Berkeley County Council approved a new zoning category, clearing the way for a 147-home subdivision proposal in rural Cordesville to apply. Eastwood Homes has proposed Sportsman Retreat under the new Flex-1 Conservation district, a zoning tool designed to let developers cluster homes on smaller lots while preserving open space.
The Post and Courier reported that the zoning approval cleared the way for the Cordesville development to apply for the new district, according to the Post and Courier.
What Flex-1 Conservation Actually Requires
The new district aims to promote clustered development while preserving green space. Sportsman Retreat's proposal calls for preserving more than half the property as open space.
The density trade-off is central to how the zoning works. Conservation subdivisions allow one home per 16,000 square feet, compared to the one home per 30,000 square feet permitted under regular Flex-1 zoning.
Sportsman Retreat's Buffer Commitments
Earlier coverage from ABC News 4 described Sportsman Retreat as a 147-home concept concentrated on roughly 90 of the property's more than 250 acres, with Berkeley County estimating that roughly 63% of the overall property would remain permanent open space.
That earlier coverage also noted the perimeter buffer had already grown from 50 feet to 75 feet after Eastwood Homes met with Cordesville stakeholders. At that stage, the station reported that SCDES could not yet determine whether the property could support septic systems for all 147 proposed homes, and a traffic impact analysis was still underway, with county officials expecting results before the matter reached County Council's third reading. Average daily traffic on the relevant stretch of Highway 402 had climbed from about 6,100 vehicles in 2021 to 6,800 in 2025, per the same report.
Sportsman Retreat Seeks Conservation Rezoning
Sportsman Retreat is seeking rezoning under the new Flex-1 Conservation district. Windwood is a neighboring community.
The Planning Commission recommends on rezoning requests but does not approve them.
A Familiar Fight for Cordesville
This isn't the first time growth pressure has hit this stretch of Highway 402. Back in 2022, an applicant sought to rezone about 200 acres along the corridor from R-15 to Flex-1, a change ABC News 4 reported could have allowed roughly 400 additional homes, since R-15 permits one house per acre while Flex-1 allows two. Councilman Jack Schurlknight said at the time that he wanted restrictions in place to protect historical sites such as Biggin Cemetery from that growth.
Whether Sportsman Retreat ultimately becomes the model for how Berkeley County balances rural character against housing demand remains to be seen. The proposal is headed to the Planning Commission for review.
