Planning staff: No easement yet to link Riverstone parcel with Freshfields; Harris Teeter lease runs to 2029

A planning staff member told the meeting that there is still no easement agreement between Edens and the Riverstone developer to connect a proposed parcel immediately south of Freshfields Village to the existing development, and that the absence of that agreement is central to the town’s concerns.

The staff member said the parcel in question is the Riverstone Planned Development District (PDD) approved by the county for roughly 79–80 acres and running toward Kiawah Island Parkway. "That's the I think was it 80 or 90 that was approved?" the staff member said, and later confirmed the lease on the current Harris Teeter runs through 2029.

Why it matters: Without an easement agreement, planned road connections and other seamless integration with Freshfields Village cannot be guaranteed. The town retains influence over rights of way off Kiawah Island Parkway and has asked the developer for coordination on ingress and egress even though the parcel lies outside municipal boundaries and is governed by the county.

Planning staff recounted prior negotiations between the community and the property owner that produced a mutually agreed plan submitted to County Council, but said that plan has since been revised in some respects. The earlier plan had identified a location for a new Harris Teeter, additional commercial and retail space including a restaurant row and a village green; the staff member said the revised plans shifted some adjacencies and that the town had not received recent detailed updates from the developer.

There has been some tenant activity on the existing site: "What you may have seen in the last few days is, Harris Teeter has been painting the building," the staff member said, and added that the current Harris Teeter lease continues through 2029. That lease term suggests the store is not on an immediate timetable to vacate, but planning staff cautioned that the broader site's status remains unsettled.

Speakers also described engineering and site-planning hurdles the developer identified in early discussions, including the need to bring in substantial fill to raise portions of the tract above base flood elevation. The staff member said that work—if it proceeds—would involve "a lot of trucks, and a lot of land movement," and noted the town had not seen indications that such earthwork is imminent.

The meeting recorded no formal motions or votes on the matter. Planning staff said a call with the developer had been scheduled in the days before the meeting but that, as of the exchange on the record, the town had not received recent substantive updates from the developer or reported any executed easement agreement. Because the parcel is under county jurisdiction, any formal approvals or requirements remain with County Council.

Next steps: Town planning staff said they will continue to monitor communications with the developer and stressed that an executed easement between Edens and the developer is a key item for the community’s previously stated conditions of support.