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Planning commission recommends conditional approval of Parkway Corners master plan with requirements on narrative, will‑serve letters and open space
Summary
After detailed exchange about master‑plan specificity and a planned realignment of Bluffton Parkway, the commission voted unanimously to recommend conditional approval to council, requiring updated will‑serve letters, an expanded narrative per Buckwalter PUD section 5.88 and demonstration of 10% open space exclusive of wetlands.
The Bluffton Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend conditional approval of the Parkway Corners initial master plan in the Buckwalter PUD, subject to conditions requiring updated utility ‘will‑serve’ letters, an expanded master‑plan narrative addressing development‑agreement standards and demonstration of a minimum 10% non‑wetland open space.
The applicant proposed a 114.5‑acre initial master plan divided into northern commercial/mixed‑use and southern medical/commercial tracts; the submission identified development areas labeled A through G and included a detailed conceptual layout for a Novant medical site. Staff found the initial master plan lacked some of the detail required by the Buckwalter PUD and development agreement, especially with respect to the future realignment of Bluffton Parkway, and recommended three conditions if the commission were to recommend approval.
Commission debate focused on whether the plan needed more lot‑level detail and internal site‑planning standards at the initial master‑plan stage and how to treat a notional Bluffton Parkway realignment shown in older plans. The applicant and their consultant said the submission followed the Buckwalter PUD master‑plan standards and that Exhibit M, a more detailed conceptual plan showing parking and building locations, had been withdrawn from the formal master‑plan application; the applicant agreed to provide updated will‑serve letters and to expand the narrative to describe typical lot sizes, widths, setbacks and buffers for staff and council review.
The commission’s recommended conditions require (1) updated will‑serve letters from utilities and relevant agencies, (2) an updated narrative consistent with Buckwalter PUD section 5.88 addressing proposed uses and internal site‑planning standards to manage compatibility between adjacent land uses, and (3) demonstration of a minimum 10% open space for the project exclusive of saltwater and freshwater wetlands as required by the development agreement. The applicant will coordinate revisions with staff and the commission designated three members (Chairman Wetmore, Commissioner Michael Brock and Commissioner Lydia DePaul) to help review narrative updates prior to the council hearing.
