<h4>By MINDY LUCAS</h4>
The annexation of two Lady’s Island properties into the City of Beaufort that had Lady’s Island residents upset was given preliminary approval on first reading at the city’s regularly scheduled council meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 27.

The properties included a collection of parcels west of Sam’s Point Road along Williams Street and Mayfair Court totaling 6.9 acres and a larger 20-acre parcel east of Sam’s Point Road at 44 and 50 Miller Drive East.

The applications for annexation had residents in neighborhoods nearing the properties upset, with the lion’s share of the concerns focused mainly on the Miller Drive East property which includes a 5-acre lake.

The property’s owner had originally requested a denser zoning which would have allowed for “mixed use” including apartment buildings, which many in the semi-rural, single-family home community worried would not fit in with the size and character of the current neighborhood and would bring more traffic issues to an already congested part of the island.

However, that zoning was initially denied by the Beaufort-Port Royal Metropolitan Planning Commission at its July 29 meeting in favor of zoning more in keeping with what was already in place.

At the city’s Aug. 27 meeting, both parcels were approved for annexation on first reading. However, both properties received different zonings than what was originally requested by their owners.

The Mayfair Court–Williams Street properties received a T3N zoning which would allow for residential housing of various types and sizes, while the Miller Drive East property received approval only for a T3S zoning. That zoning, which does not allow for apartment buildings, is meant to provide similar zoning to what is already in the area.

City Council members also requested that representatives for the Miller Drive East attend the next meeting and present their plans to the community. Approvals for annexation and zoning require two readings before receiving final approval.

That meeting is scheduled for Sept. 10.