LANCASTER, S.C. — Lancaster County Council officially approved its 2040 comprehensive plan on its third reading Monday, April 22, in a 5-2 vote.
The final review of the 2040 plan includes both a wish list of both programs and initiatives inspired by public input over the past three years. The plan also doesn’t rezone anyone’s property, does not initiate new programs without proper review, and doesn’t stop any building or zoning permits in the county.
Councilors Terry Graham and Jose Luis both voted against the measure.
Prior to the approval, councilors made a couple of amendments to change the language of the final draft.
Luis made a motion to remove a statement under agriculture and timber land use that stated “to preserve the land, the use of the major subdivision process for residential development should not be allowed and the minimum lot size should be 5 acres.”
His motion also requested removing a statement under the category of rural land use that said “major subdivisions should be allowed in rural areas, with a 3-acre minimum lot size, and minor subdivisions should have a 1-acre minimum lot size.” Council unaninmously approved his motion.
Councilor Allen Blackmon also made a motion to change a piece of property on Grace Avenue in Lancaster from rural to growth. His motion passed 6-1, with Luis in opposition.
Council also addressed the issue of concurrency during the third reading and the impact it could have on economic development through Lancaster County. Blackmon felt that there was too little information about concurrency to know the long-term impacts.
“My thing is I don’t know what concurrency is because staff has not given it to us. I just don’t believe in giving an inch and taking them all. Why are we going to hurry and rush into something that we’re not going to be happy with?” he said.
The concept comes into play when a proposed development must meet certain standards before being approved, such as community infrastructure, highways, and space available in nearby schools, County Development Services Director Allison Hardin said at an earlier meeting on the 2040 plan. If the development couldn’t meet those qualities or the county didn’t have the resources, the project would face a strong chance of being rejected.
Councilors pushed back on Blackmon’s statement about concurrency and its role in the 2040 plan.
“All this comprehensive plan is doing is to study it. It’s not making any recommendations. It’s just a study,” Graham said.
“We’ve talked about it multiple times how this is all a recommendation. Any concurrency review would come back to council pursuant to the ordinance rewrite,” Luis said.
While councilors understood a possible need for concurrency in the Panhandle, some felt that it wouldn’t be necessary in other parts of the county.
“I can understand the interest in having the infrastructure in place before building, but in Lancaster or the southern part, I don’t think it’s a need for us in this area,” said Councilor Charlene McGriff.
Blackmon made a motion to council to remove all references to concurrency, but to allow the county to continue to study the topic and implement it in certain areas if necessary. His motion passed in a close 4-3 vote, with Luis, Graham and vice chair Brian Carnes voting against it.
Other motions included one from Luis to amend the plan to remove references to the assignment of development rights and another from Blackmon to take out the reference to the compensation study and any future employment possibilities. Both motions passed unanimously.
Regional park
County Deputy Administrator Stephany Snowden provided an update to councilors on the county’s regional park project.
The 84-acre park is to be built off U.S. 521 adjacent to the Roselyn development near the North Corner area north of Lancaster.
Plans for the $34.73 million park include a baseball complex with four fields; a multi-use complex with four soccer-type fields, three of them with synthetic turf; trails; and a recreation area.
With the help of Woolpert, which designed the park, Snowden said finalizations and reviews of the architectural portion of the contract are under way, with the goal of having an official groundbreaking ceremony in October.
Park security, surveillance and alarm systems are also looking to be installed during the time frame, with councilors receiving regular briefings of the park’s process.
“Right now, we’re in the phase of evaluating and assessing the technological needs of the park that will hopefully enhance visitor experience,” Snowden said.
Edgewater addition
Councilors approved a first reading on adding 3.39 acres to the 375-acre Edgewater II Improvement District in a 7-0 vote.
The vote is a first step to modify the district after Edgewater was created several years ago. Infrastructure bonds were issued to permit the improvement district to be developed, but the land was never developed.
In December 2021, a plan was brought to County Council for a multi-party agreement with True Homes, which would buy the parcels from the Forfeited Land Commission and develop them over a seven-year period of time, eventually developing 1,059 lots to sell to third-party end users.
True Homes needs the additional acreage, also owned by the commission to meet its 1,059-lot goal.
A public hearing on the issue is set for 6 p.m. May 13 in council chambers.
