Commission OKs preliminary site plan for complex
By JIM FAILE
The Hartsville Planning Commission approved a conceptual site layout plan for a proposed apartment complex Tuesday.
The new Hartsville Gardens apartment complex, which will be located on South Fourth Street in an area behind the S.C. Employment Security Commission building, will feature four apartment buildings with 72 units with a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments.
It will also feature a clubhouse, a fenced playground area, a gazebo and a retention pond for stormwater management, said Martin Fox of Weaver Engineering Inc., engineer for the project who explained the conceptual plan for the commission.
The facility will provide apartment housing for low- to moderate-income families. The project is owned by Landmark Assets of Winston-Salem, N.C., Fox said.
The conceptual design still remains to be finalized and additional plans for other aspects of the project must still be submitted to the commission and to the S.C. Department of Transportation and the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, Fox said.
In other business, the commission granted a request to rezone a parcel of undeveloped private property on Heatley Drive from Residential One (R1) to Residential Two (R2) to allow for the construction of an apartment complex.
Brenda Kelley, planning and zoning administrator for the city, said the planned use for the property is compatible with surrounding properties.
Interim City Manager Vern Myers said the proposed project will enhance efforts to improve the South Hartsville area.
The commission approved the request unanimously. The request now goes to Hartsville City Council for consideration.
Kelley said commission members have also been provided with copies of municipal ordinances from Greenville, Hilton Head Island and Aiken for regulating adult businesses to review as the panel considers a possible similar ordinance for Hartsville.
Kelley also told the new members that the commission has been going through the process of upgrading the city’s zoning map, a project that is continuing.
Kelley told the commission that the city has received approval to move ahead with phase two of the Paint the Town project, which is aimed at making exterior projects to eligible houses in the South Hartsville area. The project is funded through a $50,200 grant and $18,750 in matching city funds.
Phase two will include houses on Bell and Marlboro Avenues whose owners did not apply for the program in phase one, Kelley said.
Four of the planning commission’s members are new to the panel. Tuesday’s meeting was the second for new members Bobby McGee and Dr. Glenn Chappel and the first for new members Teresa Mack and Adam Matthews.
YAY! Jim Faile is back! We missed you, Jim!