Fight Over Zoning On Eastside Renewed

A zoning debate already seen in 2005 has once again reared its head, and now Greenville County's planning commission will have to again settle the matter. 

Some homeowners on on the Eastside are upset at the idea of a CVS Pharmacy being constructed at the corner of Pelham Road and Hudson Road. The proposed CVS location will be across the street from the Greenville Hospital System's Patewood Campus, and not far from the Walgreen's Pharmacy on Pelham, which was the site of the exact same debate over the property's zoning in 2005. 

Bob Mihalic, governmental affairs coordinator for Greenville County, said the property in question now is in a residential area, and confirmed that the county's comprehensive plan calls for properties in the area to be zoned as residential instead of commercial. The rezoning request that will be before the planning commission calls for the property to be classified as commercial for the purpose of the new pharmacy. 

But that has drawn plenty of opposition from residents, who have concerns over both the traffic it would draw and its detracting from the residential character of the area. 

In fact, they've even created a detailed web site to outline their opposition against development. The web site reads:

"The north side of Pelham road in this part of town is all residential. The buffer to the commercial development is Pelham Road.  Re-zoning of this property for use as a CVS will set a precedent for commercial encroachment into the neighborhoods that will damage the character and atmosphere that makes these communities so nice to live in."

The county's planning commission is expected to meet next week, as soon as Wednesday, to decide on the zoning request, but Mihalic said the meeting has not been officially scheduled yet.