Commissioners postpone decision on 39‑acre Southwest Cherokee mixed‑use plan after prolonged public concern about traffic and density

The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners on June 16 postponed a decision on a proposed 39.46‑acre mixed‑use development on Old Highway 92 and Old 92 (Case 20647), following a second public hearing that drew residents’ concerns about traffic, school capacity and the project’s balance of housing and commercial space.

Planning staff introduced the application and highlighted changes the applicant made since the planning commission: the developer moved roughly 5 acres from multifamily to general commercial, reduced multifamily units and submitted a stipulation letter dated June 10. Planning presenter Margaret Stallings summarized the plan’s components, including a 10‑foot multiuse path along Old Highway 92 and a proposed connection (the Priest Road connector) intended to reduce pressure on the Highway 92 intersection.

The applicant’s representative, who identified himself as Parks of Sams, Lark & Huff, said the team reduced multifamily from 485 units to 325, added a commercial block the applicant says will help support retail, and worked with traffic engineers and the development authority to add a parallel route and other circulation improvements. Parks told the board, “With adding that whole angle together, 53% of the site is commercial and 47% is residential,” and said the proposal aims to deliver connections to the new Woodworth Park.

Residents at the hearing disagreed on whether the revisions address local concerns. Bob McNally, who said he supports mixed use in principle, urged stricter density limits and recommended “RM10 only” zoning for multifamily to avoid future creep. McNally said the project still looks “very unbalanced” by square footage and warned against approving higher density than the surrounding area supports.

Several longtime residents pressed the board on transportation and public services. Russ Lee Waits said the area lacks the state and local infrastructure to absorb new traffic and said schools are “at or nearing 100%” capacity. Jeff May, who lives on Blue Ridge Road, told the board, “I just don’t see Highway 92 absorbing that much traffic,” estimating hundreds of additional daily vehicle movements at the site’s primary access. Mary Catherine Laughlin and other speakers urged caution about sending traffic onto Priest Road, calling parts of that corridor dangerous.

Other residents — including Madison Pavic — supported development, saying townhomes and apartments provide attainable options for younger households and students leaving local universities. Pavic argued the county needs housing choices and noted a multi‑year build timeline before the development would be occupied.

Commissioners focused on the draft stipulations, whether district commissioners should be allowed to approve future changes, and the correct percentage split between commercial and residential uses in the absence of a mixed‑use ordinance in the county code. Several commissioners said they liked some of the applicant’s changes — notably the commercial block and the reduced multifamily count — but also noted that many stipulations needed tightening and that some variance requests could be affected by final conditions.

Commissioner Ragsdale moved to table the decision to the board’s second meeting in July so staff and the applicant can refine stipulations and resolve outstanding variances. The motion was seconded and carried unanimously. The board instructed staff to return with revised stipulations and clarifications about which approvals (if any) may be delegated to staff or a district commissioner.

Next steps: The item is scheduled to return at the board’s second July meeting for further action if the parties can agree on final stipulations and any variance adjustments.