Chesnut home cannot be subdivided

Owners of a historic Camden home will not be given the right to divide the property to allow for seven new homes.

The Camden Planning Commission Tuesday night unanimously shot down the request of Robert and Sharon Kurschner to subdivide the property where their home, Sarsfield, sits. Sarsfield was the final home to Mary Boykin Chesnut, who wrote “A Diary from Dixie.” She edited the diary while living in the home.

The decision was met with applause from a standing-room only crowd in Camden City Hall.

“I think they did the right thing tonight,” said Clarence Mahoney, a concerned citizen who spoke against the subdivision Tuesday night.

Planning Commission member Ronnie Bradley, in a motion to deny the request, said the subdivision plan would not be an asset to the city and did not meet the goals of the city’s comprehensive land use plan, which calls for preserving historic sites and regulating surrounding areas to ensure compatibility and a proper setting.

William Tetterton, attorney for the Kurschners, presented the plan to the commission. He said the estate, which originally was situated on 51 acres and now stands on just more than 5 acres, has undergone other changes and subdivisions since the home was built in 1873.

He said the plan for the subdivision, which calls for the 2.4 acres surrounding the home to be preserved, would protect the home and the estate’s appeal as a tourist attraction. He said restrictive covenants were planned to make sure only appropriate homes and landscaping were added to the new lots to make an “upscale, first-class subdivision.”

“Everything’s preserved. Nothing has changed about Mary Chesnut’s house,” Tetterton said. “You are balancing the rights of private property owners with the interest of historic preservation.”

The Kurschners originally submitted a plan in 2002 to subdivide the property to allow for 10 new homes. That plan was denied by the Planning Commission, which cited a city code that calls for the preservation of historically significant sites in subdivision designs. That decision was appealed to circuit court and was dismissed last year on a technicality.

Tetterton said he was not surprised by the commission’s decision Tuesday night. He said he would talk with his clients to determine whether they would drop the subdivision request or appeal it.

“I’ll discuss it with them,” he said. “We’ll explore our options.”

Reach Rupon at (803) 771-8622 or krupon@thestate.com.