a fire apparatus with adequate turnarounds. Prior to the construction or improvement of the shared access travelway serving the proposed lots, a preliminary plan should be prepared and sealed by a register Professional engineer and shall be submitted to the county for development review and approval These are some of the photos that we took signposting The one to the right is the entrance of Dixon Lane at Old Church Road The photo to the left is the beginning of the entrance to truth way a Couple of the adjacent Lots Should this request be denied, the applicant would need to bring the shared travel weight into compliance with the private unpaved road standards according to Chapter 5945, or they would not be able to subdivide their lot. Should this be approved, they would be able to subdivide the subject parcel as proposed with an additional six lots. Thank you.

Is there any additional questions for staff? I have a question, Madam Chair.

You were talking about Dixon Lane being an unpaved road. What is the width of that road? Do you know?

You know, I looked at some of the previous plots, and I wasn't able to locate what the right-of-way was, but I know that the roadway itself, I believe, was, I think, 15 feet wide.

Dixon Road, 15 feet wide? I believe so. I think I got an error.

Maybe that's something the applicant can speak to. Is the applicant here? If you'll please approach the podium and state your name and address for the record.

Yes. My name is Richard Dixon and I live at 111 Vanish Drive, Mulch Corner.

My name is Henry Dixon. I live at 126 Dixon Lane, Cordsville, South Carolina.

Can you address the question that Commissioner Sanders had?

This is in regards to the width of Dixon Lane.

Dixon Lane is, I guess, about 25 feet wide. The distance is about maybe a tenth, two-tenth of a mile. Yes.

Okay. Let's just say it's 25 feet, okay? Because it doesn't sound like we're sure that it's 25 feet. But let's assume 25 feet is correct. So now how wide... I'm having a problem here with you. Oh, let me, is that a little better?

Do you have an additional question?

Yeah, I do. What is it? And that has to do with the truth way, or truth lane, way, truth way. Yes. What will be the ultimate width of it? if we approve this variance?

30 feet is what is required, and we've instructed our surveyor to allow for as much as 50 feet.

Okay, so a 50-foot right-of-way with a 30-foot roadway? Yes. Okay, good, thank you.

Thank you.

And I have a question. What kind of surface will the road have?

At this time, we're using rocks.

And is there any kind of written agreement amongst lot owners back there as to who's responsible for maintaining the road?

Yes, you're looking at them.

Good deal. All right, thank you. On the lots. Good deal, thank you. Thank you.

And you're okay with that? Yes, I am. Okay, all right.

Got a question.

yes go ahead has there been a drainage study done in this property for improvement have there been a drainage study no no are you satisfied with the level of the property yes the roads looked good what we saw yeah nice and flat yeah well that's rock and roll

All right, are there any other questions for the applicant? Is there anyone here in the audience who would like to speak against this proposal, this waiver?

I do.

Would you please come forward and state your name and address for the record? Okay, no, no, okay, all right, thank you very much, just making sure. Is there anyone that he would like to speak for? All right, hearing none, do we have a motion?

Move to approve.

Second.

All right, we have a motion and a second. All in favor, please say aye.

Aye. Aye. Any opposed?

The ayes have it. Thank you. Your waiver has been granted.

Thank you.

All right, next on our agenda is a request for rezoning. We have an ordinance to modify the official zoning and development standards map. maps of Berkeley County, South Carolina in regard to Tristan Simmons of Universal Towing on behalf of Robert Wickert for TMS number 161-15-00-011 plus or minus 0.80 acres located on South Live Oak Drive, Candlewood Lane, and Black Tom Road in the vicinity of Monk's Corner from the Manufactured Residential R2 District to the General Commercial GC District in Council District 6.

Thank you, Madam Chairwoman. The applicant is seeking to rezone the parcel from R2 to GC. The parcel contains a commercial building that had existed previously under the parameters of the grandfather clause. Recently, a towing company was established on the property, which is a use not allowed within the parameters of the grandfather clause, namely commercial general services uses as opposed to outdoor storage as a primary use. The applicant has been informed that should the rezoning be granted, they would thereafter need to apply for a special exception from the BZA in order for us to entertain future entitlements. So this is the zoning map of the surrounding properties, R1 to the north, which is a church, R2 to the west, which is a single family dwelling, and the rest are GC zone parcels. Of course, here are the distinctives between R2 and GC. Here's a picture of the subject property. And here is a northbound view of 17A from the subject parcel, as well as a view of Candlewood Lane from the subject parcel. So staff finds that the request conforms to the comprehensive plan, and in particular, the growth corridor future land use designation. As you can see, it is situated within the growth corridor. And as a result, staff recommends approval. And of course, upon denial, the applicant would continue to be held to R2 standards. And if approved, they would be held to GC standards and would be able to pursue further entitlements. And that concludes my presentation.

All right. Does the commission have any questions for staff? All right, hearing none, is the applicant here? Would you please step to the podium and state your name and address for the record?

Good evening, my name is Kristen Simmons, and I'm at 140 Shady Brook Drive, Somerville, South Carolina.

Good afternoon, I'm Quazelle Taiwan Simmons. My address is 140 Shady Brook Drive, Somerville, South Carolina.

Does anyone have any questions for the applicants? Hearing none, is there anyone in the audience that would like to speak for or against this application? Seeing none, do we have a motion?

Move to approve.

We have a motion and we have a second. We have a motion by Mr. Sineth and a second by Mr. Howerton. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. You have your best thanks. All right, so tonight we have a request for rezoning to the named TBD Plan Development Mixed Use Village PD MUV District. an ordinance to modify the official zoning and development standards map of Berkeley County, South Carolina in regard to Ben Gramling on behalf of Cane Bay Lakes LLC for TMS numbers 180-00-03-025, 179-00-00-053, 179-00-00-054, plus or minus 56.66 acres portion of 179-00-00-036, 180-00-03-088, and 180-00-03-089, plus or minus 658 total acres. located near Fairwinds Boulevard, Wapu Trace Lane, Marina Shores Court, Four Seasons Boulevard, Sun Runner Lane, and Granton Edge Lane in the vicinity of Moncks Corner from the planned development, mixed use, assessment for Cane Bay Plantation PD-MU District to the named TBD Planned Development Mixed Use Village PD-MUV District and Council District 6. We also have an ordinance to modify the official zoning and development standards map of Berkeley County, South Carolina in regards to Ben Gramling. On behalf of BMG, the third, LLC, and JTG the third LLC and MRG LLC for TMS number 180-00-03-021. plus or minus 3.4 acres located on South Live Oak Drive in the vicinity of Moncks Corner from the planned development mixed use assessment for Cane Bay Plantation PD-MU district to the named TBD planned development mixed use village PD-MUV district and council district six. We also have an ordinance to modify the official zoning and development standards map of Berkeley County, South Carolina in regard to Ben Grambling on behalf of the Builders Capital LLC for a plus or minus 2.70 acres portion of TMS number 180-00-03-087. PLUS OR MINUS 37.87 ACRES LOCATED NEAR RADIANT BLUE WAY AND CALM WATER WAY IN THE VICINITY OF MONK'S CORNER FROM THE PLAN DEVELOPMENT MIXED USE ASSESSMENT FOR CAIN BAY PLANTATION PD-MU DISTRICT TO THE NAMED PTBD PLAN DEVELOPMENT MIXED USE VILLAGE PD-MUV DISTRICT IN COUNCIL DISTRICT SIX. next is the ordinance to modify the official zoning and development standards map of berkeley county south carolina in regard to ben grambling on behalf of cbi holdings llc for tms number 180-00-03-001 plus or minus 314.41 acres located on south live oak drive pitt road murphy lane Turbine Way and Black Tom Road in the vicinity of Monk's Corner from the planned development mixed-use PD-MU district to the named TBD planned development mixed-use village PD-MUV district in Council District 6. Next is the ordinance to modify the official zoning and development standards map of the Berkeley County, South Carolina in regard to Ben Grambling on behalf of Cane Bay Lakes LLC for TMS numbers 180-00-03-008. 180-00-03-007, 180-00-03-006, 180-00-03-005, 180-00-03-004, 180-00-03-003, 180-00-03-085, 180-00-03-056, and 1-8-0-0-0-0-3-0-5-5, plus or minus 175.5, 177.5 total acres located on Pitt Road, Fairwinds Boulevard, and Sunrunner Lane in the vicinity of Monk's Corner from the Agricultural Flex 1 District to the named TBD, Plan Development Mixed Use Village, PD-MUV District in Council District 6. We have an ordinance to modify the official zoning and development standards map of Berkeley County, South Carolina, in regards to Ben Gramling on behalf of Cane Bay Lakes LLC for TMS numbers 180-00-03-067, 180-00-03-080, and 180-00-03-067. plus or minus 22.69 total acres located near Rumelots Lane in the vicinity of Monk's Corner from the Manufactured Residential R2 District to the named TBD Plan Development Mixed Use Village PD-MUV District and Council District 6. Item G is an ordinance to modify the official zoning and development standards map of Berkeley County, South Carolina in regards to Ben Grambling on behalf of Daniels Lake LLC for TMS numbers 180-00-03-076 and 195-00-00-033 plus or minus 798.75 total acres located on Rimmelot's Lane, Pinecrest Drive, Wynwood Lane, Harvest Road, Farewell Street, and McLaurin Avenue in the vicinity of Monk's Corner from the Agricultural Flex One District to the named TBD Plan Development Mixed Use Village PDMUV in Council District 6. Item H is an ordinance to modify the official zoning and development standards map of Berkeley County, South Carolina in regard to Ben Grambling on behalf of Daniels Lake LLC for TMS number 180-00-03-029 plus or minus 18.31 acres located on South Live Oak Drive and Rimmelots Lane in the vicinity of Moncks Corner from the General Commercial GC District to the named TBD Plan Development Mixed Use Village PD-MUV District and Council District 6. item i is the ordinance to modify the official zoning and development standards map of berkeley county south carolina in regards to ben grambling on behalf of daniel lakes llc for tms number 180-00-03-038 plus or minus 7.5 acres located on south live oak drive in the vicinity of monk's corner from the manufactured residential r2 district to the name tbd Plan Development Mixed Use Village PD-MUV District and Council District 6. Item J is an ordinance to modify the official zoning and development standards map of Berkeley County, South Carolina in regards to Ben Gramling on behalf of the HACC. TC South Live Oak for TMS numbers 180-00-01-004 and 161-00-01-057, plus or minus 13.87 acres. Located near Murphy Lane in the vicinity of Monk's Corner from the Agricultural Flex One District to the named TBD, Plan Development Mixed Use Village, PDMUV. Item K is an ordinance to modify the official zoning and development standards map of Berkeley County, South Carolina in regards to Ben Gramling on behalf of HTC South Live Oak LLC for TMS number 180-00-01-071 plus or minus 3.16 acres located on South Live Oak Drive in the vicinity of Monk's Corner from the Agricultural Flex One District to the Rural Neighborhood Commercial RNC District respectively to the name TBD Plan Development Mixed Use Village PD-MUV District and Council District 6. Item L is an ordinance to modify the official zoning and and development standards map of Berkeley County, South Carolina in regards to Ben Gramling on behalf of HTC South Live Oak LLC for TMS numbers 180-00-01-041, 180-00-01, and 180-00-01-048 plus or minus 7.2 total acres located on South Live Oak Drive and Oakley Road in the vicinity of Monk's Corner from the General Commercial GC District to the named TBD Plan Development Mixed Use Village, PD, MUV District and Council District 6. And item M, an ordinance to modify the official zoning and development standards map of Berkeley County, South Carolina in regards to Ben Gramling on behalf of HTC South Live Oak LLC for TMS numbers 180-00-01-003 180-00-01-042 and 180-00-01-043 plus or minus 3.31 total acres located on South Live Oak Drive in the vicinity of Moncks Corner and the Manufactured Residential R2 District to the named TBD Plan Development Mixed Use Village PD-MUV District in Council District 6. Thank you, Madam Chair.

