Starr Residents Express Opposition to Massive Mobile Home Park
Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
More than 300 citizens were on hand at the Starr Fire Department Tuesday night to express concerns about a potential 249-unit mobile home park which had been proposed for the Starr area.
The developer, Cook Properties NY, submitted the proposal for 8010 S.C. 81 to the Anderson County Planning Commission (see map below) on July 29, and it became public in the weeks since, causing a flurry of complaints by citizens who live in the area.
The area in question covers more than 70 acres, with 23 of those acres under the jurisdiction of the Town of Starr and the rest under ordinances of Anderson County.
The developer withdrew the submitted plan, which was scheduled for review by the planning commission in September. The commission has now scheduled a 6 p.m. Oct. 8 meeting in the historic courthouse where the public will be allowed to weigh in on any proposed changes or new proposals from Cook.
The current plan, as originally submitted, seems dead on arrival. Starr officials said the town ordinance allows only one mobile home per acre, which would immediately disqualify a third of the proposed development.
And while the lack of countywide zoning creates the potential for up to 10 mobile homes per acre if sewer is available (it is not) and up to four per acre on septic tanks. The lack of sewer capacity would force developers to create a mass-use septic system for bigger developments, which local officials think would be cost prohibitive.
Other issues of concern to those who live in the area include safety and schools.
Anderson School Dist. 3 Superintendent Kathy Hipp and her entire board attended the meeting. Hipp said the schools in her district are committed to excellence, but are already facing growth pains and could not absorb the potential influx from such sudden exponential growth. Hipp said the district needs advance notice to plan for large housing projects of any kind.
Anderson County Councilman Greg Elgin, who represents the district in question, hosted the meeting and reminded those in attendance that the planning commission, not county council, has final say so on zoning projects.
Elgin said that he was in attendance to provide information, but not how to vote. He did express his own opinion that the proposed development was a bad idea.
Elgin encouraged citizens to show up in large numbers for the Oct. 8 meeting.
Cook properties called for permanent foundation mobile homes, where the owners would lease the lot on which their trailer resides.
