Commission approves Southbrook final plat, schedules Jan. 5 public hearings for two site plans

The Berkeley County Planning Commission approved a final plat for the Southbrook subdivision and scheduled hearings for two commercial detailed site plans at its recent meeting.

Staff told the commission that the South Brook Section 2 Phase 7B final plat (file 2507-217) proposes 34 residential lots on roughly 14.99 acres in the Mill Creek District and recommended approval contingent on receipt of surety totaling $533,400 and a signed developer agreement. Mark McDonald, representing the developer, responded to staff questions; no members of the public spoke. The commission approved the final plat by voice vote and recorded that the plat will be released when the required surety and documentation are received.

Commissioners also took procedural actions on two commercial projects. The commission accepted staff recommendations to advertise public hearings at the Jan. 5, 2026 planning commission meeting for: Spring Mills PUD commercial flex space (file 2503-062), which proposes mini storage, RV parking and a 48,000-square-foot flex-use building on about 14.99 acres; and Patriot Federal Credit Union (file 2505-159), which proposes a 2,883-square-foot bank with a drive-through on about 1.48 acres in Butler's Crossing. Representatives for both applicants—Courtney Poplar of Fox and Associates and Trevor Frederick of Frederick Seibert and Associates, respectively—were present to describe their projects. Several commissioners recused themselves from items where conflicts were noted, and recusals are recorded in the meeting minutes.

The commission opened and closed the Welltown CSP public hearing (see separate article) and adjourned at approximately 06:26 after routine business. The meeting record notes two abstentions on the minutes vote; the transcript records those abstentions and shows one name appearing as 'Busch' in-line with roll-call names for Michael Bush.