Elloree housing plans advance

Orangeburg County Council gave second reading Monday to an ordinance allowing the development of a 332-home subdivision outside the Town of Elloree.

Nearby residents continue to ask the county to stop the rezoning for the development, but officials have been told there is no legal reason why the project cannot proceed.

Canebrake subdivision resident Larry Griffin told council Monday the development will open the door to other dense subdivisions. He suggested council approve housing developments more in line with Elloree’s character.

“Let’s get somebody in there that builds nicer homes, further back where if you have company on the weekend they don’t have to park in the road,” Griffin said.

Builder D.R. Horton Inc. has asked the county to change the zoning of the 331-acre property at the corner of Tee Vee Road and Cleveland Street from forest-agriculture to single-family residential development.

Surrounding properties are zoned forest and agriculture.

Councilwoman Janie Cooper-Smith was the sole vote against the rezoning on Monday. The rezoning requires one more reading from council.

Prior to the second reading vote, Dyanna Myers spoke of the increased traffic the new subdivision could bring to the area. Myers sits on the board of the Canebrake homeowners association.

Myers also discussed complaints against D.R. Horton, which is a national home builder.

“Please think like I know your hearts are wanting to think and look out for us,” Myers said. “We have to live here.”

No one from D.R. Horton spoke at the meeting. An emailed message left with the company’s media relations department was not returned by the press deadline.

Canebrake Court resident B.J. Young expressed concerns that the company is asking to rezone the entire 331 acres from forest agriculture to single-family residential.

He noted developers have said they would leave about 86 acres of the property adjoining the Canebrake neighborhood undeveloped and said he would like a guarantee that this 86 acres will not be developed and remain forest and agriculture.

Morgan Myers read a letter on behalf of Elloree farmer Jason Strock of Strock Farms Partnership, who was unable to attend due to planting.

Strock expressed concerns about the loss of farmland in the area and an increase in traffic “making it even more difficult to move around on the roads with all of our equipment to our current farms.”

“It has already gotten to a point where we must move our equipment around from field to field on Sunday mornings, missing church and family time because it is the best time with the least amount of traffic on the roads,” Strock wrote. “It is just not feasible to tear down equipment to haul from field to field, especially when your fields are scattered in different areas.”

Strock also expressed concerns about the development’s impact on property taxes.

“While high property values are very important for real estate purposes, please consider the negative impact high property values will have on agricultural land,” Strock said.

Strock is a third-generation farmer who wants to pass along his farming operation to his children.

“Elloree and the surrounding areas have been known for farming,” Strock said. “It is crushing to not only me but to my family and other farmers in our community to see the continuing loss of land driving farming out of our small ag community.”

No one spoke in favor of the project at Monday’s meeting, but during previous meetings those in favor of the project – primarily downtown business owners and local realtors – have said they hope population growth will lead to the town’s revitalization.

According to conceptual plans submitted, the project will include the development of about 169 acres of land into a residential subdivision over the next eight to 15 years.

The plan includes about 332 houses with half-acre lots.

Initially the plan was to build 332 homes on the 332-acre parcel. After hearing concerns from property owners, D.R. Horton pulled out 86 acres that would be adjacent to the Canebrake community. This will bring the total down to 246 acres.

When 59 acres of wetlands and 18 acres of a wetlands buffer are taken into consideration, about 169 acres can be developed. Of this 169 acres, about 25 are a pond.

The proposed development was rejected twice by the Orangeburg County Planning Commission.