As a recap, the applicant is seeking a PD rezoning that supports 5,500 dwelling units of varying types and a variety of commercial, institutional, and other uses developed in a neo-traditional mixed-use context with an accompanying development agreement that will route separately. The gross density of this project So that is if you were to take the intended build out of 5,500 and divide that by 2,000 acres is 2.75 units to the acre, which is less than the maximum density allowances of our suburban residential districts, R1, R2, and R1MM, which as you know is three units to the acre. In fact, that metric is less than what Cane Bay PD and the next in PD are held to for density allowances. Contained within suburban communities, growth corridor, and mixed-use center designations, one Berkeley comprehensive plan policy support the integrated mixed-use development intended by the proposal. The subject assemblage is held under multiple zoning districts as Ms. Kearns just rattled off. These existing zoning allowances support, by our estimation, roughly 5,700 dwelling units. So essentially, by our estimation, the applicant could develop roughly 5,700 dwelling units by right. Of course, while he can do so, doing so would not yield the vision, mixture of uses and housing types, interconnectedness, walkability and mitigation contemplated in the present proposal. In other words, the proposed PD contemplates a mixture of uses, new traditional design elements, set asides for open space and public facilities, diverse housing options, multimodal transportation options, interconnectivity, and other elements not achievable in the current zoning. Since our last meeting, the applicant coordinated community meetings as well as individual stakeholder meetings. The applicant executed a private MOU with a property owner adjacent to the public Highway 17A connection Addressing considerations related to screening buffering drainage connectivity as well as street design naming and lighting The applicant supplied updated narratives and a presentation that have been included included within your packet We appreciate the applicants diligence to conduct these additional meetings as well as those stakeholders Who helped organize and disseminate info about them? In response to a question that came up last month, we would like to emphasize that the intended regulatory framework creates predictability for all parties. As mentioned, the applicant is seeking a rezoning to the planned development district with an accompanying development agreement. The PED serves as its own unique zoning district, addressing access, building configuration, height and orientation, dimensional standards, use allowances, lodging and other requirements through application of a form-based code. The development agreement is a legally binding contract between the county and master developer for an initial term of 25 years. Should the PD and the development agreement be adopted, these regulatory documents will ensure that development occurs in a manner consistent with Lake Village's new traditional design intent and that impacts are mitigated as set forth within these documents. These regulatory documents will apply to both the master developer and his successors, establishing predictability for all parties. The PD contemplates a narrowly tailored framework for minor modifications, a framework that we worked closely with the applicant to create. Should the applicant seek to deviate beyond the allowance for minor modification, he or she would need to seek a major PD modification, triggering the typical multi-month long rezoning process applicable to initial adoption, essentially the same public process. Of course, in such event, we would post the affected property with public meeting signage. As mentioned, the PD utilizes a form-based code that is comprised of multiple land to use designations with individual form development and use standards that were developed and situated in the regulating plan based on an intensity gradient. The designations that support lower density residential land use types are situated near the perimeter, abutting rural and suburban residential areas. Higher density and intensity designations are situated toward the interior and or near designated nodes and corridors within the plan. About 429 acres are held under the nature overlay, which includes hydrologically or ecologically sensitive areas that are intended to remain as open space and serve as a natural buffer with adjacent communities. And the nature overlay is shown in the green hashing on the screen in the regulating plan. Here are excerpts from the PD showing form standards as an example. Flip through the PD, you'll see that it's quite robust. To touch on transportation considerations, with the exception of three roadways, all accesses are intended to be private. The PD contemplates multiple connections to Highway 17A, as well as three interconnections to Cane Bay, which include Fairwinds Boulevard, a gated interconnection with Four Seasons, Of note, Four Seasons is served by one singular means of ingress-egress, so this secondary connection will serve as another means to provide access. There will also be an interconnection within the Cobes community. There are no roadway connections or interconnections contemplated to and through the Wynwood community. Should the developer seek to do so in the future, the major PD amendment process will be triggered. However, for added assurance, the applicant offered to add verbiage within the development agreement to assure that there will be no interconnections within Wynwood. A traffic impact analysis was prepared, submitted, reviewed, and accepted. The TEIA does not contemplate full intensity supportable within the PD. I know we mentioned that last month and I want to mention it again as our recommendations are based on that. The TIA calls out multiple mitigation measures for Highway 17A connections and other intersections. The TIA is required to be updated every five years. The TIA is also required to be consistent with the intensity of development. Furthermore, the applicant is committed to deliver external connections within certain triggers. For instance, the Pinecrest Road connection to the Coves subdivision will be delivered within 30 months of rezoning approval. The secondary connection to the school will be delivered prior to the certificate of occupancy for the school. The Fairwinds Boulevard extension to 17A will be delivered within 54 months of rezoning approval. And the access serving the emergency services facility will be triggered by whichever occurs first, either the construction of the facility or the development of the property to the north of the connection. The PD also contemplates specific design standards for accesses that seek to achieve walkability and bicycle accessibility. As mentioned, a development agreement is intended to accompany this PD and will route separately. The development agreement contemplates mitigation measures for traffic to include a $10 million allocation, as well as mandatory TIA updates, explicit triggers for the external connections that I mentioned. The DA will also contemplate a school set aside and contribution. Similarly, an emergency services facility set aside and a contribution for that. Reservation of a 25 foot utility easement corridor external to the site. A residential improvement district as well as attainable housing to include 50 affordable micro units dispersed throughout the project. Through the internal review process, we coordinated with multiple departments and agencies to include Berkeley County Water and Sanitation, which provided a letter of coordination. A stormwater drainage report was submitted, reviewed, and accepted by the engineering department. Russ Cornett is here if you have any specific questions related to that. The applicant also agreed to evaluate for the inclusion of transit supportive facilities with five-year TIA updates. So upon review, staff recommends approval subject to conditions, which include continued wordsmithing and refinement to ensure document clarity and account for feedback received during the rezoning process as appropriate, continued coordination with the administration to finalize the draft development agreement for council's consideration, as well as ensure consistency between the PD and the development agreement. to establish a commercial square footage cap within the appropriate regulating document, which we understand will be addressed within the development agreement, as well as wordsmithing and improved clarity of the framework that speaks to the regular TIA updates. So as I mentioned, the TIA that's been accepted does not contemplate the full intensity that's supportable within the PD, and so we provided some verbiage that we find better clarifies the intent, process, and applicability of these TIA updates which we've supplied to the applicant. That concludes my presentation. I'm here to answer any questions. And the applicant has provided a presentation as well.

