The City of Aiken Planning Commission will likely open business in 2023 by recommending approval of a new convenient store and a new 76-unit apartment complex on Whiskey Road. A public notice (1) was published this past Monday, December 19th, announcing a January 10, 2023, public hearing before the commission for:
An application for a utility request at Whiskey Road and Dominion Drive by Cranston Engineering Group;
A concept plan approval request by Drayton Parker Companies for a property at Whiskey Road and Stratford Drive; and
An annexation request for 1804 Pine Log Road near Hound’s Lake.
Parker’s Kitchen, Southside
The concept plan application from Drayton Parker Company is for a Parker’s Kitchen convenient store and eight pump service station to be located at the junction of Whiskey Road, Stratford Drive, and Powderhouse Road. This is the second Parker’s Kitchen planned for Aiken. The first one, on Richland Avenue below Sam’s Club, gained approval from Aiken City Council in May, 2022. Parker’s Kitchen is presently a chain of seventy convenient stores concentrated in the Savannah, Charleston, and Statesboro areas.
Unlike the Richland Avenue location at the long vacant, former Dick Smith auto dealership, the second Parker’s Kitchen will necessitate clearcutting and grading an undeveloped 2.6 acre forested tract that is 300 feet east of the Springstone Villas neighborhood. The company estimates a volume of more than 1,000 vehicles at their new location.
The parcel is one-quarter of a 11.6-acre area purchased in 2019 for $1.4 million by Lulu’s Holdings of South Carolina, LLC (agent: Robert Black), and later subdivided into four lots.
The other three lots are:
A 2.7 acre tract fronting Whiskey Road where a Lulu’s Car Wash is under construction.
An undeveloped, forested 5.3 acre tract presently providing a 275-foot wide buffer between Springhouse Villas and the two properties fronting Whiskey Road, but could be developed next.
Lulu’s Holdings of SC properties. Car wash is in SE portion, planned Parker’s Kitchen in NE portion.
The Lulu’s Car Wash was approved as part of an annexation and Planned Commercial concept plan for the entire 11.6 acres. After rejecting the first concept plan, the Planning Commission unanimously recommended a revised version on July 14, 2020, in spite of a petition drive in the Springhouse and Stratford Hall neighborhoods that garnered more than 200 signatures. City Council followed suit with a unanimous approval.
A subsequent lawsuit was dismissed when the judge ruled the city had not acted outside of its authority and the plaintiffs had not proven the decision was arbitrary and capricious.
Whiskey Road Apartments
Just under one mile to the south of the developing Lulu’s commercial complex are newly planned apartments. The Whiskey Road Apartment complex city services application shows a 76-unit, three building apartment complex planned on a 6.64 acre parcel across from the junction of Talatha Church and Whiskey Roads, adjacent to the Cornerstone residential neighborhood. (The public notice contained no mention of the busy Talatha Church intersection, opting to list the location only as “Whiskey Road and Dominion Drive.” )
The property is in unincorporated Aiken County, and the developers are only requesting city water and sewer services, and not annexation. Plans show a trio of three-story apartment buildings surrounded by 114 parking spaces, with an entrance via a new spur road located approximately 325 feet south of Talatha Church Road.
Whiskey Road Apartments Layout and Paving Plan.
Although the current apartments application lists South State Bank as the property owner, county records show that South State Bank sold the property on October 26, 20222 property for $425,000 to Cornerstone Aiken LLC (2) at 742 Trailhead Lane, Fort Mill, SC. This is the same address used by the developer, Ishvan Realty, LLC (Agent: Venu Parapelli), a SC company incorporated on October 15, 2022.
In 2020 a new Duke’s Bar-B-Que Restaurant was proposed on the property. The Planning Commission heard and unanimously approved that application on the same day as the Lulu’s hearing. There were no objections to the proposal, which was later withdrawn. Unlike the current proposal, the Duke’s application included a traffic study.
Since 2015, other developments within a half- mile of the proposed Whiskey Road Apartments include Summerton Village, the Townhomes at Chukker Creek, a new Dollar General, and the Lotus Park Senior Living Apartment Complex presently under construction.
Whiskey Roads Apartments property. Left photo from 2021, Right photo from 2014. Source: Aiken County
Footnotes
(1) The public notice in the Aiken Standard on December 19, 2022.
(2) Cornerstone’s registered agent is LegalInc. Registered Agents, Inc of Charleston, whose agent in turn is United States Corporation Agents, Inc. at the same Charleston address. The firm’s registered agent is Northwest Registered Agent of Charleston, whose agent in turn is Registered Agents, Inc. at the same Charleston address, who is turn are represented by Northwest Registered Agent. From there the trail remains on a circular path.
