Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Large Scale Residential Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission defers 86.16‑acre Ramsey Farms rezoning after public concern over density and conditions
Summary
Planning staff recommended approval of a rezoning request at 98 Jennings Road using a Hamlet place‑type overlay and a development agreement for some workforce housing, but commissioners and multiple residents questioned density (244 units), transect placement and adequacy of mitigation; the applicant requested a deferral and the commission agreed to defer to May 5 to allow revisions.
County planning staff presented a rezoning request for 86.16 acres at 98 Jennings Road that would apply a Hamlet place‑type overlay and permit up to 244 dwelling units in a mix of single‑family and townhouses. The applicant also proposed a development agreement with a small deed‑restricted workforce housing component (staff cited 10 units targeted at 80–120% AMI) and down‑payment assistance.
"They are proposing up to 244 dwelling units with a mix of single family and townhouses," a staff presenter said, and added that the applicant expressed interest in a development agreement to secure workforce housing and other community benefits. County traffic staff summarized an analysis that estimated the site would generate about 150 trips during peak school periods and recommended mitigation at one intersection, including a developer‑funded right‑turn lane.
Public commenters and conservation groups challenged the scale of the project and the adequacy of workforce commitments. Grant McClure of the Coastal Conservation League said the 244‑unit proposal was an "eight‑fold increase" from the roughly 28 units the current T2 rural zoning would allow and warned the density could overburden infrastructure. Multiple residents cited traffic, school impacts and the hardship of past mobile‑home park displacements.
Commissioners asked whether the applicant had met several of the county’s rezoning criteria and whether the plan’s T4 Hamlet Center transect had been drawn in a way consistent with code intent. The applicant team said they could and would work with staff to address thoroughfare, transect and architectural‑guideline concerns and that they would meet staff conditions.
At the applicant’s request, the commission accepted a motion to defer the item to the May 5 Planning Commission meeting so the applicant could work with staff to address outstanding conditions; the request for deferral was approved unanimously.