Does the commission have any questions for staff before we move on to the applicant?

I do. And maybe you can provide some clarity for me, if you don't mind. But when you were saying there were different things that would trigger different traffic impacted issues, Help me with that timeline because it seems a little backwards to me. What I'm understanding is that there'll be a certain amount of growth and then the traffic or the roadways and infrastructure will catch up. To me that just seems odd and maybe that's how it typically is but doesn't it seem like the work should be done and then the growth catch up? Can you help me understand the timeline of how that typically happens?

Sure. Well, the TIA stipulates when the mitigation is triggered, and the mitigation is triggered by way of, I'll just say, intensity of development as it builds out. So it's not uncommon to phase mitigation to align with the specific intensity triggers that would necessitate those improvements. Oftentimes, we seek to achieve concurrency so that the mitigation occurs concurrent with the development that triggers it. In this case, with these specific triggers, the applicant has agreed to a hard and fast I'll just say deadline to deliver these connections, specifically the Pinecrest connection and the Fairwinds Boulevard extension to 17A. And so the applicant has agreed and committed to deliver those improvements within the timeline established, as well as those other connections which would be triggered based on the intended facilities being constructed and completed as well.

Thank you.

All right, if there's no other questions, is the applicant here?

We are.

All right, if you'd like to step up to the podium and state your name, address for the record, and then your presentation.

Good evening. My name is Ben Gramling. I live at 32 Charlotte Street, Charleston. First of all, I'd like to thank you for letting us come again. The commission asked us to have a series of more meetings since we were here last time. I would like to report that we have done so, along with some individual meeting as well. And I'm going to, and I think we, a lot of positive things came out of it. And so I'm going to let Martin give you the status of those meetings.

Good evening, my name is Martin Gramling. I live at 24 Pitt Street in Charleston. Allison did a great job, so I don't want to take up more time than is necessary, but we have here at the beginning kind of a recap of what you heard last time in response to your original questions at the information only meeting. She went over those, so I won't belabor them again. A little bit more info on the public meetings we had. We did have two of those. We felt they were very constructive. We had a lot of attendance from both inside and outside the community. I know a lot of questions last time, a lot of concerns last time were, you know, for lack of a better word, sort of HOA related within the community, and I know y'all probably don't want us to bore you with the details of those, but we do think we've eased a lot of those concerns. And then externally, I really wanna stress, I know when these kind of developments come, people who are already there are never gonna just love the fact that they're coming, but I do wanna stress that we know there was a lot of concern about will there be any connections, road connections to the surrounding rural areas, especially Wynwood, and as Allison said, there absolutely will not be, and we are making requests to memorialize that in the development agreement, so that even if we changed our mind, and even if the county changed its mind, there still couldn't be any of those connections. And we're gonna continue to have discussions with the community as this project hopefully moves forward. And then finally, I just, you know, because I believe this came up last time, I just wanted to mention that, of course, these meetings are in addition to two quite large public meetings that we held in the end of 24, right before council lifted the moratorium, that were attended by, you know, over 300 people. And just in both meetings, obviously, there are plenty of people that would just rather not see this happen. But our experience has been that when we explain things and when we kind of show exactly what it is we're trying to do here and also listen to the concerns that people have, that people were, for the most part, not only very polite, but were able to meet us in the middle. And I hope you hear some of that today. We have prepared a much abbreviated version of the presentation you heard last time explaining this, but I don't want to force you to sit through it if you don't need it. So if you don't need it, just tell me.

I don't need it.

Does anybody disagree with that? All right. Well, then I will leave it there and let it go to the next stage.

I have one question. Yes, sir. And everything I've read here and listening to Mrs. Simmons, and because of our overcrowded infrastructure already, I don't see any provisions made for helipads.

You know, we need to look into that. You know, maybe we can do one of those, since we've got so much water, maybe one of those seaplanes or something like that.

I don't know, but the infrastructure the way it is right now is so overburdened that You're going to have to have helicopters to get in and out of these subdivisions. I'm being half funny, but I'm being half serious, too. To get across the fact that our infrastructure is just really stretched right now.

No, we certainly understand. And you know that the plan was designed and you've heard to say this before. I don't want to belabor the point, but you know, designed from the outset to, you know, first of all, have multiple accesses, five different accesses onto 17 a to give people multiple ways in and out, keep the traffic flowing and also to have that interconnected street network within the community so that. When people are going from point A to point B within the community, as they will do, because there will be a school within it, there will be a big town center at the north end of the lake with restaurants and bars and so on. They won't have to get back out on the highway to do that and clog up the roads to do that. And, of course, in addition, you know, we know there's surrounding infrastructure needs. We are pledging $10 million to help with that. are still working with the county to figure out exactly what a residential improvement district might look like, but that would deliver significant monies for infrastructure work in the region as well.

Thank you. Any other questions for the applicant?

I have a couple. Okay. At the first, well, at the second meeting, I was expecting it to be more tailored toward the adjacent communities, and there were not but a few people from there. And so I walked around and talked to them, and they, two of the concerns that were brought up to me was access into winwood which you all have addressed and i appreciate that very much the second was people in winwood and who were adjacent to the new development were concerned that people might see their five acre fields and pastures and think it's open land that we can ride our four-wheelers and used for recreation. And I was hoping that you could come up with some kind of assurance for neighbors that that wouldn't happen.

I think we can. I mean, to your point, what kind of happened in that meeting is, frankly, we just got more people than we expected, so we couldn't have some of the most detailed conversations we'd like to, but we actually have scheduled an additional meeting with just the Wynnewood folks later this week, and I'm sure that we'll be discussing some things like that. Until we really sit down and hash it out, I don't know exactly what that might look like, but I feel fairly confident that we can come up with something that'll help ease their fears on that front.

It may be as simple as putting something in the HOA for residents to remind them that they're not allowed to do that and perhaps a penalty.

Oh, certainly that, without question, yeah.

Okay, all right, thank you.

Of course.

Any other questions for the applicant? All right, by the attendance that we have here tonight, I'm assuming that you have a lot of people that want to speak. So the way we would like to do this is if you would like to go stand over on the wall in a single file line to speak, you may do so. If you have representatives from If you have multiple representatives from your communities, it may be beneficial for you to designate one or two speakers from your community to address the same issues that I'm sure will be addressed. If not, We will limit our response time to our two minutes per speaker. So you can go ahead, ma'am. If you'll step up to the podium and state your name and address for the record.

OK. My name is Margaret Lee. My property is the 266 Romelats Lane, and I believe in preserving history. Few people know the history of our state. In the American Revolution that started 250 years ago, more battles were fought and more blood was spilled in South Carolina than all the other colonies put together. General Francis Marion's statue is in the lobby here. He led the charge against the tyrannical British in Berkeley County. On this soil, American patriots fought for liberty. We live in a very special county. There's no consideration of the past in this rezoning. I live on this land, American Revolution grapeshot, colonial pottery, and other artifacts are on this land. There's no provision for preservation of artifacts, unmarked graves, newly discovered battlefield sites. Berkeley County was known for 46 battles and skirmishes in the American Revolution, and when history is bulldozed, it's gone. This rural land still has heritage, but for how long? We love our community. Many family generations have lived in this area of Berkeley. Their descendants live here today. When there's war, we send our military men and women over to bring peace. But now the battle's here with unbridled development that will plow under our peaceful land. There's insufficient consideration for our rural community. Thank you.

Thank you. Yes, sir. Go ahead and step up to the podium and state your name and address for the record.

