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Developer asks Cherokee County to amend zoning condition to permit private gated streets in proposed Knoxbridge subdivision
Summary
Planning staff asked the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners to consider a request to modify a zoning condition so that streets in a proposed Knoxbridge conservation subdivision would be private and gated rather than public.
Planning staff presented a request to modify zoning conditions attached to a 2021 rezoning for a 73-acre parcel off Knoxbridge Highway that was approved for an R30 conservation subdivision with 104 lots.
The applicant, identified in the agenda as Doug Patton for Bridgetown Development Inc., asked the county to change a stipulation stating the subdivision would contain public streets 24 feet in width from back of curb to back of curb so that the streets instead would be private and gated. Planning staff said the request reflects the applicant's original intent and would not, in staff's view, change the physical construction of the roads: they would still be built to county standards (24 feet back-of-curb to back-of-curb, curb and gutter and sidewalk).
Transportation engineer Brett Buchanan was contacted and reported no concerns with the request, staff said; the case was presented at the work session so the board could hear the modification request and the public hearing scheduled for the evening.
Why it matters: converting planned public streets to private gated streets affects future maintenance responsibility, the potential for the county to accept roads for maintenance in the future, and long-term public access. Staff and commissioners discussed the existing county practice that private streets built to county standards may be considered for acceptance later if they are inspected and meet current standards, and the board discussed that this requirement to build private streets to county standards is a more recent policy.
Planning staff told the board that, should the roads later be offered for public acceptance, the county would inspect and could require repairs before taking ownership, and that gates would be removed if the roads were accepted as public.
No decision was made during the work session; the modification request and any decision on whether to approve Article 5 (Section 5.5) requirements for private streets will go forward at the scheduled public hearing.
