For the first time since it created a new process for proposed housing developments to go through, the Lexington County Council voted down a planned townhome project.
Developers for Avanti Townhomes wanted to put 83 townhome units on 22 acres southwest of the town of Lexington, near where Longs Pond Road crosses Interstate 20. But following concerns of overcrowding in a nearby elementary school and the county’s planning commission recommendation to deny the project, county council shot it down by a vote of 7-2 in a committee meeting Sept. 23.
The denial is the first time the county has decided to say no to a proposed development under concurrency review, a new process the council adopted last summer that requires various agencies like school districts and emergency services to outline the impact of a proposed development. The idea being that if the county has an understanding of how a development could impact roads, schools and emergency services, it could better plan for it…