Natural Resources Committee denies rezoning for 49.6‑acre SC‑170 proposal that included veterans housing plan

Beaufort County’s Natural Resources Committee voted unanimously to deny an ordinance to rezone about 49.616 acres along SC Highway 170 from T2 Rural to C3 Neighborhood Mixed Use, a change the applicant said would allow a mixed‑use village with up to 24 affordable, configurable housing units for veterans and first responders.

The change to C3 would allow higher residential density and commercial uses along the 170 corridor; the applicant, Mosaic Development, said it would pair the rezoning with a development agreement that would lock in public benefits including the veteran housing and a school land swap. Robert Merchant, the county’s director of planning and zoning, told the committee the map amendment itself would permit any use allowed in the C3 district and that the development agreement would be the mechanism to specify the veterans units and other conditions.

Opponents and nearby residents urged the committee to reject the rezoning, citing traffic, wetlands and character of the area. “I urge you all to vote no on the rezoning,” said Derek Setter of 169 Cherry Point Road during public comment. Neighbors raised similar objections about traffic increases on SC 170, impacts to wildlife and uncertainty about commitments beyond a development agreement.

Environmental and planning concerns were echoed by the Coastal Conservation League, represented by Grant McClure, who supported staff and the Planning Commission’s recommendation to deny. McClure told the committee that recent growth along the Ogeechee/Okeech corridor had outpaced infrastructure, and that the staff and commission concluded the rezoning would not produce a logical and orderly development pattern.

Applicant representatives described design work, wetlands avoidance and traffic mitigation in their submission. Tony Vistardi of Mosaic said the company had prepared a draft development agreement for county review and emphasized public benefits: “The choice is yours. Yes, and engage us in finishing this draft development agreement,” he told the committee. Admiral John Stufflebeam, executive director of the Lowcountry Veterans Housing Foundation, urged approval so the foundation could provide the proposed subsidized housing and supportive services for disabled veterans and first responders, and said the group felt rebuffed by the Planning Commission’s earlier recommendation.

County traffic staff and the applicant’s traffic consultant disagreed about whether intersection improvements would be adequate or funded. County transportation planner Kevin Sullivan said some of the improvements assumed in the applicant’s traffic study were not funded and therefore uncertain; the applicant’s consultant said the proposal included specific turn lanes, signal upgrades and other mitigation they said would keep operations at or near current levels.

Miss Tabernick moved to deny the ordinance; Miss Howard seconded. The committee recorded a unanimous vote to deny the rezoning and will forward the committee recommendation and record to full county council for its consideration.

Why it matters: The decision blocks an immediate up‑zoning that the developer said would have created a mixed‑use village and affordable veteran housing on a parcel adjacent to existing neighborhoods and an elementary school site. Committee members said their denial was driven by inconsistency with parts of the comprehensive plan and unresolved infrastructure and level‑of‑service concerns raised by county staff.