Kenley 270 Ruma Lat Lane. I guess I need to thank the Gremlins because they told us that none of this growth is gonna spill out into the surrounding areas. I think that's kind of remarkable because the thing they have up here, it says 17A. Every one of us I'm sure drives on that road at some point. And of the week, and maybe multiple times, our children, our grandchildren, we're trying to take our kids to church, to school, to doctor, to buy. And the roads are all ready. We drive these roads. We know how bad they are. And now we're going to have 15,000 more people dropped in the middle of us that the county says this is a moral good. but it will increase crime because 15,000 people bring crime and it's not going to be circumscribed by some magic circle that a HOA agreement will keep out. It'll seep out into the whole community. We are rural. We do have traditions. We are a community. We have to stand together. Tonight's the night. I got to tell you this PDMU thing, it permits Data centers, yes, data centers. Marion County government just rejected a Project Liberty multi-billion dollar data center in Marion County. It was canceled June 2026. And Marion County government signed a non-disclosure act agreement not to tell the public about it. They know what this means. It's PDMU. It's building houses, large infrastructure, and data centers. A data center is a place where data is collected on us. and it's sold to the highest bidder and the government gets their hands on it and then they can put their boot on our net worse than it is now and so i just i think i already i'm preaching to the choir here but when the time comes to reject and deny this thing thank you sir just deny it thank you sir next please come up to the podium and state your name and your address

I'm Charles Kramer, 337 Fish Creek Court in Four Seasons. Yes, sir. I came because I spoke at the last meeting about the water in the back of my house with silt and the geese's ankles showing in the middle of the lake. And my alcove that I'm on is maybe 1,000 feet out of 16 miles of shoreline that this project's going to be built on. I really appreciate and I'm very happy with the fact that Mr. Grambling and his engineer, Mr. Cherry, came to my house last week. to look at the concerns I had about the situation. They looked at the silt that was built up, they looked at the dead weeds, they looked at what some sunk over the years, and they said they are developing programs or looking at it on how to address this for the whole 16 miles of land. So I really, again, appreciate greatly that they came. Thank you.

Thank you. Yes, ma'am. Please state your name and address for the record.

Okay. Good evening, Planning Commission. My name is Denise Harwell Masterson, and I am here representing my family's property at 2127 South Live Oak Drive. Regarding the adjacent parcel, TMS number 18000003038. When this project was first proposed, I strongly opposed the road connection. However, I also recognize that the property had been purchased with the intent of creating that access. Rather than continuing to oppose something that was likely to move forward, I felt it was important to seek a compromise that addressed the concerns of everyone involved. Over the last one and a half years, I sent emails repeatedly requesting opportunities to meet with developers to discuss our family's concerns. Initially, the communication regarding the project had fallen through, and I felt our family was not being kept adequately informed, as I stated at the last meeting. Immediately when this was brought to Mr. Martin Grambling's attention, he was very apologetic and took steps to address his concerns. I appreciate his willingness to acknowledge the breakdown in communication and work towards rebuilding trust through open and productive dialogue. I am grateful to say that I met with Martin Grambling and lead engineer Mark Cherry, who honored my request to meet in person and work with us in good faith to find common ground. I am happy to say through those discussions we were able to reach an agreement, the MOU, as said before in the private discussion, that improves my mother's safety when entering and exiting our property, provides buffering and separation between the roadway and her bedroom, addresses drainage and lighting, and includes changes that recognize and honor the Harwell family heritage that has called this property home for more than six generations dating back to 1875. It was very emotional for them to, or for me, for them to allow me to have a stake in naming the roadway. While this may not have been the outcome that I originally envisioned, I appreciate the willingness of all parties to listen, collaborate, and find a reasonable compromise. The MOU interests our family, and I believe it is a positive outcome for everyone involved. I appreciate the support and thoughtfulness our family received and anticipate standing in support, working with these gentlemen, Mr. Gramley, Mark Cherry, county staff, and the planning commission to continue to reach common ground for the growth of Berkeley County, thank you for your time consideration efforts throughout this process.

Thank you. Yes, ma'am. You please state your name and address for the record.

My name's Mamie Gainley. I live at 108 Mini Court, Moncks Corner. I am considered Wynwood, even though I'm not in the back of Wynwood. I am on the corner of 17A and Cypress Gardens Road. All these things coming out on 17A that are, it's already a disaster to try to get out. I mean, like right at the corner, and Cypress Gardens is already overwhelmed. It can never be four-laned. It's just not feasible. I know this. I've lived here on that corner for 40 years. I'm not like generations like a lot of these people, but I've lived there for a while. So I know Cypress Gardens can't be four-laned. unless they fill in wetland. Of course, they've been doing that too, so they might go ahead and four lane it. But it's become a major problem. And when they bring all these things from Cane Bay onto 17A, where's that traffic gonna go? Down to Cypress Gardens, down 17A, down towards Somerville, down towards State Road, they wouldn't go back that way, they'd be going toward Moncton, whatever. But all those 15,000 some cars, are gonna come out onto 17th or from back and forth from Fairwinds Boulevard, Cane Bay Boulevard, whatever. There's just not enough infrastructure. This place floods as it is. I remember the first thousand year flood we had It was October of 2015, because it was right after my husband passed away. And I had to deal with that myself. And it was not a tropical system. It was not a storm or hurricane. It was a frontal boundary that just became stagnant right there, right off our coast, and dropped 30 plus inches of rain. The bridge on Cypress Gardens was washed out. So that's going to put everything on 17A. Because once a storm, a big storm comes through here, Cypress Gardens can't handle that. My thing is, nobody's talked to me because I'm not exactly in the middle of everything. My property's not backed up to everything, but we're gonna be directly impacted being right there at that corner. That's a lot of people and we really need more police, more fire, more ambulance, more, We don't have a problem. I live on a dead end road.

Thank you.

We have eight people. Yes, ma'am.

No, no, your time's expired. Thank you. Yes, sir. Please state your name and address for the record.

Thank you, ma'am. Jerry Latirzo, 328 Calmwater Way in Somerville. First, let me thank you all for giving me the opportunity to speak this evening. I also want to thank Mr. Grambling and his team for meeting with us a few weeks back and sharing his plan and visions for the Lake Villages. When bringing this message back to our community, several concerns have been expressed I'd like to share now. OUR COMMUNITY IS EXTREMELY CONCERNED ABOUT THE POTENTIAL INCREASED FLOW OF TRAFFIC THROUGH OUR NEIGHBORHOOD. I BELIEVE THE FIRST NEW DEVELOPMENT THAT WILL AFFECT OUR NEIGHBORHOOD IS THE PROPOSED HUNDREDS OF HOMES TO BE BUILT DURING THE MUNGO PROJECT. IN THE SHORT TERM, ALL THESE CONSTRUCTION VEHICLES, CEMENT MIXERS, LUMBER TRUCKS, AND OTHER SUPPLY VEHICLES, NOT TO MENTION THE DOZENS OF WHITE VANS THAT WILL BE TRAVELING UP AND DOWN COMMWARD AWAY, WILL BE A STRESS TO THE COMMUNITY, A SAFETY CONCERN FOR OUR CHILDREN, AND A SOURCE OF CONGESTION FOR THE NEIGHBORHOOD. IN ADDITION, THE PROJECT AROUND DANIEL LAKE POSES EVEN A LARGER CONCERN. DURING THIS PHASE, SEVERAL HUNDRED MORE HOMES WILL BE CONSTRUCTED, AND THAT BRINGS EVEN GREATER STRESS SIMILAR TO THE MUNGO PROJECT, BUT ON A LARGER SCALE DUE TO THE OVERALL SIZE OF THE PROJECT. AT OUR LAST MEETING, MR. GRANDLINK'S TEAM SHARED THE PROJECT'S SCOPE AS IT RELATES TO ACCESS TO THE DANIEL LAKE PHASE AND THE PROPOSED ACCESS ROUTES INTO THIS PART OF THE DEVELOPMENT. I WAS ASSURED ACCESS WOULD COME VIA ROUTE 17 AT PINE CREST DRIVE. WE BELIEVE THAT DUE TO THE DESIGN OF THE LAKES, THE MORE DIRECT ROUTE TO THIS COMMUNITY WOULD BE DIRECTLY THROUGH CALM WATER WAY. THE DEVELOPER HAS ALREADY CONSTRUCTED A TRAFFIC CIRCLE OR ROUND ABOUT JUST WEST OF THE CALM WATER WAY BRIDGE WHICH CAN BE ALTERED TO BUILD A SHORT ROAD THAT WILL LEAD DIRECTLY TO THE DANIEL LAKE DEVELOPMENT. AN ADDITIONAL ACCESS POINT HAS BEEN BUILT JUST EAST OF CALM WATER WAY. THE CALM WATER WAY BRIDGE IS AT THE END OF THE INDIGO COVES BOULEVARD. PLANS SHARED BY THE DEVELOPER SHOW THEY'LL BE ACTIVATING THESE ACCESS POINTS UPON CONSTRUCTION. In lieu of the fact the developer believes that the majority of the traffic to access Daniel Lake will come from Route 17, I respectfully request that the planning board and the developer consider eliminating these access points from Common Waterway. Unlike our neighboring communities, Delaware and Four Seasons, the Cove is not a gated community, which opens us up for unmonitored traffic, not only during the construction phase, but for years after, as ultimately hundreds of cars will be using Common Waterway, which will cause major congestion and could potentially back all the way up to Cane Bay Boulevard. The safety of our community and its residents is at stake here, and I'm hoping the planning board and the developer will consider alternative routes into the Daniel Lake area. I thank you for your time.

