No more apartments, condos, townhomes for Lake Wylie? This new rule could stop them.

Apartment, condos and townhome construction in Lake Wylie may soon come to a halt.

When the York County planning commission meets Oct. 14, the group will look at a rule change that could have significant impact on the residential building community in Lake Wylie. The planning commission would make a recommendation for York County Council to decide.

Here are seven need-to-know items about the rule change:

▪ The rule change would prohibit new apartment, condominium and townhome applications in Lake Wylie through March 31, 2021. It also would make any new residential lot at least one acre.

▪ The new rule uses and expands the Lake Wylie overlay. The overlay largely has been used as a guide for landscaping, sign placement along highways and similar rules along the S.C. 49 corridor coming into York County. The new rule would expand the overlay area from the state line to the north, south to Little Allison Creek. It would run from the lake on the east to Paraham, Kingsburry and Riddle Mill roads on the west.

▪ Undeveloped properties that hold vested development rights, meaning they can be built even with the new rule because they predate it, include more than 2,400 homes and 250 townhomes. Another 400 homes, 25 townhomes and almost 300 apartments have been proposed.

▪ The Lake Wylie area is one of four up for small area plans in study by the county. Others are the I-77 South corridor, Dave Lyle Boulevard to the Catawba River and a light rail corridor. Lake Wylie already had a public meeting and an online survey to guage resident concern. A new small area plan for Lake Wylie should be adopted next summer.

▪ Reasons listed in the proposed new rule for limiting new residential construction include high traffic and a strain on public water infrastructure. Lake Wylie residents have been vocal for many years asking York County not to allow specific residential developments as they arose. Main issues are traffic, dangerous roads, school impact and pollution in or leading into the lake.

▪ The new rule would end automatically in March 2021 without any further vote from council. Any plats, site plans or completed submissions turned in before the rule would take effect, still would be allowed. The same is true for any residences already part of a development agreement.

▪ The new rule doesn’t list the word moratorium. In a separate county issue, the state and county have legal action against them from homebuilder groups after the county approved higher impact fees for the Fort Mill School District. A main complaint by the homebuilders is an allegation the county raised impact fees as a way of creating a moratorium on homebuilding. That case is set for trial in York on Dec. 9.

This story was originally published October 10, 2019 at 7:30 AM.