Kiawah Partners proposes new Orange Hill planned development with fewer homes, expanded conservation

Kiawah Partners representatives presented a proposal to the Charleston County Planning Commission workshop to replace the existing Orange Hill planned development district (PD) entitlements with a new PD that the company says would reduce residential density, preserve more natural area and change the site’s primary vehicle entrance.

The project team said the overall property is 933 acres, the earlier PD entitlement covered 721 acres and a separate adjacent conservancy tract of about 212 acres would remain undeveloped under the proposal. The existing PD allows up to 181 single-family detached homes; the applicant said its plan would be limited to 120 homes. Mark Permar, a project representative, told the commission, “We are proposing a development that has 120,” and described a layout that concentrates residential clusters and a golf course core free of housing.

Why it matters: The property is on Johns Island between Bohicket Road and River Road and includes covenants tied to federal and state wetland permits that the applicant and county staff said restrict disturbance on the conservancy tract. The developer’s plan would reconfigure access and infrastructure in ways the team says would reduce road length and environmental disturbance while creating a managed private club with a limited publicly accessible commercial area.

Key elements and developer claims

- Acreage and entitlements: The applicant said Orange Hill totals 933 acres; for apples-to-apples comparison the team used the 721-acre footprint of the existing PD and noted an additional 212-acre tract that the team is treating as conserved and not part of development math.

- Units and housing…