Thank you. Yes, ma'am. Please state your name and address for the record.

My name is Tracy Burlis and I live at 163 Calm Waterway in the Coves, a Lake of Cane Bay neighborhood inside Cane Bay. I'm speaking for myself as well as other community residents. I'd first like to thank the council members who took the time to attend our community meetings and Mr. Grambling and staff for hosting those meetings. Since last zoning meeting, Mr. Grambling has restored amenity access for members of Lakes neighborhoods who have continued to pay a separate HOA fee to help maintain the waterway even though the access was previously blocked. Mr. Grambling has also created a Lakes Facebook page and met openly with the community as well as privately with community representatives. We are grateful Mr. Grambling's openness to hear our issues and willingness to address actionable items to create positive change. After reviewing the plans for the villages projects, many members of my neighborhood, the Coes, are cautiously optimistic for the future. Some people are opposed to the project, and some have serious reservations about certain aspects of what this means specifically for the coves. My comments will be representing those who have weighed in, but I do not speak for everyone. Overwhelmingly, we are concerned about the traffic situation. We realize this is a long build out with many phases, and our issues may not occur overnight. The Coves is the only existing Cane Bay neighborhood in which motor vehicles, pedestrian, and golf and bike traffic will be directly funneled off Cane Bay Boulevard through Calm Water Way and to and from the villages. We anticipate that Calm Water Way will be used as a main thoroughfare for residents since our neighborhood is located at the center of Cane Bay and will be easy access to the villages. But we cannot possibly know what may be in store for this because the road plans on the provided villages maps were incomplete for our neighborhood. We are the only connection point in the villages presentation in which a traffic study was not performed. mr gramming has been uh has promised to keep construction traffic vehicles off our neighborhood streets for the villages build out for that we are thankful we still have construction traffic for phases three and four the coast build out that we are experiencing higher traffic volumes one comment we heard that jerry just mentioned was that all this traffic will be funneled through 17a live oak We are five minutes from the front of Cane Bay. That's 15 minutes at a good clip. Residents are concerned about the safety of their children, wearing tear on streets, trash, property values, and various quality of life issues that come with increased traffic. It's a small street, which gets even smaller when vehicles are parked on both sides, bringing us down to barely one lane.

Thank you, ma'am. Your time is expired.

Thank you. Keep calm, waterway, calm. We would really appreciate it.

Yes, ma'am.

Thank you.

Yes sir, please approach the podium and state your name and address for the record.

My name is Bruce Watson and I live at 337 Tupelo Lake Drive in Somerville. And I attended the county meeting a few weeks ago and I attended the YMCA meeting last week and I was really happy to be able to talk to some of the representatives from Brambling about some of the concerns that I had. And I really want to talk about the actual development plan itself. And the DPZ folks put up a nice slideshow and of course they're going to say some nice things about their development. But I lived in one of their DPZ communities, Vickery in North Atlanta, for about 12 years. And everything that I saw on that slide show, I lived that and it was wonderful. So I believe it's gonna be a very positive development for the area. It was a live, work, play community. So I was able to ride my bike, walk to the YMCA where I taught. We looked around for, community like that before we moved here. We found ION down in Charleston, but it was a little pricey for us. And as we were getting older, the 55 plus community spoke to us. So we've been really happy here in Cane Bay and I'm personally excited about being able to have some shops and some restaurants and some other amenities that we're kind of far away from now. So I just wanted to bring a perspective of having lived in one of these design communities by DPZ, and that's it.

Thank you, sir. Yes, ma'am, if you'll please state your name and address for the record.

I'm Bonnie Edelman. I live at 187 Greenwich Drive. One of my problems was that I was here at the initial meeting that we had and I heard the gentleman back here say that the lake was going to be private. Well, now they've changed their minds. It's going to be open to the residents of Cane Bay, which is great. They've thrown us a bone. But one of the other problems I have is that all of this infrastructure, I went to the meeting at the YMCA last week, and one of the gentlemen from the company that's doing all of this, he made me feel like I should feel thankful that they initially had requested over 9,000 homes and that didn't get approved, so they're at the 5,500 now. So I should feel good about that. But also that he told me that they don't have to complete the infrastructure until the project is finished. So what that says to me is we might as well just live with the traffic as it comes, and when they're done, then they might do something about it. And for $10 million to go toward roads and everything, that's nothing. So I'm dead set against this plan. We can't handle the traffic. The infrastructure won't allow it. And I'm pleading with you guys, please don't let it pass.

Thank you, ma'am. Yes, sir, please state your name and address for the record.

Yes, my name is Doug Staris. I live at 178 Greenwich Drive. We know this is going to go through. No, there's no argument about that. But to ask the developer, is it Grimley, I believe? Mr. Grimley, to ask Mr. Grimley to take things into consideration. And one of them is the infrastructure. Put the infrastructure in before they put in the housing because it's like, if you put that in, it's like closing the bar door after the horse got out. You're gonna do an infrastructure, after you build it, you're gonna have 15,000 more cars to contend with. I think it would be easier to do it now. You know, I think it would be easier to do it now. And also, importantly, the illustrations they showed us about these beautiful houses and the garages behind the house. And that's going to be a problem because they also said that there's going to be limited parking out in front of the homes. Well, I'm going back to Brooklyn, everybody. They did that in Brooklyn and it didn't work. Everybody had four cars to a family and they all wanted to park right in front of their, right outside their front door. And there were fights, I mean, bad fights, okay? So if the developer is going to construct anywhere, to reconsider by putting the garages next to the houses, instead of the houses further back, so now you have a four-car driveway and not having people getting into fistfights and whatever because they want to park their cars out in front of their home. So, thank you for your time.

Thank you, sir. Yes, sir, would you please state your name and address for the record?

My name is Leroy Godfrey, Jr. I reside at 519 Gross Avenue in Moncks Corner. I'm a Wynwood resident. I'm also a candidate for Berkeley County Council, a veteran, and a pastor. Three weeks ago, I told this commission that when the trees get cut down, they don't grow back, and that's still true. But what we keep seeing happening is that large projects come before this body. We see residents pack this room, we see votes get delayed and then those projects get approved anyway with new reasons like tonight's reason it won't be coming through Wynwood. But that's tonight. Our rural roads look like this. Andy rides his motorized cart along with another individual that walks his dog every day going back and forth the family dollar our kids can currently play on the streets if this project with 5 000 homes 15 000 new residents that traffic has to go somewhere and the projects that this committee has already approved the infrastructure can't currently support it when i moved into my house It took me 10 minutes to get across the interstate to Staples. Today that same traffic takes 30, that same trip takes 30 minutes. I heard the statement that the traffic would not come through Wynwood. I hope that's true. But what I've watched too many often is we get assurances in this county that live only as long as the meeting lasts. A promise spoken at this podium is not a rotting plan. Traffic doesn't follow good intentions. It follows the path of least resistance. And if this is approved, the path of least resistance will ultimately require opening up these rural communities to get traffic through to 17A or to State Road, which is already bottlenecked. So we're building and inviting people to come into a community when the infrastructure cannot support it already. And so my suggestion is, if it's going to be approved anyway, which is what normally happens, get these guarantees in writing before the first resident moves in, before the first shovel is turned. Not on a five-year traffic study, The people who showed up tonight are not an obstacle to good government in Berkeley County. They are the reason it still has a chance. Yes, sir. Thank you.

Yes, ma'am. If you'll please come up to the podium and state your name and address for the record.

My name is Leona Godfrey, I'm 14 years old, and I live at 519 Gross Avenue, Moncks Corner, South Carolina in Wynwood. You're planning on building 5,500 more homes, and it doesn't just mean more houses, it means thousands of new people, thousands more cars, thousands more students in an area that's already struggling. Our schools are overcrowded, our roads are unsafe, we don't even have sidewalks in many places, and most of the families in Wynwood are worried about their kids walking or biking to school or their friend's house. Before approving a project this big, I hope you'll consider and ask yourselves, are our roads, schools, police, and fire departments really ready for this much growth? Please put families who already live here first.

Thank you, ma'am. Yes, sir.

