By SKYLA CARTERA proposed future land use amendment involving approximately 137 acres along Rolling Pines Road was withdrawn after the applicant removed roughly 80 acres from the request, requiring the proposal to restart the county review process.
The Washington County Planning Commission heard concerns from Rolling Pines residents during discussion of the proposal on October 5. Property owner Mickie Johnson also addressed the request, which called for residential development on the front portion of the property along Rolling Pines Road.
Under the original proposal, the frontage along Rolling Pines Road would have been divided into 19 residential lots ranging from approximately 3 to 6 acres. Because the applicant removed acreage from the request, a revised application will need to complete the county’s review process before returning for consideration.
For residents who chose the area for its wooded surroundings and wildlife, the prospect of development has raised concerns about what could be lost as the community changes.
Tracy Anglin, a Rolling Pines resident, told commissioners that the natural environment was a major reason residents chose to purchase property in the area.
“All the community is really upset, a lot of us purchased up here because we love our wildlife, we love our conservation, we love the nature and seeing the eagles, and the gopher tortoise, and the deer and everything,” Anglin said.
Anglin described the area as a peaceful place to live, where residents could enjoy the outdoors and a sense of separation from more developed communities.
She also expressed concern that the character of the area had already been affected.
“Unfortunately, all of us that purchased here that bought everything to have this conservation land, it’s been disturbed now,” Anglin said.
Johnson, meanwhile, characterized the proposed subdivision as a limited development designed to retain some of the area’s existing character. Johnson said the decision to propose 19 larger lots, rather than smaller parcels, was intended to limit the development’s footprint.
“It’s a low-impact development; it’s only 19 lots. We could come in there at one-acre lots and try for that; we didn’t do that,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the plan was to maintain the neighborhood’s aesthetic and leave a wooded buffer rather than clear-cut the property.
“We’re not coming in and clear-cutting all the trees down, but we planned on just leaving a buffer of woods,” Johnson said.
With the application withdrawn, the next step is for the property owner to submit a revised request excluding the rear acreage. The proposal would then have to proceed through the county’s review process again.
Another neighborhood meeting must take place before the revised request can return to the Planning Commission.
AMBER PATINO