Plans to bring thousands of homes to Collins Jollie Road have changed. What we know
Plans to put a housing development on Collins Jollie Road in Conway have changed, but that doesn’t mean houses won’t be coming to the area.
Last year, the City of Conway considered a rezoning request that would allow more than 1,000 homes to be built on the property on the fringes of the city limit. The request drew considerable concerns from the surrounding community.
But the city’s planning director, Mary Catherine Hyman, said the rezoning request has been withdrawn.
Instead, developers could look to build homes using a subdivision conservation ordinance that rewards developers for using more sustainable building techniques, city staff said. Basically, if a developer goes out of their way to preserve wetlands, buffers and green space on their property, they can build smaller lots with the remaining land.
“The gift to the city is we are doing a better job of protecting the environment,” City Manager Adam Emrick said at Friday’s Conway budget retreat in Pinopolis.
Density would increase, allowing more homes to be built on less property as a reward for land conservation.
“Density has never scared me ... It helps prevent urban sprawl,” Council Member Alex Hyman said.
If the Collins Jollie Road developers move forward without a rezoning request, construction could begin with current zoning codes without going back in front of the city council. The current residential zoning code allows for low-density housing as long as all city stormwater, building and traffic regulations are satisfied.
At this time, however, no plans have been submitted to Conway staff to move forward with the Collins Jollie Road project.
Moving forward, the city wants to encourage more developers to use the sustainable building ordinance to promote sustainability and decrease urban sprawl.
At Friday’s budget retreat, Conway council members discussed increasing the costs to build minor and major subdivisions.
Horry County Government is considering implementing impact fees on new construction, which prompted the city to look into the cost to build within Conway. Emrick said something needs to be done to keep up with the demand new housing places on city services.
“Growth isn’t paying for growth,” he said
New construction in Conway could see significantly increased building and plan reviewing fees as a potential alternative to impact fees. For a major subdivision, the cost to review a project could increase from $200 to $2,500 plus an additional $20 per lot.
Once construction begins, the building fee on a major development could increase from $65 per square foot to $100 per square foot.
The hope is these new fee increases will help cover the costs of new development. City leaders plan to continue to explore raising fees on construction as the budget is fine-tuned in the coming months.
This story was originally published March 6, 2020 at 12:07 PM.
