Planning commission recommends master-plan rezoning for 31.5-acre age-restricted community at Laurel Creek and Twin Lakes

The Rock Hill Planning Commission voted to recommend that City Council consider annexation and master-plan residential rezoning for a roughly 31.5-acre parcel at the southeast corner of Laurel Creek Drive and Twin Lakes Road (tax parcel 635-07-01-069). The application from CH Acquisitions LLC would bring 67 age‑restricted lots into the city and establish covenants for a predominantly alley‑loaded neighborhood with limited front‑loaded lots.

Staff told commissioners the application requests several deviations from current standards — most notably a driveway dimension deviation (proposed roughly 16.5 feet by 20 feet instead of the ordinance 18 feet by 35 feet) and modifications to accessory‑structure and façade requirements — but said the project provides compensating public benefits, including increased open space and larger buffers in multiple locations. "So staff recommends approval of the master plan residential zoning district for the following reasons," planning staff Shauna said, listing neighborhood continuity, traffic impacts and buffer provisions as rationale.

The applicant said the development will be age restricted by deed and that Epcon Communities is the proposed builder. Mark Carpenter, speaking for the applicant, clarified that lots 10–12 will be deferred and not built while a neighboring homeowner (identified in the staff presentation) remains in residence, and that home sizes will generally range from about 2,000 to 2,500 square feet with prices "anticipated to start in the 6 hundreds and go up into the 8 hundreds." He said on‑street parking and 2‑car garages are planned and pointed to the 85 on‑street spaces the plan provides.

Commission discussion centered on how the "benefit/burden" five‑foot easement will work in practice, who enforces CCRs and whether the number of deviations sets a precedent. Staff said the easement and limitations will be recorded and disclosed at closing and that enforcement would primarily be through the HOA with city code enforcement handling complaints that require municipal action. Staff also noted that several of the specific deviations were added to the zoning ordinance after the project's last submittal in 2021 and that the proposal provides larger buffers and more open space than the code requires in some areas.

A nearby resident questioned whether the property could instead be set aside for parkland; the chair and applicant said land‑use decisions are market‑driven and that the commission's role is to address the rezoning petition before it. After discussion, a commissioner moved to recommend approval; the motion was seconded and carried by voice vote. The chair said the item will appear on the City Council agenda for May 26.

If City Council approves the annexation and rezoning, the developer will return to the commission for preliminary plat and amenity design review before construction begins.