I'm Wayne Richburg, I live at 506 North Manos Street, North Corner. Thank y'all for letting the large community area have their say. I promise you that a proposal of this magnitude will end up costing Berkeley County millions in the long run. We come here only with our voices and warnings while the developer comes here with a promise of pot of gold. of Berkeley County if approved. The Planning Board has heard the past history of devastation in Cane Bay and the promise made but not kept. You have a prime example of what started off as a place to be, but due to the adding more phases, it's turned into a nightmare in Cane Bay. All roads lead back to here. As far as infrastructure, this proposal, 5,500 units, and each unit has two vehicles. That's about 11,000 cars bumper to bumper. That's 33 miles. Think about that. The traffic jams here. Developer answers to the major problem to put more traffic lights up. What genius thought of this? And who's going to foot the bill for the DOT Berkeley County taxpayers? A developer of this size would cause Berkeley County to supply more electric power, more water, more police, et cetera. Are we not stretched to the limit now with all this growth? The developer will promise progress and revitalization, but what we are actually looking at is displacement, overcrowding, and the deletion of our way of life. Let's learn from the past promises. Several communities' faith is in the council's hands. Moderate progress in Berkeley County is good. This is not moderate. A vote yay is irreversible and will shatter many hearts here trying to save their community. A vote nay would hurt the developer's feelings, but they would move on elsewhere trying to sell their pot of gold to Berkeley County.

Thank you, sir. Yes, ma'am.

I'm Caroline Yeh, 160 Baytree Road, also 270 Romelats Lane. I'm here to talk about one piece of land in this proposal. It's about 30 acres with frontage on 17A, a little south of Oakley and Pitt Road. The TMS numbers are 1-8-0-0-0-0, 30-76, and 30-29. It is a swampy lowland forest. Flip it around. In June 2025, it was purchased. Stand over here. It was purchased by the developers of this expansion. It was then quietly tacked onto the current project with the intention of adding retail and housing plus an additional intersection with 17A. This is a picture I took at the meeting on the 18th. This design has only existed for one year. I'd like to show you a design from 2024. As you can see, it's not there. As a matter of fact, how embarrassing, it's also not on that map up there. Interesting. So here it is currently. You can see it right here. I would like to emphasize that this parcel is not like the others. It is not part of their original 10-year plan. Here is my existential concern regarding this parcel. Flip it over. Adjacent and surrounding it is a rural agrarian enclave that has been homesteading here for over 100 years, growing their own food, including my family. We have a big flock of chickens. We grow blueberries, pears, potatoes, and we eat them. What happens when pesticide and herbicide runoff comes to our land? I did not get a satisfactory answer from the info meeting regarding a setback buffer from our property. The entirety of this area needs a respectful setback. Furthermore, flip it over, I am deeply concerned regarding the future status of Romelats Lane. This is our only access road to 17A. Look at this map.

What protections will be provided regarding our right of way?

If you look at this map, you will see their proposed road bisecting Roadwise Lane and their developments essentially absorbing the forward stretch of the road. Again, I got only dismissive answers at the info meeting. This piece of land is not like the others. 3076 and 3029 need closer examination. Thank you.

Thank you. Yes, sir.

My name is Tim Traynor. I live at 343 Fish Creek Court and Four Seasons. I came here at the last meeting and I brought forth seven concerns that I had, which was reflecting comments that I was receiving from my community. I met with Ben Gramling, we had a good, honest conversation about those concerns, and with no exception, all seven were addressed in some manner, which actually made our situation a little bit better. He opened up the lake, he's providing us access, second access in and out of our community, and addressed some other things that were quite important to us. The issue of the former owner's park was a big concern as well. I'm here to talk in favor of this project, and I do it for different reasons. I understand the emotions. I am a recovering real estate developer myself, and I get what people are talking about, because change is a very difficult thing to understand. I worked up in New England, and if you think it's tough down here, try it up there. People don't like changes. i understand that i have great respect for every single comment that was made here this evening but i will also say that i'm a realist and gentleman said this is going to get approved it should i think and it should get approved with some of the modifications that have been agreed to which will either be part of the developers agreement or i do respect matt uh uh ben grambling now and and comments that we've had back and forth i can say this And this is a part of my presentation that I used to do when I was talking to crowds like this that didn't want change as well. Sometimes it's better to deal with the devil you know. And that's no reflection on Ben, I can tell you that. Because he's a good man, frankly. He's a very good man. What I know is that there could be something else that comes here and is not going to address all the hard work and the infrastructure that is in place. The internal circulation of traffic does in some ways is going to certainly mitigate what could happen if this project doesn't go forward. So I'm asking. I don't know if I would beg, but I'm asking you to take very strong consideration to approve this project. It's been well worked on by, you have an outstanding staff here. I respect them. They've educated me over the last six years. I've been a pain in the ass to these people. Sorry for the children that are here tonight. But frankly, this is really quite a jewel, and it's something I think that will make Aside from the comments that have come here, which are all important, it will allow this northern section of Berkeley County to have something that all of you can be proud of. And eventually, I hope the rest of us will have exactly that same reaction.

Thank you. Thank you, sir. Yes, ma'am.

Linda Hemison, 195 North Creek Drive, number 1101. somerville as a realtor i think the idea of having 5 500 units coming into the area is great because it'd be future business for me however i'm a realist too i've been in areas where this kind of thing has happened the 10 million dollars for the infrastructure is not going to go far yeah i Yeah, I live six miles from 26. It takes me 25, sometimes 45 minutes to get home. It's ridiculous. I can give you an example, city of Washougal in Washington. When they did their comprehensive planning 25 30 years ago, I think it was they were told start assessing a special assessment $25 a month on the water bill because you're gonna have to replace your water and sewer system in like 25 30 years No City Council wanted to be the one that put the special assessment on the taxes and on the water bills Fast forward to about seven years ago the system is falling apart and They have never collected any assessments. And now the people of the city of Washougal have an additional $300 a month for special assessments to repair a system that they could have been collecting for 25 years. Traffic. They're talking about the interconnection of neighborhoods. They're talking about probably 15,000 cars at least that go to these little business areas. That's gonna be driving through neighborhoods with kids. Lots and lots of traffic going through the interconnectors so they don't have to go out on the main roads. That's children that are gonna be put in safety's danger. And so I'm a realtor. I love development. You guys are not ready for this. Your infrastructure, your road systems are not ready. Thank you.

Hi, my name is Anne Giffey. I live at 310 Seaside Trail in Four Seasons. and I support Cane Bay Village and I look at it from the perspective of it could be 9,000 plus homes or it could be 5,500 with restaurants, retail, a school, a fire station. That's much more appealing to me as a homeowner that abuts up to that lake. It's a great asset for all the communities. It will enhance that beautiful lake that we live on and it will help create a Cane Bay community destination for the residents of Cane Bay Plantation. I think it will also increase the value of our current homes by creating these retail restaurants, et cetera, in our community. I'd like to say to Ben Gremling and his staff, thank you for having these meetings and answering our questions, our concerns, clearing up misconceptions, working with us, and committing to continue to work with us. I would like to thank the commission, especially Lynn Hoover, who suggested having those meetings. They created, they solved a lot of issues for a lot of people. that were misconceptions. I would also like to thank, in particular, Ben Gramling for designating the conservation area so our eagles have a place at home. Thank you.

Thank you. Yes, sir, if you'll please state your name and address for the record.

My name is Michael DeSanto. I live at 123 Winter Court, Wynwood Subdivision. The road situations have already been addressed. There's no need to talk about that anymore. My second concern is of the drainage. I know they've done studies on it, but I don't know if these studies only encompass what this neighborhood drains out, or do they look at what the rest of Cane Bay drains out of the bays of Cane Bay, because that used to be swamps that were very deep, went full eight to 10 feet deep. which and did they also include the next in area that drains going toward you know jedberg road i'll say and stuff and then you go to off of jedberg road there are multiple new you know neighborhoods being built that will drain very quickly to areas that so just areas that are in Jedburgh area that are low that have seen more flooding in the past decade than what they had in the previous 25-30 years and also you know you go farther down 176 there's you know the Wassamasaw swamp area or Wassamasaw community they're in a low area I have not talked to any of them directly but I know that that their lands will flood anyway so the area the water that comes out of these new areas are gonna drain to them also. I don't know the exact drainage, but has all these drainage studies talked to each other, or is it just my neighborhood isn't gonna affect anybody, but the other 25 neighborhoods combined will? So maybe that's something that y'all can look into and ask for a combination of all other neighborhoods in combination how it affects everybody.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Yes, ma'am. State your name and address for the record.

My name is Donna Beauchesne. I live at 216 Marina Shores Court in Four Seasons. I, too, came to the last meeting, Planning Commission, and spoke, was disgruntled about what was happening with Mr. Gramling and his proposed. I then went to the meeting at the Y, asked a lot of questions, did research, and have been involved with other people in my community, and I'm very, very happy with the outcome that has come with Gramling and his staff. Especially the meetings that they had they're they're very open to listening to us and to our concerns I'm very glad we were very concerned because I live on marina shores and we have that huge area of woods and What has been done so far in our community was total destruction of the trees so we were very concerned that that area would be totally destroyed for the trees, but glad to hear that they are going to preserve that and we're going to have a place for our wild animals, even our armadillos. I'm also looking forward to having a shopping area and restaurants and stores that are close to us because right now for us, it can take us 30 minutes to an hour to get somewhere. And so I'm really looking forward to having the Cane Bay Village at the north end of the lake so that hopefully we have someplace to go eat that's closer that we can enjoy. Thank you.

