GREENVILLE, S.C. — Greenville’s Planning Commission this week pushed back on a request to bring industrial zoning to a parcel along Easley Bridge Road, instead urging the property owners to pursue a mixed-use district that would allow residential and commercial development, according to FOX Carolina.
The parcel sits across the street from Judson Mill Apartments on Easley Bridge Road, also known as Highway 123, which the station described as one of the city’s busiest corridors. The owners had asked the city to annex the land and zone it Industrial Flex, a district that permits light industrial uses. At their Thursday meeting, commissioners said industrial zoning was not appropriate for the area, declined to recommend the request as filed and voted unanimously to recommend that the owners change it to MX-3, FOX Carolina reported. MX-3 allows homes and commercial space but bars industrial uses. The applicant was asked to revise the proposal and return.
The request would have added another parcel next to a larger city-led annexation in the Judson Mill area. Earlier this year, the city sought to annex and rezone about 41 acres covering Judson Mill and parts of the Sterling neighborhood, FOX Carolina reported in February. That plan put the mill under Industrial Flex zoning, which the station said allows residential units along with commercial and light industrial uses, and moved surrounding residential land to an RN-A district that lowers the number of homes allowed per acre. A city planning representative said at the time that RN-A could open the door to affordable housing partnerships. The Planning Commission approved that package unanimously in February, and City Council has since signed off on it, according to the November report. One Judson Mill resident said in February, “Overall, it will probably be beneficial.”
The commission also recommended approval of a separate request to annex and rezone 19 acres on the St. Francis hospital campus into a single campus zoning district covering the hospital’s buildings and employee facilities. Some residents at the public hearing raised concerns about the height of future buildings and the possible effect on nearby historic homes, and commissioners urged the owner to work with neighbors before moving ahead with new construction, FOX Carolina reported.
Growth along the corridor has brought mixed feelings for people who live nearby. Jody Yurkewez, who lives a block off Easley Bridge Road, told the station she does not oppose development but worries about traffic. “Sometimes it takes me five or 10 minutes to even pull out of here,” she said. She also said homes in the area are getting nicer because of the development.
For developers and investors, the commission’s stance signals that city planners favor housing and neighborhood commercial uses over industry on the Highway 123 frontage near Judson Mill, even as the mill itself keeps flexible zoning. Builders eyeing infill sites in the Judson and Sterling areas should expect planners to weigh traffic and compatibility with existing homes, while lower-density RN-A zoning on nearby residential blocks limits how much new housing can be added there. Neither FOX Carolina report gave unit counts or a date for City Council to take up the revised Easley Bridge Road request or the St. Francis rezoning.
Sources: FOX Carolina, FOX Carolina
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