Plan to add apartments off Aiken's Dougherty Road won't move forward

Aug. 15—Plans to add onto an apartment complex off Aiken's Dougherty Road will not move forward.

An Aiken City Council ordinance approving a concept plan for an addition to the Mark at Woodford apartment complex failed Monday evening because no council member made a motion to approve it.

The concept plan called for the construction of a total of three residential buildings on four properties.

Three of the properties form a rectangle beginning with a small portion that hooks north. The rectangle begins on Neilson Street and the hook ends at the future extension of Bergamot Parkway. The fourth property, located beneath the hook, sandwiches a home located at 922 Dougherty Road.

The Mark at Woodford is located immediately north of the proposed addition. The Aiken City Council approved construction of the Mark at Woodford in January 2022. The apartment complex includes four buildings: three three-story structures with 24 units each and a two-story structure with 18 units.

The residential buildings would be located mostly within the rectangle with one of the buildings extending into the hook. A clubhouse and a playground would also be located in the hook. The property sandwiching the home on Dougherty Road would remain undeveloped.

The residential buildings would be 30 feet to the eave line but vary in length. The residential buildings would have brick and fiber cement lap siding.

The buildings would have contained a total of 60 apartments including six one-bedroom apartments, 24 two-bedroom apartments and 30 three-bedroom apartments.

The Aiken Planning Commission recommended approval of the addition last month.

The ordinance's failure marks the second such failure in two months. In June, an ordinance approving a Parker's Kitchen on Whiskey Road failed because no second was made to Kay Brohl's motion.

In other action Monday evening, the city council approved:

—The first reading of an ordinance changing the zoning of North Aiken Elementary School and Aiken Intermediate School to allow for the construction of a bus parking lot near the schools;

—The first reading of ordinances adopting updates to the city's comprehensive plan and accepting additional grant funding for a school resource officer at Chukker Creek Elementary School;

—Requests to approve a memoranda of understanding with the Friends of the Aiken Railroad Depot and Security Federal Bank for the EQUIP mortgage program;

—A request to terminate a lease agreement with the Aiken Council of Garden Clubs for the Dollhouse at Hopelands Gardens and to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the group;

—Resolutions accepting water and sewer easements for Kemper Downs phase II, Woodside Plantation Summer Hill phase four section 15, Tulsiraj Inc. (the new Beaufort Street gas station) and in Rivers Crossing; and

—A resolution approving a bid of $487,900 from J.E. Stewart Builders to construct a new parking lot at the city's public safety building.