City of Woodruff’s Planning Commission November Meeting Recap
By Jeremy Handel, Staff Writer
The City of Woodruff Planning Commission met Nov. 19 to consider a number of zoning and annexation requests, voting to recommend approval of all but one item to the Woodruff City Council.
The Commission heard four items requesting rezoning pending annexation into the City of Woodruff, including two items requesting annexation to be included on the city’s sewer system. One is an existing mobile home community on Snowmill Road and the other an existing residence on West Georgia Road.
The Commission also recommended approval of the rezoning of a parcel, pending annexation, to R-3 for multi-family residential for a new apartment complex planned for development near S.J. Workman Highway and Mcedco Road.
Two items related to a planned single-family housing development at Highway 101 and McElrath Road were also recommended for approval.
The Commission; however, did balk at a rezoning request for a parcel on the corner of Highway 101 and Fountain Inn Road, across from Waters Tire. Forestar Group, a national land development company backed primarily by DR Horton home builders, was requesting rezoning from industrial to single-family residential for the development of a 108-home housing development.
Commissioner Whitney Pope expressed concern with adding another housing development to the mix in Woodruff and not preserving land for future commercial and industrial development.
“I think it’s smart to leave it industrial with all these housing coming in so we leave it open for development of places for all these new people to work,” Pope said.
Tom Kutz, a representative of Forestar, told the Commission that the company has a real estate contract to purchase the property contingent upon approval of rezoning and that the current owner has not had any interest from commercial or industrial clients.
Commissioner Morgan Smith also expressed concern with the potential for increased congestion in that area.
The Commission unanimously voted to recommend the request be denied.
Finally, the Commission took up two issues to revise two City of Woodruff zoning ordinances. The first would remove the minimum front and back setbacks, minimum lot width, average lot width, and maximum building coverage for buildings that are less than 45 feet in height. The second would add prohibit first-floor dwelling units as a use in buildings fronting Main Street in the city’s revitalization district, although existing units would be grandfathered in as acceptable.
The Commission’s recommendations will sent to the Woodruff City Council for consideration.
Author: Tracy Sanders
