Council advances rezoning for 200-unit Redwood Apartments after drainage assurances

Anderson City Council voted to advance ordinance 34-25, allowing Redwood Apartments to pursue rezoning of a 40-acre site at Lindberg Road and South Rangeline from R2 (single-family) to R4 (multifamily). The developer proposes a 200-unit, single-story apartment project built in phases; staff and the developer said utilities and drainage reviews are ongoing with the city engineer.

Council members and residents repeatedly pressed the developer and city staff for specifics on stormwater management and traffic access. Joe Secos, planner for Clark Quinn Law Offices, said the developer has discussed drainage with the city engineer and submitted conceptual plans that include three retention ponds and engineered outlets. "We've reached out, we've met with the airport board and the neighbor across the street and everybody seems like there's an opportunity to help everybody in the neighborhood get that water," Greg Thurman of Redwood Apartments said.

Staff told the council the Federal Aviation Administration issued a no-hazard determination for the project’s location near the Anderson Municipal Airport. Tim (the planning director) and Matt House (city engineer) said full development and final permits will require further engineering review; if a specific development required variances, it could still go before the Board of Zoning Appeals. City staff recommended approval to address the local shortage of rental housing and because adjacent apartment uses make multifamily compatible in staff’s view.

Several residents and council members asked whether drainage improvements would move water into county jurisdiction or to a legal outlet. Thurman said the plan contemplates routing stormwater to an improved legal outlet toward the river and that the developer would pursue necessary easements and coordinate maintenance responsibilities with the airport board. Council members emphasized that construction permits and final site plans —including ingress/egress reviewed by the city engineer— remain prerequisites for building permits.

Councilor Dixon described his tentative support as subject to follow-up with neighbors; the council passed the first and second readings with an affirmative roll-call and scheduled the third reading for a future meeting. The staff packet and developer materials note additional steps remain: primary and secondary platting, engineering approval of drainage and potential utility work. Developers and staff said certified notices were mailed to neighbors within a 300-foot radius as required.