A 336-unit Apartment Complex on thirty-acres near USC-Aiken and along Gregg Highway named The Parker at Aiken; to be zoned as “planned residential” in accordance with city policy for residential developments greater than four acres.
An eleven tract equestrian subdivision of thirty-three acres—-of which 4.5 acres requires annexation—-along Powderhouse Road named Powderhouse Crossing; also to be zoned as “planned residential.”
As expected, Tuesday night the Planning Commission unanimously approved the 336-unit Parker at Aiken “luxury garden” apartment complex, but not before requiring the developer to pave more of the property at the expense of the city’s open space requirements.
Approval of the application to annex 30 acres into the city and construct the 14-building, 336-unit complex already contained nine conditions identified by the city planning department. The commission revised condition two to require buildings be thirty feet from the property boundary instead of ten feet; and added condition number ten:
“Item 10 should read 50 (additional) parking spaces minimum. To achieve that a waiver can be granted for a reduction of open space….item 10 to produce or add parking as needed for spots a minimum of 50, dependent on open space requirements that can be reduced as such to achieve a 50 minimum (additional) parking spaces.” (13:45 to 14:15 of the meeting).
Commissioners reasoned that, because of the number of two and three bedroom apartments, 1.5 parking spaces per unit provided insufficient parking. Although the concept plan called for 517 parking spaces, “which is 13 more than required,” the planning commission made an arbitrary decision to add more; contradicting the original condition that the developer comply with open space requirements.
Page 4 of Memorandum from Planning Director Marya Moultrie to the Planning Commission
Except for the developer, who offered to answer any questions, no citizens spoke on the proposal.
Update: The decision to add more parking was not made during the public hearing, it was made during the 5-6 p.m. “work session.” During a “review of items on the regular agenda” in the work session, the change in parking requirements was recommended and commissioners concurred to change the proposed ordinance:
“Commissioner Clarkson suggested a change to the Ordinance to require more parking for apartments with more than 2 bedrooms and it was agreed that an Ordinance change should be presented to City Council.” (December 13, 2022 Planning Commission Meeting Minutes, Page 2)
“Bad Information” and a Red Herring
Powderhouse Crossing also was approved unanimously, after eight citizens spoke in favor of the proposed equestrian residential development on property recently purchased by Worth Capitol Holding’s Rusty Holzer of the famous and infamous Holzer family (1). The property is adjacent to the Autoneum manufacturing plant, Bruce’s Field equestrian park, and the Virginia Acres (unincorporated portion), Dunbarton Oaks, Ward Hills, and Gatewood neighborhoods. Only one citizen expressed opposition, but only after learning the new subdivision is planned as a gated community.
Three citizens who expressed full support for the development did have some questions and concerns. Aiken city resident and neighbor Randy Cole describing having “moved here a couple of years ago and it looks like a great project. My only concern is when we did move here we were told that was conservation land and it would never be developed, and now it looks like it’s going to be developed.”
Planning Commission Chairman Ryan Reynolds interrupted to say “I think that’s some bad information.”
Cole agreed, and went on to say he would “hate to see all the trees go down and I’m looking at the back of a barn where I had the woods.” He did not add that retaining some forestland would also buffer the upscale development from the adjacent neighborhood. (1)
The sentiment was repeated by city resident and neighbor Lisa Skiffington, who expressed a desire for “a restriction where they’d leave some of our trees there since that’s part of the reason we bought.”
Instead of asking for the developer’s representative to address the issue, Reynolds then actually spoke to the developer’s intent, and offered a red herring as an alternative:
“I’m sure they’ll make every effort to get along with their neighbors but they’ll be able to do what’s in their legal right to do if moving all those trees is within their right. And they have that right to do that right now as planned residential. So they could be putting in a bunch of dense apartments in there right now and they’re not, so try to keep that in mind. But I understand the concern.”
So minutes after opining to a concerned city resident they had received “bad information,” Chairman Reynolds provided inaccurate information to the only neighbors expressing a concern and who also pay city taxes. Neither the planning director nor commissioners offered any of the following corrections or clarifications:
By definition, planned residential zoning allows for conditions on development, as it “gives City Council control of the details of a proposed project through approval of a concept plan…each concept plan is subject to detailed review by City Council.” This is a condition developers accept in return for city services—water, sewer, a paid fire department, and a city police department. (2)
The planning department and commission required the Parker at Aiken planned residential apartment complex to “comply with the City of Aiken Tree Preservation, buffer, and landscape requirements.” Yet, the only condition for the planned residential equestrian development is “that some natural buffer of grand or significant trees are maintained in those areas that are currently vegetated (3).”