Thank you.

My name is John Battaglia, 240 Tupelo Lake Drive in Cape Bay, Four Seasons. Some of the things I was gonna talk about have already been said, so I only need 15 or 20 minutes. I wanna point out, when I first heard about this, they were talking about, they were already approved to build 9,000 plus homes, if I'm not mistaken, and they could have started that already. And so what they're doing actually is downsizing or downzoning to this number that we heard tonight, which I think is a positive thing. And then when I heard from the previous presentation, the DPZ, I knew it rang a bell. And then when I found out that the lady that presented was from the Kentlands in Maryland, I used to live there. And that's where I used to like to go with my family for pizza, movie theaters, grocery shopping, like that's where we went. We didn't live in the community. It's an attraction. It was so nice that people from all over the surrounding area wanted to go there. That's how nice it was. So I'm just saying it's a positive experience, and I'd rather have that than 9,000-something homes.

Thank you, sir. Yes, sir.

How you doing? My name is Foster Hester. I live at 155 Summer Lane on the Wynwood Lake. I own a portion of the lake on the northeast end of the property. Their property is going to take an end at my driveway on the island that I own. Now, I've asked for information on drainage, where the watershed is going. When you build all this big project, they got to put all these lakes in except this watershed. But when we have storms, this watershed that goes in these lakes is going to spill over into a large drainage ditch that runs from Wynwood probably down to the sand pits. I haven't seen anybody address this, but Wynwood Lake is owned by two people, me and another fellow, Todd Smith, I believe his name is. But he got across my property, which it is a drainage easement there, but this drains the woods. Now, when you take and build and pave highways through there and you put houses in and all, you lose the absorption of the rains and the storms, which will have to go into the lakes, run into the storm drains, and then that's going to have to spill out some way. I don't see any other place for it to spill out except through our lake. And everything I've seen is our area is grayed out. so we can't hardly see it but i'm familiar with maps i can see what's going on and i've asked the question and it's kind of been blown off now i know that somebody had to do an impact study a watershed impact study running through there but what i'd like to bring to your attention is that uh that water is going to go somewhere and i don't get a good answer from nobody but before Years ago, the Corps of Engineers come in and made us lower the lake slightly because we was having a lot of storm water coming in, and it was spilling over, and it was concerned about the dam at that time and people's backyards. Now, we've had this, and back during the storms, when we had a hurricane and stuff, I've had water come back up, get four feet deeper in that lake and come into my yard. Now, it didn't come far up in it. But what I'm wanting is where all this watershed is coming from, this large area over there is going to come through my lake and spill into that lake, and it's going to cause my community, and I'm really speaking for the community, some problems with this drainage. Now, this drainage is going to go to the lake. Thank you, sir.

Your time has expired. Your time has expired. So thank you. Your time has expired.

Time has expired.

Your time has expired. Yes, sir. Thank you.

I wanted to address the traffic.

I think it, I believe it's been addressed. Thank you. Yes, ma'am. Please state your name and address for the record.

Betty Futch 243 Summer Lane. We are already saturated with cars, traffic, crime, flooding in areas that haven't flooded before, ditches that don't drain, and you want to add more to it. If you do it, you're a fool.

Yes, ma'am. Please come up and state your name and address for the record.

Hi, I'm Jan Chika, 354 Old Great Road in Wynwood. I was here last time I spoke. um i have been to both of the meetings i'm very thankful for you suggesting them and helping them to happen it's been good to meet with them and talk about things i want to make sure that the winwood and lakewood people and the folks that are outside of cane bay know That we have a meeting scheduled on Thursday at two o'clock. I know it's middle of the afternoon I'm sorry, but I did set up a meeting with the groundlings for two o'clock at the Cane Bay YMCA to talk specifically about the Wynwood Lakewood our properties that back up on to the new development and talk about buffer zones and some of our very specific concerns because we didn't really get a chance to talk about that. So if you guys are here and can come, that would be really great. The guys have been good about talking about our concerns and meeting those. it's just gonna destroy our community. Everybody's been so eloquent tonight and have really talked about it and I know just environmentally, infrastructure, everything, It's just, it's a show. Guys, it's wow. What's it gonna do to our water supply? We're on city water and septic and what's that gonna do to us? Just everything. I thank you so much for listening to all of us come and talk. I appreciate you guys having the meetings and listening to us, but holy smokes, it's a lot of people and a lot of cars and a lot of kids and a lot of everything to add to our sweet little town.

Thank you, ma'am. All right, does the Planning Commission have any further questions or discussions?

I wondered if the applicant wanted to address any of the issues that were raised.

Mr. Grambling, does anyone from your team want to address any of the issues that have been raised?

If you would give us a specific issue,

Okay.

One that came to mind was the data centers. Would that be allowed in the PDMU?

We will specifically. I'm sorry. Could you come up to the, I know it's a hassle, but.

As far as the data centers go, we will put in our development agreement that no data centers will be allowed in this development.

Thank you. We'd like to respond to that.

No, sir. We're good. Thank you.

Can we respond to that?

No, sir. We're good. You've already had your time to respond.

It's a secret.

Sir?

You need to control yourself.

Any other questions from staff? I mean, I'm sorry, from the commission.

I would like them to address the issue of the gentleman's lake and the run over into his lake and how that affects the drainage easement.

Yes. Yes, sir.

I was trying to look that up.

Sorry, I'm James Thomas. I'm with Thomas Nutton, and this is Mark Cherry.

Mark Cherry. I'm with Gremlin Brothers, 2738 Coquina Drive.

And Mr. Hester, I believe, is who that was, that's on Wynwood Lake. That's right off of Wynwood Lane, which is kind of hard to see in this.

This is the bottom quarter. All right.

Perfect, so does this have a pointer? No. So Wynwood Lake is down there by where you see item number 10 on this. We have no direct discharge points that are going out towards Mr. Hester's property. There is an existing ditch that does run along that property line where you see Pinecrest Drive coming in. So there is some water going that way. Our overall drainage shed for that area though will direct water away from that area. So we'll do everything we can to make sure that we're meeting any kind of pre and post in that area, but we don't have any direct destruction.

We go directly east across 17A through an existing box culvert that's under 17A.

All right, does that answer your question? Yes, thank you. All right, any other questions? All right, hearing no other questions, or did you have anything you wanted to address?

Okay.

All right, thank you. No, sir, we've already had our question time and our comment time for the public. We're conducting our business here now.

Thank you.

Sir? Thank you. Any other questions? Hearing no other questions, do I have a motion?

This is tough. Normally, in a situation like this, with as many people here, some for, some against, we tend to go with the folks that are against. And I have a problem with infrastructures, too. I said that at the beginning. Y'all heard me say that. But this sounds like a pretty good project, and it's not going to be built overnight. It's going to be done over, I would imagine, several years. So I move that we approve the request.

We have a motion by Mr. Sineth. Do we have a second?

Second.

We have a second by Ms. Hoover. All in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

No, sir. No, sir. You can go ahead and remove him. Thank you. You can go ahead and remove him.

No, you guys need to raise your voices.

I'm going to explain what happens after we get through the process of making our motions and voting. If you would like to stay and hear what the process is, you're more than welcome to. If you do not, you may leave.

That's still unnecessary. I'm very uncomfortable with that.

Well, you just don't have to be uncomfortable.

Absolutely not. I'm going to need you to get away. We're not doing that. He literally just whacked his gun. I'm not doing that. He had to leave.

Okay. We have a motion by Mr. Sineth. We have a second by Ms. Hoover. All in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

Opposed? Nay. We have two nays. May I please get a roll call? We have Ms. Gore. Nay. Aye. Mr. Howerton?

For.

Mr. Steineth?

Yay.

Mr. Blackwell?

Yay.

Ms. Hoover?

Yay.

Ms. Moore? Nay. All right, so the yays have it. Your request has been approved. Now, for the next steps. This, our board is a, Verification, it's a board that gives a suggestion to county council. This will be heard in front of county council for three hearings. They'll go before the Land Use Committee and Planning Commission. You can follow this request through land land use and through planning commission and staff will give you the dates and the times for those meetings so that you can follow your follow this request through thank you very much for coming tonight is there any other um items on the agenda that need to go forward in the department of updates

We have a couple text amendments on the agenda.

