GREENE COUNTY
The proposed new development of 1,400-plus homes off the Richland Connector has residents of Harbor Club concerned with the developer gaining initial approval to rezone more than 500 acres from agriculture to a planned unit development.
The request was approved by the county’s zoning commission Tuesday, and its planned location and multiple heightened concerns were addressed at a big crowd gathered again at Lakeside Church recently.
Greene County Manager Byron Lombard, Piedmont Water’s COO Brent Hurst, County Zoning Director Chuck Wooley and Commissioner Angela Deering were present for the meeting and fielded questions from attendees.
Kolter Land Partners LLC is the developer looking to develop 592 acres that will abut Harbor Club, presently on Hutchinson Grove Road.
The proposed usage would be a mixture of single-family and villa-styled units, ranging from 1,200-3,000 square feet each. The development would also include a six-acre amenity site near its north end. The project is expected to be built in three stages with an estimated completion date of 2034 and three primary gated entrances.
Its initial planned name was the Cove at Harbor Club. As the development is designed as a clearly separate one from Harbor Club, using the name Harbor Club was soundly rejected.
Kolter’s attorney – Greensboro-based Jay Dell of the Dell Law Firm – confirmed recently that the name will be changed.
Additionally, concerns regarding access from a new road behind the current maintenance barn by Harbor Club’s clubhouse would be nixed. However, even that has come into question with residents recently asserting that a new road is being cut into at that very location.
An equal access road along Club Drive in Harbor Club will be shared by the development, according to Lombard. This has created a lot of consternation as Club Drive is the primary entrance and exit into Harbor Club.
Creating equal access from the new development without a light or roundabout at present is thought to present a significant traffic jam. A recent study found that an enhanced entrance and exit on Club Drive was needed for just the existing Harbor Club development.
Many in attendance were unaware that Club Drive is not a private road owned by Harbor Club.
“Club Drive is a county-owned road,” Lombard said. “However, we will be conducting an analysis of the best use of traffic entrance and exit patterns for both the development’s primary Richland Road access and this one at Club Drive,” he said.
“It could mean we will install lights and/or a traffic circle. At every phase of plat approvals and stages in the development, we will hold Kolter responsible to meet zoning criteria and roadway mandates.”
Lombard went on to address both concerns for rapid growth and existing ordinances. Greene County is largely rural and operates on a lean budget.
“You can’t just shut off growth here,” he said. “Be it post-COVID flight or those leaving the city, Greene County remains an attractive choice. We need good, quality growth versus just closing the gates to the county. That produces a dead city and county. A larger tax digest keeps taxes in check for everyone.
“We will be reviewing and amending ordinances in the county; however, these will not be retroactive. Changes will serve to help reign in our rapid growth and maintain quality that enriches the community versus the developer.”
Water delivery for a new development stirred up a lot of debate about the challenges many residents at Harbor Club claim they have had with provider Piedmont Water. These have included water quality, poor water pressure and repeated sewer collection system malfunctions. Hurst claimed Piedmont’s infrastructure is sufficient to meet the needs of not only Harbor Club but a new development as well.
“The wells on site are sufficient to meet the needs of Harbor Club,” Hurst said. “Presently there are three wells to meet the needs of residents. The total volume of the one primary well is 184 million gallons a year. Harbor Club’s present usage calculated from the last 12 months is roughly 69 million gallons a year.”
Hurst went on to say that the proposed development is still too new to discuss delivery to potential residents. These options include utilizing one of Harbor Club’s wells, drilling new wells, or utilization of the water treatment plant off Lake Oconee trail.
The development, once completed, is the largest for the county since Reynolds and Harbor Club were first established 25 years ago.
“These changes will not be retroactive,” he said. “This will serve to reign on our rapid growth while meeting and maintaining quality that enriches the community versus the developers.”