Chairman Reynolds also mis-phrased the preservation of grand trees—a city policy—as a salvage operation, stating there will be “some salvage of grand and significant trees.” The Planning Commission does has the authority to recommend a buffer and adherence to tree preservation rules to City Council, and council has the the authority to impose such requirements on the developer.
In planned residential, any proposal to develop a “bunch of dense apartments” would require twice as much open space and likely compel the planning department to require a wider forested buffer around the property. A dense apartment complex on property traditionally viewed as passive open space would also provoke a maelstrom of objections and opposition from surrounding neighbors. Threatening city residents with a worse alternative that does not exist and is a remote possibility is a prime example of a red herring.
The commission also failed to adequately address the question of future development of a five-acre portion of the thirty acres. When county resident and neighbor John Kelly asked if the five acres “might become commercial,” Reynolds replied “if we had a crystal ball we’d tell you.”
What was not conveyed by the commmission is the limitation of commercial space to five percent of a planned residential district, meaning the 33.4 acre tract is only allowed up to 1.67 acres of commercial development. Although the definition of “commercial space” is as malleable in Aiken City planning as the concept of open space, the proper answer to the question is that part of five acres can be commercialized if City Council approves.
From City of Aiken GIS Mapping: Unocolored areas represent property in uincorporated Aiken County.
(2) The first page Page of the Planning Director’s memo to the Planning Commission reads:
(3) As the entire 33.4 acres is vegetated, the sentence should read “areas that are currently forested.”
(4) During the May 2022 Planning Commission meeting, Chairman Reynolds told another concerned citizen that the city did have the authority to limit clearcutting:
“Chairman Reynolds informed her that the developers would have comply with landscaping and tree requirements that would prevent clear cutting the parcel. Ms. Moultrie added that the Applicant will be required to do a tree survey and retain any grand and significant trees.”
Aiken Officials Second Guess Development on Silver Bluff Road
By Don Moniak
December 12, 2022
Along with dollar and mattress stores and car washes, self-storage units are a lightning rod for complaints on Aiken social media pages. In the past month, a finished self-storage facility and the latest proposed car wash have some Aiken officials expressing second thoughts about how they have allowed development to proceed along Silver Bluff Road.
The last item on Monday night’s (December 12, 2022) Aiken City Council meeting agenda is a request from the City of Aiken Planning Commission to consider an “overlay district” for Silver Bluff Road “similar to the existing Whiskey Road Overlay District.” The discussion originated during a November 15, 2022, work session at the suggestion of commissioner Clayton Clarkson; and was subsequently mentioned during deliberations to approve the Tidal Wave car wash at the junction of Silver Bluff and Pine Log roads.
The commission did not convey the sentiment to City Council. In fact, the commission did not submit any recommendation for the November 28th First Reading of the Tidal Wave Car Wash. The same memo submitted by the Planning Department to the Planning Commission (PC) on November 8th was re-used for the November 28th meeting. (page 110 of agenda packet).
Not until the Second Reading of the Public Hearing on December 12th did a November 16th PC memo appear in Council’s hands and into the public domain. (Page 87 of Agenda Packet). It too contained no recommendation for an overlay district.
The overlay district memo from the PC (below) was sent three weeks after the November 13th discussion, and one week after City Council approved a controversial proposal to site a 60,000 square-foot shopping center in an area zoned for residential use on Silver Bluff Road; adjacent to the Village at Woodside and across the road from the Pin Oak Farms neighborhood.
December 6, 2022 Memorandum from Aiken Planning Commission Chairman Ryan Reynolds
An “overlay district” is an additional layer of regulatory oversight in the zoning process that allows for more oversight. It is defined by the city’s Zoning Ordinance as:
“A geographic area designated on the Official Zoning Map where certain regulations of this Ordinance apply in addition to the underlying zoning district regulations.”