I'm sorry. Oh, text amendments. Yes. So item number seven of a consideration of ordinance for text amendments, the ordinance to amend article two, definitions, article four, use tables, article five, urban residential zoning districts, article six, rural zoning districts, article seven, commercial and industrial zoning districts, and article 11, supplemental regulations of the Berkeley County zoning and development standards ordinance as amended to clarify and adjust requirements for accessory use, including but not limited to two accessory dwelling units, A, D, U, S.

Thank you, Madam Chair. These text amendments that are on your agenda are the continuation of text amendments that you guys have previously evaluated. These text amendments seek to expand the framework for accessory dwelling units, as well as adjust allowances for accessory structures. So unlike the prior draft that you guys entertained, we added...

Excuse me, we're still conducting business, so if you'll take your comments and your communications outside the door. Thank you very much. Yes ma'am.

So unlike the prior iteration that you guys reviewed, we added a third option for accessory dwelling in it, and that is applicable for lots that are one acre in size or larger, and that is that the accessory dwelling unit can be up to and not exceeding 75% of the livable square footage of the primary dwelling. So previously we presented to you the framework for an allowance to go up to 850 square feet, the 25% option for lots that are less than 14,000 square feet. The secondary option was to allow for accessory dwelling units to be up to 50% of livable square footage of the primary dwelling, up to a maximum of 1,250 for lots that are 14,000 square foot. In this case, we've added up to a little less than an acre, so we've added a third tier, which is slightly expanded. In addition, we've created dimensional standard setback allowances that adjust based on the tier as well. So if someone is seeking to place an ADU up to that 75% threshold, it shall meet the primary structure setbacks essentially. Also, we've adjusted the accessory structure allowances. I know that you guys are familiar with the 65% rule. We've expanded that to 85% across all districts, with the exception being that for those suburban residential districts, we have eliminated a cap on lots that are one acre in size or larger, so sort of allowing for an expanded option in a rural residential context. And that's in response to a number of variance requests that we've received through the years. We've also taken the Flex 1 accessory structure placement allowances for front yard placement, and we've written that into all rural and suburban residential zoning districts. So all of those districts now have similar flexibilities to site accessory structures, which can include an ADU in their front yard subject to supplemental performance standards. So with that, I'm here to answer any other further questions. And this is on your agenda tonight for recommendation.

Ms. Simmons, when you're saying an additional dwelling unit, do you mean like a mother-in-law suite or something like that?

Correct.

Thank you.

All right. You need a motion and a second.

To approve.

All right, we've got a motion by Mr. Steineth. Do we have a second? Second. We have a second by Mr. Blackwell. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Opposed? The ayes have it. Thank you. The next on the list is a consideration of ordinance text amendments and ordinance to amend article two definitions, article six rules zoning districts, article four use table, article 13 innovative innovative site and subdivision design and other amendments related thereto of the Berkeley County Zoning and Development Standards Ordinance as amended to establish a transitional agricultural zoning district with a consideration subdivision option for the rural areas of the county.

Thank you, Madam Chair. This too is a continuation of prior iterations on the same topic. We have prepared a conservation subdivision option within Article 13, which is where the cluster subdivision option is found. Previously we were looking at writing this as an allowance within flex one zoning, but after further consideration We realized that perhaps a more incremental approach is appropriate. So we've created a new setting district called the transitional agricultural zone, which allows this Conservation subdivision option. So what that means is if anyone is interested in developing a conservation subdivision, they must first submit a for rezoning to this new district. So by doing it this way, it triggers the typical public rezoning process. Just to recap, the conservation subdivision requires not just a set-aside of primary protected areas, so those lands that you cannot develop in a conventional subdivision scenario, but it also requires an additional set-aside of 50% of the developable acreage as secondary protected. So it's a primary protected set-aside, and then in addition this 50% secondary Protected set aside and the balance of the property is what is eligible for further subdivision So be so if an applicant set asides these open space Requirements then they are entitled to what we call dimensional flexibility and that's a reduction in minimum want size from 30,000 square foot to 16,000 We will also permit flexible lot width, frontage, and lot width to depth ratios to further allow for that sort of consolidation of development footprint. We're also allowing a reduction in setbacks to the standard established for lots that are sized 6,001 to 999 square foot, so it's a slight reduction and setback requirements which allows for a little bit more flexibility to cite the primary dwelling as well as septic systems we have also sought to augment buffer yard requirements and creating a scenic corridor greenway requirements along rural corridors as well as established considerations for man-made water bodies to be cited within secondary protected areas which actually were We are holding those standards to cluster subdivision subdivision as well So man-made water bodies, in order to be sited within secondary protected areas, should not exceed 30% of the total secondary protected area, and they must be designed to a 100-year storm event, which exceeds our current typical minimum standards, and they are amenitized and serve an ecological or recreational function. We're saying that that's a requirement not just for conservation, but also for cluster subdivision as well.

All right, thank you. Any questions? All right, do I have a motion?

Move to approve.

We have a motion by Mr. Sineth. Do I have a second? Second. Okay, don't everybody jump at once. Who was that? I'll go with Mr. Blackwell. Who? Give it to Blackwell, okay. All right, all in favor, please say aye.

Aye.

The ayes have it. All right, do we have any other departmental updates?

Move to adjourn.

Hold on.

Do you have another CE training session coming up next month right before your regularly scheduled meeting? So if any of you guys need additional credits, we're hosting another webinar. Can you send out who needs credits?

Because I can't remember if I have enough credits or not. Sure, we'll certainly do that. Thank you. All right. Do I have a motion?

Move to adjourn.

Oh, sorry, wait a second. Ms. Seaver has a...

I don't know if I can say. I have a bad cold and I'm coughing real badly. We are having... There are legitimate concerns about traffic. And people who already are developers who already have developments in the pipeline. We can't do anything about that, just like with Mr. Gremlin tonight. But I think what we're going to have to consider is stopping new ones from getting into the pipeline. This is the traffic. Everybody who's complaining about traffic has legitimate concerns. I think that's a direction that we might want to consider pursuing.

I agree.

Can I just add something to that, Ms. Hoover? You know, talking about traffic and everything, when we get these traffic studies, they're already outdated. This was a 2024 traffic study. And I hope that, I don't know how this election turned out tonight, but I can promise you, if Christy Gore makes it to the statehouse, we're going to have some deregulations when it comes to this stuff. Because 2024, two years, for a traffic study for this large of a project. We have to move this system a little faster. I have great concerns why my vote was no tonight, was the infrastructure strain. And we cannot continue to do a blind eye. When I build on my property, it costs me money. It doesn't cost my neighbors and taxpayers money. And that's my concerns with these large projects. So I just wanted to put that on the record.

I understand that about 10 years ago I talked to the county engineer, and he told me then that 176 from Carnes to Cooperstown Road should have already been six lanes wide then, and now we're only four lanes wide. Yeah, we're going to have to do something about our infrastructure. You know, I jokingly tell these developers we need to start building helipads. But something's going to have to be done. We just can't keep putting in more houses and more cars. The highways, the roads just can't take it. I mean, we just don't.

Well, we don't really have a whole lot of a choice. No, we're done with that portion. That has already been voted for.

I wanted to ask Ms. Simmons.

That's exactly what you were instructed to do.

Do we have any more big projects that are in the pipeline or any more big ones?

When you say big project, do we mean something of the scale that we just entertained?

I would say 1,000 houses, 500 houses or more, I would consider large scale.

Okay. In terms of a PD rezoning application, I'm not aware of anything currently in the pipeline. Of course, anything of that scale that would require rezoning would go through the moratorium process. So that's a good way to boost transparency of the entitlement process.

I tried the situation that we had tonight. That PDMU was drawn up 20 years ago. There were no other subdivisions at all like that. That was the first one that Berkeley County ever handled. There were no Carnes Crossings or Nextons or Wildcat or any of the subdivisions that are all up and down. 52 and 17A. Plus all the apartments. Plus all the apartments. But Mr. Gremlin had the right. He, 20 years ago, under a different administration, under a different supervisor and planning commission and county council, He acquired that right to develop it. And I don't think that any of us anticipated that in 20 years we would have this much growth. But we can see now that this is not sustainable. So we're going to have to tighten up something for this to be a place that we are gonna wanna live.

Well, and I'd also like to kind of just reiterate my initial question to you, Ms. Allison, or I guess in general, that maybe we should rethink the process. I mean, continuing to try to catch up with our infrastructure after the problem is already there just seemed very counterintuitive. So I don't know how we open up that conversation to perhaps make it part of the development agreements going forward that they place the infrastructure first to allow for the development that they will have so that they can grow into the current infrastructure instead of the infrastructure having to catch up with the growth every time. Because by the time the infrastructure is finished, it's already behind. So it's a constantly inadequate situation.

All right, any other closing remarks? If none, do I have a motion to adjourn?

Move to adjourn.

I have a motion by Mr. Steinitz. Do I have a second? Second. I have a second by Mr. Blackwell. We are adjourned.