Jeff Whitten, correspondent

Bryan County Commissioners recently denied a request to allow 32 townhomes on a 5-acre plot in the Magnolia Hill planned unit development after several residents near the proposed project on Belfast River Road cited concerns over everything from flooding to traffic to its impact on property values.

Steven Burton, who lives in Magnolia Hill, told Commissioners at their June 9 meeting that flooding in his neighborhood is already such a problem that during heavy rain last August there was so much water on the roads “we had folks driving through our front yard to get out of the subdivision.”

Others told similar horror stories to commissioners. One woman who lives in Belfast Lake said she and her husband had to buy a pump to help keep water from flooding their home and those belonging to their neighbors.

“It’s been a disaster the four years we’ve been there,” she said.

Developers speaking for the project told commissioners they might be able to help alleviate some of the drainage issues residents in the area are experiencing, and Landmark 24 Homes engineer Cole Chenowith said builders have to abide by state and local ordinances aimed at preventing additional flooding.

“We can’t put water off site,” he said.

Yet concerns over increased risk of flooding weren't the only red flags for neighbors. Lucy Chappell said her Magnolia Hill home would be right beside the proposed townhomes. She told commissioners she’d checked zoning before buying in the development, which was approved as a single-home Planned Unit Development with some commercial space in 2016.

Under those plans, the 5 acre parcel was meant for single family homes. The entire development called for 296 lots.

“I moved into an area that’s supposed to be single family homes with traffic that’s supposed to be single family homes,” Chappell said, after asking commissioners, “how would you feel if somebody put an apartment building right next to your house?”

Chappell told commissioners that knowing someone could build multifamily housing near her home made her feel powerless.

Longtime resident Kay Peterson said she’s lived on Belfast River Road for 24 years. She referred to the proposed townhomes as “condos” and said they would “ruin the beauty, the character and the essence of this area.”

Peterson added, “I don’t want it to look like Pooler.”

Concerns over traffic were raised as well. Plans called for an additional 212 trips on Belfast River daily when the townhomes were finished in 2028, planners said.

Residents also questioned the types of people who would buy the townhomes, saying they would likely be more transient than residents in single family homes. Chenowith, however, said similar townhomes in Pooler are selling for $360,000 and could cost more than $400,000 in South Bryan.

He also disputed the notion that the townhomes would be apartments or condos, but rather more like starter homes or for those with small families.

That wasn't enough to convince commissioners. District 5 Commissioner Gene Wallace, who made the motion to deny the amendment which would have allowed the townhomes, said the area was already "plagued with terrible flooding issues.

"That is one of a multitude of reasons" to stop the townhomes, Wallace said.