Commission approves subdivision

MARTINSBURG — A 263-unit community known as The Estates on Duncan Run was approved by the Berkeley County Planning Commission on Monday evening, after considerable debate.

Members of the county’s planning department had concerns about the project’s emergency access road and questioned whether it met the necessary criteria for a second entry point. Cajun Lane was merely an unimproved right-of-way, they said, which needed to be upgraded if it was going to serve the 190 single-family homes and 73 townhomes that were slated for construction in the community.

Planning staff members had additional questions about a sinkhole that they were informed of on Jan. 11, following a sinkhole investigation that was performed on the property. The hole had not previously been documented on plans that were submitted for the project, they said.

However, Matthew Powell, a representative for the project and its developer, S&A Homes, said he was shocked by the department’s suggestion to reject the project’s approval. In an earlier staff report, the Planning Commission had been advised to accept the project, he said. He questioned why that suggestion was changed.

“I believe it’s a good development for the community,” Powell said.

The project is designed to be an upscale development, with properties fronting on an 8-acre lake that was previously created at the site. It would help revitalize a portion of Southern Berkeley County, which Powell said was “blighted.”

Powell further said that his company had come equipped with a permit from the Department of Highways, which would grant a third entrance to the community. This way, Cajun Lane could be blocked off and used only during emergencies. A divided boulevard would serve as the project’s primary access point, with the new third entry added into the mix.

After nearly an hour of debate and discussion, Planning Commission members agreed to approve the project, contingent upon the addition of this extra access point into the property.