Nine days before the planning commission memo, Aiken City Councilwoman Andrea Gregory articulated a possible need for an overlay district on Silver Bluff Road during the November 28th City Council meeting—but not until after voting to approve the shopping center. Gregory opened the discussion regarding the proposed Tidal Wave Car Wash facility at the intersection of Silver Bluff and Pine Log Roads by expressing misgivings over Your Storage Units Aiken; the 35-foot high, three-story, 110,000 square-foot self-storage facility at the corner of Silver Bluff and Hamilton Roads. Gregory stated:
“Ihave a few concerns about this potential development and I’m going to use that storage unit off of Silver Bluff. When that particular development was presented to us never in a million years did I think it was, I wish I had been more, I guess , in tune, because it’s just too close to the road, it’s gigantic. It completely changes the aesthetic of Silver Bluff which I do believe we need an overlay in Silver Bluff because we have one on Whiskey Road we do not have on Silver Bluff. “ (SEE VIDEO HERE)
Your Storage Units Aiken is located at 1573 Hamilton Drive (fomerly 517 Silver Bluff Road). In 2017 the three-acre property in unincorporated Aiken County was an unoccupied island of residential use zoned as Urban Development. When West Side One, LLC of Tennessee bought the parcel that year for $700,000 from the estate of the former owner, the property had a modest, single story brick home graced by towering loblolly pines and a stand of mature trees on the back half of the acreage.
By April, 2019, the house was gone, the land was cleared for development, and West Side One had a contract to sell the property to Storage Development, Inc., a firm with strong ties to the law office of Smith, Massey, Brodie, Guynn, and Mayes. (1)
Top Photo; Google Earth, Circa 2017-18. Bottom Photo submitted to Board of Zoning Appeals, May 2019.
West Side One, LLC and Storage Development Inc then worked to get the state-of-the-art, self-storage facility approved as a City of Aiken business property:
After West Side One, LLC applied to annex the property and have it rezoned to General Business for the buyer, the Planning Commission recommended the proposal to City Council on May 14, 2019; although no site details were presented.
Aiken City Council approved the proposal for West Side One, LLC during readings on June 10 and 24, 2019, and were provided more details and the photo of the facility. But omitted from council’s information package were four letters from citizens regarding the project that were part of the Board of Zoning Appeals agenda packet.
Doctors Susan Hamlet and Idris Sharaf, whose practice is next door on unincorporated county land known as a “donut hole,” wrote a letter of opposition to the special exception to then Planning Director Ryan Bland, stating:
“The zoning ordinances are created as a component of the planning for the City of Aiken to maintain a cohesion, logical and attractive overall appearance providing General Business and other zones so that ‘like usage’ is maintained within specific zoning areas. Placing a self-storage facility at 519 Silver Bluff Road would violate the purpose of the zoning ordinance by unfavorably changing the appearance and integrity of Silver Bluff Road.”.
That letter was offset by three letters of support from local State Farm agent Denny Michaelis, and Floyd and Green Jewelers proprietors Tom Williams and Steve Floyd; whose property is also in an unincorporated “donut hole.” (2) Floyd contended that the storage facility would “enhance” the location of their business.
The proposal sailed through Aiken City Council with no discussion and no public comments. (3) Councilwoman Gregory was absent at the first reading and did not comment at the second reading. City Attorney Gary Smith was not listed as present for the first reading, and did not recuse himself from the second reading despite members of his law firm representing the project developer and owner.
The Planned Residential Self-Storage Facility
Whereas Your Storage Units Aiken is located in an established commercial corridor, another Silver Bluff self-storage facility was approved by City Council in 2018 in a residential area. Absolute Storage Management applied to build a 330 unit, 56,000 square foot self-service storage facililty within an eleven acre area previously designated for multi-family residential use.
Like the proposed shopping center along Silver Bluff Road, the commercial development did not need to be designated as commercial zoning because the special Planned Residential (PR) zoning concept allows for up to five percent commercial usage in a PR zone. City Council approved Pin Oak Farms/Colleton Park as a 74-acre Planned Residential zoning unit in 2005.
The caveat for adding commercial facilities to a planned residential area is that the business being approved must be intended to primarily serve the residents in the planned residential area. Absolute Management claimed the 330-unit building was “intended to serve the residents of Pin Oak Farms/Colleton Park, and other nearby residents of Planned Residential developments such as the Village at Woodside.” Even though the combined housing units for Pin Oak Farms, Colleton Park, and Village at Woodside were less than 300 at the time, the planning department, planning commission, and city council all accepted the notion that a 330-unit storage building would primarily serve about 300-400 local residents of planned residential neighborhoods.
Absolute Storage presented a drawing of a rustic looking building fronting the facility, and committed to only developing 3.2 acres of the 11.8 mostly forested parcel. The final version cannot be described as rustic.
