Hundreds of new Lancaster County homes were approved, but not built. Now they’re back
Two approved-but-never-built neighborhoods in Lancaster County are back, with reignited plans to add hundreds of homes.
Both return to the county planning commission Oct. 17 after prior approvals lapsed. County planners recommend both, again.
Property owner Riverchase Estate Partners and LGI Homes applied for a major preliminary plat approval — a review and signing off on plans — for the third section of Riverchase in Lancaster County. Those plans involve 251 new homes on 806 acres north of Riverside Road’s intersection with Cobblestone Way.
The larger full Riverchase project is just below the base of the Lancaster County panhandle. It’s between Riverside Road and the Catawba River, between Van Wyck and Landsford Canal State Park. In 2008, Lancaster County approved a development agreement that allowed for about 1,200 to 1,900 new residences depending on whether they used septic or sewer service. That agreement allowed a 20-year buildout.
Development since, though significant, hasn’t reached those totals. The first phase of 375 homes is still under construction. Adding the 251 new lots would bring the total to about half of the original number allowed.
The county approved the second phase plan in May with conditions. Those conditions include lot width, setback, road design and other modifications. A 60-day deadline for those conditions lapsed, meaning the project has to return for planning commission review.
The new plan includes more than 470 acres of open space. If approved, the homes will be at least a little more expensive than if they were built in previous years. The 2008 agreement included a developer commitment of $4,900 per home to the county, similar to the development impact fees used in the area’s other fast-growing communities. That cost would increase by 3% or more annually, up to $9,000. The current figure is more than $8,000.
A submitted site plan shows the new homes just north of the first phase, along a bend in the Catawba River. There’s a rounded drive entrance to a gate off of Riverside Road. New roads ending in three cul-de-sacs run along a rail line in the area.
The Pinery at Edgewater
The second subdivision plan up for a reapproval is near Edgewater Golf Club.
The planning commission approved a preliminary plat for The Pinery at Edgewater in April 2021. Civil plans were approved in August 2021. This past August, as the two-year vested rights period allowing the project to move forward came to an end, county staff visited the site on the east side of Catawba Ridge Boulevard but found no significant progress being made.
Now the neighborhood, formerly known as Bridlewood West, is up for an extension of that vested rights period. Builder True Homes indicated to county planning staff there’s work at that site and others within the Edgewater development that made the Pinery piece take longer.
The 78-acre property would have 181 new home lots. It’s directly across from the eastern end of Edgewater Parkway.
