Applicant defers 86-acre Ramsey Farms rezoning after commission raises density, thoroughfare and affordable housing questions

Representatives for a proposed 86.16-acre development at 98 Jennings Road asked the Beaufort County Planning Commission to defer action to the commission's May 5 meeting after staff, commissioners, and public commenters raised unresolved questions about density, transect/building placement, thoroughfare standards and how workforce housing commitments would be enforced.

Rob Merchant of the county planning staff reviewed the application for a Hamlet Place Type Overlay (PTO) and described the applicant's accompanying draft development agreement. Merchant said the applicant's submittal proposes up to 244 dwelling units—including single-family homes and townhouses—organized under T3 Hamlet Neighborhood and T4 Hamlet Center districts, and that applicants had proposed workforce housing and housing-rehab commitments through a development agreement.

Merchant told the commission staff recommended approval contingent on a development agreement that secures workforce-housing commitments, and staff insisted development agreements not be used to relax the zoning standards in the adopted transect districts. "We believe that this should not move forward or be approved without a development agreement to lock in those things," Merchant said.

Traffic reviewer Kevin (county staff) said the applicant's traffic impact analysis estimated roughly 50 trips generated by the site during peak periods and found most nearby intersections would continue to perform acceptably; the report recommended a developer-funded right-turn lane improvement at the WK Austin/Broad River intersection because that location already experiences long waits at stop signs.

Commissioners probed several technical issues. They said the T4 Hamlet Center designation appeared to wrap awkwardly around the site's open space and that placement should be consolidated into a coherent center; they asked whether Jennings Road would be rebuilt to appropriate thoroughfare cross-sections (sidewalks, street trees) where townhouses front the road; and they pressed the applicant for a clearer enforceable commitment on workforce housing beyond the draft proposal of ten deed-restricted units targeted at 80–120% area median income and modest down-payment assistance.

Public commenters and local organizations urged caution. The Coastal Conservation League noted the jump from the parcel's T2 Rural yield (about 28 units under one-per-3-acres rules) to 244 units constitutes an eightfold increase in potential density and warned of infrastructure and public-service strain. Neighbors raised concerns about traffic at County Shed Road and Jennings Road, possible displacement of rental tenants, and water-supply stress.

Pulte Homes representatives (Rob Mayer and Adam Tennant) said they had listened to feedback since the project's earlier iteration and had increased deed-restricted units compared with a nearby precedent, proposed down-payment assistance and proposed a partnership with Jasper Housing Trust to administer rehabilitation assistance. "We can meet these conditions," said project consultant Josh Teller, noting the applicant could move the T4 area and revise the regulating plan to address staff concerns.

After extended discussion the applicant requested a deferral; the commission voted unanimously to accept the applicant's request and deferred the item to the May 5 meeting. Planning staff and the applicant said they would work to revise the regulating plan, clarify thoroughfare and civic-space layouts, and crystallize enforceable terms in the development agreement prior to the next hearing.

Next steps: the applicant will work with planning staff to respond to conditions in the staff report and return to the Planning Commission on May 5 (the applicant may request additional continuances if needed).