Architectural rendering of self-storage building submitted in 2018. Self-storage facility, with Pin Oak Farms in the background. December 9, 2022. Photo by Don Moniak
The storage facility was approved unanimously at every step. The August 14th Planning Commission meeting drew a sizable crowd, with numerous residents raising concerns about trash pickup, lighting, aesthetics and buffers, and traffic. The meeting minutes then phrased the dialogue as questions and answers and failed to name the speakers. The concerns speakers raised were not forwarded to City Council within the planning commission memo or by other means. The proposal to convert a rural residential area into a commercial self-storage facility sailed through the approval process.
These two situations raise questions about the validity of another layer of regulation for Silver Bluff Road development:
Why did the overlay district notion appear on the agenda only after approval of the Silver Bluff shopping center next to Village at Woodside?
What has a similar overlay district effort on Whiskey Road accomplished?
What benefit is another layer of oversight and regulation if the regulators and decision-makers suffer communication breakdowns, city staff withholds information, or key information is not requested from developers?
___________________
Footnotes
1. Storage Development Inc. has an address of 230 Colleton Avenue, SE. and is represented by Brad A. Bodie, a partner in the Smith, Massey, Brodie, Guynn, and Mayes law firm; whose partner includes City Attorney Gary Smith. Following final City Council approval on June 24, 2022, the sale was completed:
West Side One LLC actually sold to Storage Units of Aiken, LLC (Agent Ray Massey), which was incorporated on June 26, 2019 at the same address (230 Colony Parkway, SE) shared by law firm.
The closing date was June 28, 2019, partner Mary Guynn was the closing lawyer, and the grantee’s address was listed at 239 Fairfield Street, which is the same property as 230 Colleton Avenue, SE.
On , 2021, the property was transferred for $1 to Storage Units Properties 1 Aiken LLC, a Delaware company based in Maitland, Florida.
2. Tom Williams was also one of the original members of the Aiken Municipal Development Commission; he resigned after missing most of the meetings in 2021. The Commission advocated increased annexation as an integral part the city’s growth model.
(3) The June 10, 2019 meeting did have two high-profile items on the agenda, the establishment of the Aiken Municipal Development Commission and the concept plan for the old hospital/county administration building at 828 Richland Avenue, West.
The City of Aiken Planning Commission will meet Tuesday evening to discuss two new developments, an equine development adjacent to Bruce’s Field and a 336-unit apartment complex just south of the University of South Carolina at Aiken (USCA). Together the two developments will add another sixty-three acres to the City of Aiken. As the Planning Commission rarely rejects or tables any new developments, the proposals are expected to be approved with minimal discussion. At last month’s twenty-minute regular meeting, three of four proposals were recommended unanimously and one with two dissenting votes.
Powderhouse Crossing.
Worth Capital Holdings 105, LLC, a Florida company owned by Palm Beach and New York City investor and developer Rusty Holzer, is proposing to subdivide 33..2 acres into seven three plus acre residential lots, one three-acre equestrian development, and one five-acre lot for “future development.” Most of the property is within city limits, but two parcels totalling 4.5 acres will require annexation. The entire property will be zoned Planned Residential.
If the plan goes as proposed, it would eliminate any concerns that the property could be commercialized, i.e a large hotel. Past development proposals for the property have included apartments and office buildings—-the county property remains zoned office-residential. In 2014, the previous owner permitted the city to use their property as a staging ground to process and convert debris from the February 2014, ice storm to mulch.
Some intriguing aspects of the planning department review include:
– A recommended waiver of the Planned Residential requirement of twenty percent open space because “each lot will have a primary open space character.” – An absence of the usual “tree preservation” requirements, although the site features a ten acre forested stand within the larger parcel that will likely be clearcut or heavily cut. There is a recommendation to preserve a few “grand trees” along the perimeter of the property – A waiving of a sidewalk requirement because the 20-foot wide riding trails are long the street. – A photo of a horse farm in an unidentified landscape of rolling hills, but obviously not in the proposed area.
Location of the proposed Powderhouse Crossing residential equine development. Bruce’s Field is above (North); Autoneum is below (south)
The Parker at Aiken Apartments.
Dozier-Sapp Development LLC of Martinez, GA, which purchased the property in March of this year for $465,000, is proposing to annex into the City of Aiken and clearcut much of a 29.82 forested parcel to develop a 336-unit apartment complex just south of USC-Aiken, and across Gregg Highway from Aiken Barnwell Mental Health. The development will consist of fourteen buildings up to three stories in height, a clubhouse with fitness, recreation, and co-working space, a picnic area, pool and lounge area, and a dog park.
Location of proposed The Parker at Aiken 336-unit apartment complex.
