Town staff to fold Village at Verdeer agreement into UDO; schedules community meetings

Beaufort County planning staff told the county planning commission on July 22 that they plan to incorporate the Village at Verdeer development agreement into the county’s Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) when the agreement expires on 2026-12-17.

"The development agreement currently expires on 12/17/2026," Mr. Frazier, the staff presenter, said, summarizing the timeline. He told commissioners the conversion mirrors a recent process used for Bluffton Village and would add an Appendix B with the Village at Verdeer master plan and text amendments to UDO sections governing planned-unit development standards and permitted uses.

The staff presentation identified residual development rights that are not assigned to specific parcels: 30,582 square feet of commercial space and nine residential dwelling units. Those rights, staff said, are currently held in part by Security Bank of Kansas City and by various property owners, and staff’s intent is to carry permitted uses and remaining rights forward into the UDO.

Chair (speaker 2) acknowledged the large public turnout and pressed staff for clarity about what happens to rights that have been sold or remain unassigned. "We got a huge crowd tonight," the Chair said, and later noted concerns that bank-held rights historically have been difficult to resolve. "This bank has historically been either non responsive or almost adversarial in their development of this project," the Chair said, asking staff to pursue clarity from the bank.

Staff said the town attorney has sent a letter to lawyers for Security Bank of Kansas City about remaining financial obligations and expects those matters to be addressed before the town council’s second reading. Mr. Frazier said staff will schedule two community meetings—one during work hours and one in the evening—after Aug. 10, incorporate input into the staff report, return to the planning commission for a September public hearing and then forward a recommendation for first and second readings at town council in November.

Commissioners repeatedly asked staff to provide clearer mapping that ties specific remaining square footage or dwelling units to individual lots, and to report which parcels still have unused development capacity. One commissioner asked for a table showing for each parcel how much commercial square footage was approved versus how much has been built and what remains. Staff said they will provide those details at the next meeting and that another staff member (Peter) will attend to answer detailed assignment and ownership questions.

The planning commission treated the matter as a workshop and took no formal action. The commission approved routine minutes and then adjourned; staff will return with community meeting dates and additional documentation before the September public hearing.