Grocery Pulls Out of Proposed Goose Creek Site

The developers of a KJ's Market grocery store have pulled out of a contract for a controversial site on Hwy. 52.

The plans for the more than four-acre site from more than 100 neighbors in the Woodland Lakes and Braemore communities.

The planned grocery store would have faced 52, but developer W.L. Flowers and Co. had planned access from the entrances for both neighborhoods It prompted cocerns that the development would add to existing traffic issues and impact the view from Woodland Lakes.

W. L. Flowers real estate director Will King sent an email to city planners Tuesday saying that the companty was pulling out. "We have decided to back out of the contract and pursue some other options," King wrote.

The store would have provided groceries to an underserved area of Goose Creek, but nearby residents made it clear last week that it was worth the extra drive for peace of mind.

James and Megan Moenning have lived in the first home you reach in Woodlands Lake for two years — a property that backs the commercial lot. They came to the meeting of the Goose Creek Planning Commission on Tuesday night expecting to take notes and voice their concerns. 

"I was tired of people telling me I'd get to walk to the grocery store," Megan Moenning said.

Instead, the couple was relieved to learn that the back of their property will remain a wooded, undeveloped lot — for now.

But the couple and their neighbors will have to consider this a wake-up call. The property is still zoned for commercial development and a grocery store would be allowed as long as it meets architectural standards. And the next developer may not be influenced by community outcry.

The Planning Commission has , including increasing an existing buffer requirement between residential and commercial lots from 15 feet to 30 feet.