Because it is over four acres, the property will be zoned Planned Residential and require forty percent open space; a requirement that, as reported in The Village at Woodside’s Clever Zoning and Land Accounting , is subject to abuse. The planning department’s memo asserts the open space areas are “not denoted.” However, whereas the plat map does not show any open space, the “concept plan map” shows two areas of six and two acres, respectively, labeled as open space. The larger area fronts Gregg Highway and would surround a detention pond.
Conceptual Plan map for The Parker at Aiken. Open Space is shown to the SE and NE.
During the commission’s November 15, 2022, worksession, the issues of attendance and the Freedom of Information Act arose. According to the draft meeting minutes:
– Commissioners were advised that after missing more than forty percent of regular meetings in a calendar year, a commissioner is automatically removed. According to the draft meeting minutes, Commission Chairman Ryan Reynolds, who has missed nearly a third of the meetings in 2022, “offered some examples he suggested might be the exception to the rule,” but the examples are not yet noted. There are no exceptions in the city ordinance mandating 60 percent attendance at regularly scheduled meetings.
– Commissioners were advised that their personal and work email accounts are subject to South Carolina Freedom of Information Act requests if the accounts are used for commission business. According to the minutes, the city is working on obtaining city accounts for commissioners. (2)
(1) The meeting agenda packet contains the agenda, draft minutes from the previous meeting, memos from the Planning Department, and application information for agenda items.
The most recent Planning Commission agenda packet is available at cityofaikensc.gov/pca City Council packets are at cityofaikensc.gov/cca Design Review Board packets are at cityofaikensc.gov/drba
(2) On November 14 I wrote a letter to Planning Director Maya Moultrie and cc’ed to Planning Commissioners. In regard to FOIA and emails the letter read:
Below is the listing of contact information for the Planning Commission. It is difficult to believe that commissioners are using private email accounts and employer email accounts to conduct any city business; and do not have either a city designated email address or an email address dedicated to Planning Commission business. The AMDC had a domain set up for something like $250 for its members (although they inexplicably failed to use it, despite City Attorney Gary Smith’s admonishment to them to not use private email accounts).
Every one of these email accounts is subject to FOIA requests. If the commission has not undergone FOIA and Ethics training, here is a link to City Attorney Smith’s June 2, 2022 presentation to the AMDC. A refresher is always a good idea for a workshop. It is good governance. “
The letter has not been acknowledged, but the concept was.
Parking Lots as Open Space and Converting Residential to Commercial
The 100-acre Village at Woodside development has been classified by the City of Aiken as “Planned Residential” zoning since 2005. From 2001-2005 the development was part of the larger Woodside Plantation, which is also zoned Planned Residential. In its most recent proposed Concept Design amendment, Village at Woodside’s developer continues classifying paved parking lots as non-commercial space, and claims a proposed shopping center with 339 parking spaces and fronting Silver Bluff Road is primarily for its residents. The City of Aiken’s Planning Department and Planning Commission have accepted these proposals, and Aiken City Council is poised to make the final approval. (Update: City Council unanimously approved the development on November 28, 2022).
“Planned Residential”
Planned residential is a special use district within the City of Aiken’s Zoning Ordinance, described as a flexible and creative class of zoning:
“The Planned Residential (PR) District permits greater flexibility and more creative and imaginative design for the development of residential areas than is generally possible in other residential districts while potentially allowing a limited range of nonresidential uses primarily serving the residents of the PR project. In exchange for there typically being no minimum lot sizes and widths or minimum setbacks, and a variety of housing types, the developer gives City Council control of the details of a proposed project through approval of a concept plan. The District promotes more economical and efficient use of the land, a harmonious variety of housing types, a higher level of amenities, compatibility with surrounding uses, preservation of natural features and open space, and the interconnection of trails and sidewalks.”
Some design standards in the Planned Residential category that are prone to creative manipulation include:
A maximum of five percent of the total area is “permitted to be devoted to uses other than residential and open space, but there is no entitlement to any commercial or institutional use.”
Any commercial development “shall be designed primarily to serve the residents of the Planned Residential project.”
Twenty percent of single family residential areas, and forty percent of multifamily residential, must be devoted to “open space;” and half of this must be improved for recreational use. (1)
The Village at Woodside was separated from Woodside Plantation in 2005, after Woodside land holding company Sidewood Development, LLC transferred more than ninety-three acres of property to Silver Bluff Development Corporation— which subsequently became the developer of record.
