LETTER: City needs to reconsider zoning

I am writing about the senior living development proposed on Silver Bluff Road. My concern is primarily the size and lack of neighborhood compatibility, not the type of development.

Your recent article about the development contained misleading statements. The planned residential zone limits the numbers of living units to 12 per acre. This is the legal limit and not a reported theoretical maximum. For five acres, this is 60, less than the 118 proposed. Next, there is discussion that without stoves, these living spaces do not have kitchens and are not units. The zoning ordinance does not say "to be considered a dwelling unit, it must include a ... kitchen." Frankly, it seems that living spaces which are not shared or common access and are rented to unrelated parties are units. If not, zoning should be amended rather than simply ignored.

I served on City Council when we developed zoning for sizeable residential development while protecting existing neighborhoods. The ordinance states that "City Council may require additional special conditions to ensure compatibility with surrounding development..." My major concern is that while some are immersed in minutia of dwelling units and stoves, they have missed the primary consideration of neighborhood compatibility. City planners should create an inventory of nearby properties, count the buildings more than 10,000 square feet and three stories as the basis for "compatibility with surrounding development." They might also compare densities and footprints of existing senior facilities such as Harbor Chase for overall compatibility in Aiken.

The Village at Woodside was developed under zoning and there was much give and take. It is attractive and an asset. The Silver Bluff property will eventually be developed and many would welcome a senior facility. City Planning officials should apply the zoning ordinance correctly to achieve a more appropriate design.

Dick Smith

Aiken