Planning commission backs CK Capital rezoning for Marsh Hill office park with larger residential buffer

At a June meeting of the Oconee County Planning Commission, members recommended approval of rezoning case P250079 for a roughly 15‑acre parcel owned by CK Capital LLC to allow a professional office park adjacent to existing development near Marsh Hill Road and Bell Road.

The action sends the commission’s recommendation to the Oconee County Board of Commissioners for final action. Planning staff had recommended conditional approval to Office Park (OBP) and Office/Institutional Professional (OIP) uses with standard conditions; the commission added a new condition requiring a 50‑foot buffer and an 8‑foot privacy fence along the property edge that backs up to residences on Bell Road.

The property is proposed to be divided into up to nine lots, with staff’s recommended zoning split (lots 1–5 OIP; lots 6–9 OBP). Frank Pittman of Pittman & Greer Engineering, representing CK Capital LLC and owner Chad Keller, told the commission the developer expects uses similar to the adjacent Commerce Drive office park and estimated the built development could be valued “anywhere from $25 to $30,000,000” once completed. Pittman said water and sewer are available and that the project would create jobs and tax revenue for the county.

Neighborhood residents who spoke during the public comment period urged denial. Rosemary Digby, who lives at 1030 Bramblewood Way, said removal of trees would affect 291 feet of her property and that “one corner of this property is 20 feet from the back edge of my house.” She asked for a 100‑foot buffer, an 8‑foot privacy fence and road improvements at Marsh Hill in front of a nearby preschool. Teen and adult residents also raised safety and quality‑of‑life concerns; 11‑year‑old Emma Milligan said children who bike and play in the neighborhood would face greater noise and traffic and asked the commission to “save Timber Ridge neighborhood.”

In response, Pittman offered concessions on behalf of the applicant: the developer would accept a 50‑foot buffer and an 8‑foot fence and said the applicant was willing to locate dumpsters farther from residential lots. He also noted the concept plan limits the development to nine lots and that a revised traffic impact statement will be required prior to site development so road improvements can be recalculated if conditions change.

Commission discussion focused on zoning consistency with nearby parcels, dumpster placement and hours for refuse servicing. The applicant agreed to a condition that service/dumpster areas be visually screened and to avoid early‑morning servicing (the county has an ordinance that restricts servicing before 7:00 a.m.). A commissioner proposed, and the body approved, forwarding the rezoning with staff conditions plus the added condition requiring a 50‑foot buffer and an 8‑foot privacy fence along the rear property line adjacent to the Timber Ridge residences.

The motion passed on a commission vote that produced a majority to send the case to the Board of Commissioners; the planning commission’s recommendation is advisory and the board will make the final decision at a later public hearing. Residents were reminded they will have another opportunity to comment before the board.