Since 2005, Silver Bluff Development has deeded 14.5 acres of its property to two property owner associations, retained 33 acres, and sold the remainder to residents and businesses. One-third of property owner association lands consist of paved parking lots or roads.
Since its inception, area residents have voiced concerns about the scale of commercial development at the Village; and the prospect of the undeveloped stretch of Silver Bluff road devolving into a congested area like Whiskey Road. Some city officials joined with developers to calm concerns by portraying planned commercial development as limited:
“The developers had stated that 69% of the commercial area will be green space and not developed. Approximately 30 acres will be developed in that section.” (Aiken City Manager Roger DeLuc, June 11, 2001 City Council Meeting Minutes)
” The commercial area would be more like 21.4 acres rather than 30 acres” (Aiken Mayor Fred Cavanaugh, June 11, 2001).
Commercial Space Without Parking Lots?
Due to the five percent commercial use rule, The Village at Woodside is allowed by the City to have a total of 229,000 square feet of commercial space, or 5.25 acres. The Village at Woodside has minimized its total commercial space through the loophole of deeding commercial parking lots to the Woodside Village Master Neighborhood Association.
Under state law, “the special valuation of homeowners’ association property shall not result in any homeowners’ association property being valued at a rate less than five hundred dollars an acre.”(2) These lands held by property owner associations are classed as “common areas” by the Aiken County Assessor’s Office. This classification applies whether the property is an open field, a recreational trail or a busy, paved parking lot.
In its most recent Concept Plan amendment, the Village provided a listing of commercial properties in Schedule A (3). All but one property, the maintenance building, involve only the square footage of buildings, which collectively total 189,000 square feet. While Village at Woodside breaks down its commercial space to the square foot, its concept plan fails to break down the 37 acres it claims as “open space.” (4)
However, the three paved parking lots that service businesses are not categorized as commercial space. If these 4.5 acres of parking lots are considered, the total commercial area more than doubles. These parking lots are owned by the Woodside Village Master Neighborhood Association, are categorized by the county as ‘common ground,” and appraised at the standard rate of $500 per acre. The total appraised value of the paved “common areas” is less than $2500. Thus, the POA’s annual tax bill for each parking area is about ten bucks.
Village at Woodside Medical Center parking lot and tax bill.
Aiken County does not categorize these “common area” paved parking lots as improvements; unlike the approach in most commercial developments where pavement is considered an improvement often appraised at a rate of $75,000 to $90,000 per acre. For example, down the road at Center South Shopping Center, the 6.2 acre paved parking area is appraised at close to $580,000; as compared to the less than $2500 total appraisal for Village at Woodside parking lots. In downtown Aiken, the improvement value of a 0.3 acres of pavement in a parking lot owned by R&O Enterprises, LLC (Agent Rick Osbon) is appraised at $25,000.
While the Village at Woodside developer is not unique in exploiting this tax loophole, it is unique in presenting the illusion that commercial parking lots owned by its property association somehow constitute open space within a planned residential development.
This trend will continue if Aiken City Council approves the latest annexation and design change. The newest proposed addition to the commercial total, situated in a 4.6 acre proposed annexation parcel, is also the largest—a 60,000 square foot shopping center composed of a 47,240 square-foot grocery store and seven 1,400 square-foot shops. Again, only the buildings are considered part of the commercial space equation, leaving the large, multi-acre, 339-space parking lot and road system in the default category of open space.
Exhibit A from Village at Woodside Concept Plan AmendmentIn this aerial view of the proposed shopping center, the grey area representing paved parking lots, roads, and truck spur to the loading dock are not considered commercial space by Silver Bluff Development Corporation or the city. From: Aiken City Council Agenda Packet for 11/28/22
The proposal also includes other infringements on the open space concept. Silver Bluff Development has labeled buffer areas along Silver Bluff Road as “open space,” all future, proposed commercial development will require the clearcutting of approximately fourteen acres of currently undeveloped, real open space, and the new shopping center will destroy an existing trail and fragment the interconnection of trails and sidewalks. (5)
The Planned Residential Shopping Center
Village at Woodside has promised its residents its own grocery store since 2005. In every amendment to its concept plan, the grocery store was always listed as 20,000 square feet, and its location was always presumed to be in the Village, not facing Silver Bluff Road. Beginning in 2001, in order to better maintain the rural, residential character of the area, developers also promised no commercial development along and fronting Silver Bluff Road.
Village at Woodside Master Plan Approvals, 2005-2022.
