Big Boxes May be Dead for a Year

If the developer behind the Hwy. 17 big-box store proposal wants to have the project considered again, it may have to wait up to a year for that chance.

Henrich Properties, hearing much public outcry about the size an impact of three-store, 40-acre development, decided late last week to pull the project from Wednesday's planning commission agenda.

Read more about the proposal.

Commissioners on Wednesday only voted to accept the withdrawal, but pulling that item sets the project back considerably, unless the town council votes to allow the issue to come back, according to town rules.

"Withdrawing the request after it's submitted but before the public hearing… means it's treated as a denial," said Kent Prause, the town's zoning administrator and division director of town planning.  "You can't make the same request for another year unless the council grants a waiver."

The developer had proposed three big-box stores — . The land is currently zoned multi-family residential, so the project would need a zoning change to move forward.

Henrich could come back with a modified proposal, but it would need to be significantly altered from what was presented previously, Prause said.

"It would to have be something different. It can't be a little different here or there," he said.

Henrich said, in his opinion, just scaling back the proposal wouldn't be a big enough change to warrant a new application, and that means it will have to wait. But if the council grants a waiver, the project could come back with only minor changes.

Residents said they were pleased that the measure appears dead. Roughly 20 people turned out for the Wednesday meeting just to make sure there was no action on the project, known by the town and developer as the Gregg Tract.

"There's a sigh of relief, but we wanted to make sure nothing happened," said Amy Hardee, a Wando Lakes resident whose home would get a direct view of the proposal if it moved forward. "This development would impact hundreds, and hundreds of families. We're OK with some responsible growth, but we didn't feel this proposal fit that."