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Council approves Jasper Telfair rezoning and development agreement despite traffic safety concerns
Summary
Jasper County adopted third-reading zoning to create a Planned Development District for a 30‑acre Jasper Telfair project and approved a five‑year development agreement that binds infrastructure, traffic mitigation and fee responsibilities; votes were 4–1 on both items.
The Jasper County Council approved third reading of a rezoning ordinance and a related five‑year development agreement for the project described in county documents as Jasper Telfair.
Planner Lisa Wagner told the council the rezoning would convert three parcels (about 30 acres at the intersection of Highway 17 and Highway 315) from general commercial to a Planned Development District, with permitted general-commercial and light-industrial uses, a maximum building area cap (staff cited 340,000 square feet), minimum open-space requirements and tree-preservation and stormwater standards. Wagner said a traffic impact study and a subsequent level-of-service analysis had been completed and that traffic mitigation required by the county and SCDOT would be implemented as part of development approvals.
Council members repeatedly raised safety concerns about turn lanes, storage capacity and vehicle queuing on US‑17. Staff and the applicant said traffic improvements would be designed in coordination with county engineers and the South Carolina Department of Transportation and that developer-funded off-site road fees and public-safety fees are part of the development agreement. The DA was revised to clarify that utility providers such as the Beaufort‑Jasper Water & Sewer Authority may also charge impact fees.
After discussion, the council approved the third reading of the rezoning and the development agreement; the transcript records both votes as 4–1.