The 20,000 square-foot promise continued through Feburary, 2022. Seven months later Silver Bluff Development announced that it had attracted a grocer who would build a 48,000 square foot “speciality grocery store” with seven adjacent shops of 1400 square feet each, a three-fold increase over what was promised and approved for seventeen years.
Even though the planned shopping center with a large grocery store fronts Silver Bluff Road, is one-third of a mile from the nearest resident, a half-mile from the center of the residential development, and contains more parking spaces (339) than allowable residential units (318), Silver Bluff Development and Peach Properties insist that its shopping center will primarily serve residents of Village at Woodside, and thereby meet the requirements of Planned Residential zoning.
It should be clear that the developers are exploiting the Planned Residential category to avoid the visual of converting an area zoned residential for decades by Aiken County into a commercial shopping center. This distortion of the zoning concept is further seen in updated drawings in the Design Concept plan which exclude adjacent neighborhoods across the road and behind the proposed shopping center, and present the Village at Woodside as an isolated, stand-alone community.
The latest rendition of the Village at Woodside. Red indicates future development. The tanned area is the primary residential community.
“OPEN SPACE: Outdoor or unenclosed area on the ground accessible for outdoor living, recreation, pedestrian access, or landscaping. Open space shall not include parking areas, driveways, deck or terrace areas, utility or service areas, or any space with a dimension of less than six feet in any direction.”
Section 4.2.6(G)(5) of the The City of Aiken Zoning Ordinance sets the following conditions for Open Space in Planned Residential areas:
“a. All open space areas shall be held in common for the enjoyment of the residents of the development or dedicated to the City for the use and enjoyment of the general public.
i. A minimum of one-half of the required open space area shall be improved for passive and active recreational use.
ii. Required open space shall be in addition to any required landscape, buffer, or setback areas required for individual uses with the development.
b. The portion of the project composed predominantly of detached single-family dwelling units must have at least 20 percent open space. The portion of the project composed predominantly of multifamily residential units must have at least 40 percent open space. The portion of the project composed predominantly of nonresidential development must have at least the open space required in the PC District. City Council may vary the standards of this section to allow for creative design. (Ord. 09122011C)
c. Common open space required by these regulations shall be developed in accordance with the following.
i. The amount of open space required shall not include land area devoted to other uses, including buildings, except for recreational structures.
ii. Common open space shall be used for amenity or recreational purposes. The uses proposed for the common open space must be appropriate to the scale and character of the development considering its size, density, expected population, topography, and the number and type of dwellings to be provided.
iii. Common open space is intended to serve as a community amenity, providing focal points for the development (including squares, plazas, or greenways), as well as passive and active recreational space that serves the needs of the residents. Residential development within the PR project is intended to have a close visual relationship to the provided open space.
iv. Common open space must be suitably improved for its intended use, but common open space containing natural features, existing trees, and groundcover worthy of preservation may be left unimproved.
v. The site planning of the PR project shall provide open space which provides for internal connectivity and is useable by the residents. For the purposes of this Section, parcels under 25 feet in width or located without access by residents shall not be counted as open space.
vi. Open space should connect with similar open spaces on adjacent properties in order promote an interconnected network of greenways and trails.
vii. The buildings, structures, and improvements proposed in the common areas shall conserve and enhance the amenities of the common open space.
viii. Proposed development staging shall provide for coordination of the improvement of the common open space and the construction of dwelling units in the PR project.
ix. Legal instruments as provided under the Horizontal Property Act of South Carolina shall govern the permanent retention and maintenance of any common open space not dedicated to the City. A description of such lands shall be recorded with the proper authorities.”
(2) SC 12-43-227 defines state property tax requirements.
Woodside is not alone in exploiting this homeowners association loophole for tax purposes. There are paved parking areas all across Aiken County that are appraised at $500 per acre because they are owned by a not-for-profit property owners assocation; even though the commercial buildings or residential complexes that are served are commercial for-profit.
(4) The Village at Woodside provides detailed accounting of commercial space and residential units, but “open space” is simply identified as “37 acres,” with no subsequent, detailed accounting.
From Village at Woodside Concept Design map. February, 2022.
In the most recent version of the Concept plan, the proposed “Village Inn” hotel is removed from the commercial accounting and added to the residential totals; and the 20,000 square foot grocery store is replaced by the much larger shopping center.
(5) Some open space that is identified on the Concept Design map is the buffer between commercial developments and Silver Bluff Road, as the example below shows.
Future development will require approximately fourteen acres of existing undeveloped, forested land to be clearcut and converted to buildings or parking areas.
Village at Woodside (Blue = Approximate boundary, Areas in Red = Future Development)
