By NICOLE CARTRETTE
Staff Writer
For now it is just 180-plus acres of land, without sewer or water, near the Horry County, S.C. border in Columbus County along Dothan Road.
With county water expected to be available within the next 200 days and sewer service provided from a South Carolina agency, that will soon change.
Cottonwood Estates, which received plat approval this month, could be one of the largest residential developments ever planned for Columbus County.
The subdivision, to be developed in three phases, will offer more than 230 lots restricted to site-built homes or off-frame modular homes. The average lot size is slightly more than a tenth of an acre.
Room for more than 100 townhouses is also included in the site plans. The subdivision will be accessed by private roads with a width of 50 feet and include drainage and utility access easements.
The lots will also be subject to other restrictions set out in a restrictive covenant by the developer MPN, LLC based in Morgantown, W.Va.
Developer Mark Nesselroad purchased the property several years ago but it was not until last fall that his plans began to come together.
In October 2006, the Columbus County Board of Commissioners, with at least two major residential subdivisions coming to southeastern Columbus County and commercial prospects eyeing the area, rushed to strike a deal with Grand Strand Water and Sewer, based in Horry County, S.C for sewer service in the rural areas.
The board voted unanimously to approve a sewer service agreement with the GSWSA. The gives the agency exclusive rights to construct, service, and operate a sewer system within the area bordering the South Carolina border. Commissioners said the move would allow sewer service to come into the Dothan area with no cost to the county.
“It’s the first thing that is really going to have a big economic impact on this county,” former Commissioner David Dutton said at the time and added that Commissioner Lynwood Norris had been instrumental in working out the deal.
Norris said in October that two residential developments were coming to the area, one with 356 homes and the other with 100. He said he was aware of two more individuals who had purchased 292 acres of land that they planned to develop also.
“We have got several department stores looking at coming into that area,” Norris said, but offered no additional details.
“It’s another sign of our growth,” former Chairman Kip Godwin said, adding that this brings to light the importance of putting subdivision ordinances in place. A month later, Godwin would be the only commissioner wanting to move forward with adopting the ordinance before he would leave the board in December 2006.
At a Nov. 6 meeting the Columbus County Board of Commissioners voted 6-1 to delay further action on the 66-page subdivision ordinance. The ordinance would regulate the division of land in the county, set road widths, and determine minimum lot sizes.
Godwin was the sole commissioner opposed to holding off on action until new board members came onto the board in December.
No action has been taken on the proposed ordinance and developers of such subdivisions have no county required guidelines to meet. County Planner Stevie Cox signs off on site plan submissions for site built subdivisions noting, “No approval required.”
Though it is not clear yet what income level the Cottonwood Estates development will target, 300 homes valued at $200,000 each could generate close to half a million dollars in tax revenue for the county.