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Commissioners approve 107‑lot ‘conservation design’ subdivision on East Cherokee Drive with conditions and private streets
Summary
The Board approved a rezoning to R‑20 (conservation design community) for the EC New Vision project, allowing 107 single‑family lots with variances and 20 conditions, including an age‑restriction covenant and a 75‑foot buffer adjacent to Woodridge Estates; private streets were approved separately.
The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners on May 20 approved a rezoning request for a 107‑lot subdivision on East Cherokee Drive, rezoning the property to R‑20 under the county’s conservation design community provisions and granting associated variances and conditions.
Staff described the application as a conservation‑design layout that yields 107 single‑family lots, with the developer proffering 20 conditions. Key conditions include a 75‑foot buffer along the property line adjacent to Woodridge Estates (described by the developer as a 50‑foot undisturbed area plus a 25‑foot graded-and‑planted buffer), relocation of the amenity area to the north portion of the site, and deed‑restricted occupancy limits tied to an age‑restricted community. The applicant also agreed to maintain the subdivision’s dam and associated infrastructure.
Commission discussion touched on density, green‑space tradeoffs, and design quality. County staff noted the applicant had reduced initial impacts by relocating several lots out of primary conservation areas and by moving the amenity area at the board’s request. The proposal includes an age‑restriction provision whereby at least 80% of units would be occupied by residents age 55 or older; the homeowner association covenants limit rentals to no more than 10% of the units. The record includes a condition stating that “no person under the age of 18 is allowed to occupy residence in the community,” which staff clarified as written to prohibit under‑18 occupancy for periods beyond short‑term stays (the staff comment described the restriction as occupancy “for more than 90 days”).
Chair Johnson moved to approve the rezoning with the requested concurrent variances and the 20 conditions; the motion was seconded and carried unanimously. The board separately approved the applicant’s request to build private streets, requiring the developer to construct the streets to county standards because the county anticipates it may be asked to accept them in the future.
The county planning administrator provided the board with the revised site plan dated May 13 showing the relocated amenity area, and planning commission recommendations were summarized in the staff packet. The approval was given with explicit variances and the listed proffered conditions; commissioners said the proposal represented a reasonable balance of density and open space for this portion of East Cherokee Drive.
