Greenville County adopts revised land development regulations

Greenville County officials stressed the ordinance they considered Tuesday is neither a zoning document nor a managed growth plan.

But the amended Land Development Regulations (LDRs) they approved does set standards and gives guidelines for developing land in Greenville County, said Councilman Butch Kirven said.

Prior to the unanimous approval of the LDRs, residents in southern Greenville County asked officials to put off voting on the regulations.

A major concern cited by Tom Stitt and other residents who spoke in opposition of the ordinance Tuesday is “inclusion.”

They were seeking the additional time to allow more input from residents who are “ultimately affected” by the regulations.

“We are asking for inclusion in the process that will give us a better quality of life overall,” Stitt said.

“Some of us in the lower density agricultural areas are being asked to make sacrifices in the name of economic growth. In District 26, we’ve already experienced the negative impact of waste management upon our community from the Twin Chimneys Landfill,” he said.

He said the community heard recently during meetings about a proposed Huff Creek ReWa Waste Water Treatment Plant for their area.

That, too, Stitt said, will bring about environmental, traffic, public safety and school overcrowding issues.

“We understand the intent of the LDRs is for the good of the public and we’re not questioing the integrity of anyone on the County Council,” Stitt said. “We want a voice in the high density growth of Greenville County.”

ReWa engineer Gregory Wright said the proposed Huff Creek treatment plant was initially identified as a long range potential project in 1994 when the first Upstate Roundtable was convened. It was still a vision when the plan was updated in 2009, as an option to address growth in the southern portion of the county, he said.

But even now, he said, it’s still a vision and has not been approved for construction.

“There are a number of options that could be considered for service down in the southern portion of the county. We will begin to study those options over the next few years to identify what the best solution might be,” he said.

Residents in that region said they are not against growth, but they say the updated LDRs do not adequately address the concerns they have regarding the potential affect of high density growth to the quality of life they now enjoy.

Prior to the vote, Greenville County Councilman Lynn Ballard said council was aware of some "specific concerns" about the LDRs. But he said council has the ability to amend ordinances if necessary.

“I would much prefer to pass the LDRs as presented," he said. "If we have specific items in the LDRs that need to be addressed we can address them through the amendment process."

Kirven said the former LDRs are 12-years-old.

The new ordinance, he said, is “a whole lot better than the one we’ve been operating on. It’s a step forward and not the end of anything. It’s the starting point. It can be improved.”

Stitt had said if the council approved the revised LDRs, the community’s grassroots efforts would have to regroup and determine a new strategy.

After the vote and talking with residents he said their next steps appear to have Ballard prepare amendments to the LDRs individually with input from the group to resubmit to the council for review.

The group also is looking into zoning, he said, though that, too, would ultimately have to go before the same County Council committees and the entire council.