Demorest blocks Saluda Drive rezoning sought for 34-home subdivision

Demorest City Council did not approve McCain Investment Properties’ request to rezone about 10.74 acres off Saluda Drive for a proposed 34-lot single-family subdivision at its April 7 meeting. The city’s minutes record the request was not approved; Habersham News reported that the council denied it after a public hearing marked by opposition to the project.

The decision is a threshold setback for a project that sought to change the tract from agricultural zoning to R-2 residential zoning. Without that change, the 34-lot plan cannot advance under the requested classification. The fight also put a familiar local-growth question before council: whether housing proposed near existing neighborhoods can be accommodated without worsening runoff and traffic or reshaping the area’s rural character.

The proposal came before council during an April 7 work session and regular meeting at the Demorest Municipal Conference Center. Before the hearing, Habersham News described the request as a rezoning from agricultural use to R-2 for the Saluda Drive subdivision. At the hearing, the applicant’s side argued that the project fit the city’s comprehensive plan and zoning criteria, according to the newspaper; after residents spoke against it, council did not approve the request.

McCain Investment Properties, represented at the hearing by attorney Matthew Benson, said the development would include safeguards such as stormwater controls and rental restrictions, Habersham News reported. The company also said further permitting, engineering and hydrological review would still be required before development. Residents opposing the rezoning cited stormwater runoff, steep terrain, erosion, traffic and the prospect of using neighborhood roads for access; some urged the city to preserve agricultural land and maintain prior zoning decisions.

The council’s action was a non-approval of the requested rezoning, not an authorization to build. No construction, permit approval, completed engineering review or hydrological review is established. Habersham News characterized the action as a denial, while the city minutes confirm that the item was not approved. The minutes excerpt, however, does not state the motion, vote tally or detailed findings behind the decision, so the precise form of council’s action is not yet clear from that record.

The next public marker will be a later city council record showing how the April 7 action was documented and whether McCain Investment Properties takes another step. It remains undecided whether the company will revise its request, submit a new application or abandon the proposal, and what studies or conditions the city might require if a future Saluda Drive plan returns for consideration.