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Proposed townhomes and apartments near Stallings Road draw strong opposition over flooding, traffic and possible contamination
Summary
Two dockets from Greenville Land LLC (CZ2026‑034 and CZ2026‑035) propose townhomes and apartments on former mill parcels near Ray's Creek; residents warned of sinkholes, undersized culverts, failing intersections, railroad crossing access issues, and historical industrial contamination, and asked for hydrology, traffic and environmental studies.
Developers seeking to rezone multiple parcels near Stallings Road and Ray's Creek presented plans for townhomes and apartments that prompted sustained opposition from neighbors worried about flooding, traffic and contamination.
Sean Prouty, representing the landowner, described a plan that could yield roughly 110 townhome units on the primary parcel and up to 180 units if adjacent parcels are included, with proposed access from Mill Street, Reyes/Ray's Creek and a potential Donkel Road connection. "We are hopeful to develop this property in vein of the Greenville County initiatives, very green space oriented," Prouty said, adding the owner is pursuing additional acquisitions to secure tertiary access points.
Residents provided technical and experiential testimony describing current flood damage and undersized drainage infrastructure. Dr. John Kudlak and others displayed photos of eroded yards and sinkholes and urged a hydrologic impact study and a formal review of culvert capacities. "When they start putting roofs, driveways, roads in here, they're not permeable. That water's gotta come somewhere," Kudlak said.
Traffic and emergency‑egress concerns were front and center. BJ Flora, Linkside 3 HOA president, cited a DOT level‑of‑service 'F' at Rutherford & Stallings and said existing counts (~516 daily trips cited by the speaker) would rise to an estimated ~1,667 trips if the development proceeds as presented. Neighbors also warned that Mill Street is narrow and private in places and that Donkel crosses active railroad tracks without gates, raising emergency‑response risks when trains block crossings.
Environmental concerns included a voluntary cleanup tied to prior mill operations. Staff and the applicant said a voluntary cleanup is underway (no completion certificate reported at the hearing) and noted ground‑water advisories related to historic mill contaminants, which limits options for certain residential development without substantial remediation. Residents asked the county to require traffic and hydrology studies and to evaluate cumulative impacts of nearby approved and proposed developments before approving rezoning requests. No final decision was made at the hearing.
