York County just took a key step toward public use at the 1,900-acre Riverbend site.
It took only a moment, but one unanimous vote Monday night in York County could reach into generations.
York County approved a conservation easement for most of the 1,900-acre Riverbend property it owns on the Rock Hill side of the Catawba River. The easement with Nation Ford Land Trust is a key step toward allowing public access to what county leaders believe can become a unique public greenway in this region.
“It’s one of the monumental decisions that this council has ever made,” said Steve Hamilton, executive director with Nation Ford. “It’s going to have a lasting legacy.”
A conservation easement is a legal arrangement where a property owner voluntarily restricts land development to preserve the property. Properties may still have trails or sparse buildings, but not subdivisions, apartment complexes or business parks.
“It is saved for perpetuity,” Hamilton said. “It is a remarkable achievement for a property of this size.”
York County bought the former Bowater and Newland Communities property off Neely Store Road in December 2018. Dubbed Project Destiny, the $21 million sale involves almost six miles of river frontage. Plans began for allowing access, with a conservation easement targeted as a key starting point.
Putting the property under easement allows county and land trust leaders to hammer out details of what the property might include. It already has nine miles of trail but could support perhaps 30 miles, according to land planners who presented options to York County Council at the site in October.
County leaders then talked about creating something akin to their own public version of the Anne Springs Close Greenway, about 2,000 acres of private trails and natural area in Fort Mill.
The easement involves about 1,700 acres. The remaining acreage is away from the river, and doesn’t connect as well to the larger property.
The easement agreement doesn’t state exact property uses, but gives numerous options. They include hiking, camping, biking, fishing, kayaking, tubing, boating, zip lines, rope and obstacle courses, field trials, archery, disc golf, jogging, running and sports competitions.
Options also include meeting space, museum exhibits, amphitheaters and access to existing structures like the Castle House and Greenhouse on the property. Special Earth Day or similar events would be allowed, as would festivals, weddings or other large planned gatherings. Some horse use could be allowed. So would trail, bridge and boardwalk construction.
The only listed possibilities for residential construction are caretaker cottages, bunkhouses, campground facilities or RV infrastructure.
The property wouldn’t allow large public infrastructure sites like power plants, overhead electric transmission lines or sewage treatment plants. It also wouldn’t allow athletic fields for tournaments or commercial livestock.
While the Riverbend property is monumental for conservation, Hamilton said, it’s part of a trend of large, protected properties. Years after working an easement out with the Anne Springs Close site, the land trust last June announced its acquisition of two properties near York and Rock Hill at more than 650 combined acres.
In December the county agreed to pay for surveying at another land trust project, a 2,800-acre site near York. The landowner there already had acreage in trust, combining for more than 3,700 acres. Stated plans include a greenway.
“We’ve kicked it into high gear, that’s for sure,” Hamilton said.
