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Aiken County Planning Commission approves subdivision plan | News

Posted on by darion

Plans to build a housing development northeast of Aiken on Wire Road can move forward, according to a Sept. 19 decision by the Aiken County Planning Commission.

The commission voted by a majority vote (4 to 1) to approve, with some reservations, the Cooper Place preliminary plan.

The nearly 114-acre site, located south of Beaver Dam Road, will contain 157 parcels.

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The applicant was South Georgia Homes LLC.

Scott Johnson of Civil Designs Solutions is the project engineer.

At a public hearing ahead of the Planning Commission vote, eight people spoke and expressed concerns, including the increase in traffic on Wire Road that the subdivision would cause, and the loss of wildlife habitat.

“Sometimes I think the public thinks we have more power than we actually do,” said Planning Commission member Dennis Gmerek, who addressed the meeting before the commission voted.

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The Planning Commission’s role is to review subdivision plans and “check that they comply with our (county) applicable regulations,” Gmerek said. “And we don’t make those regulations, that’s the County Council’s (responsibility).”

If the plans comply with these regulations, the Planning Commission must approve the investment, otherwise it will be accused of arbitrariness, Gmerek added.

Six members of the Planning Commission were present at the commission meeting held September 19 at the Aiken County Government Center.

Chair Liz Stewart did not vote as her action was not necessary to break the tie.

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The issues that affected approval of the Cooper Place preliminary development plan were based on issues identified by County Planning and Development staff during their review of the application.

Gmerek’s application for approval specified that the issues must be resolved in “no more than 60 days,” based on a request for that requirement from county Chief Development Officer Joel Duke.