Here’s where a new York County wedding venue will go, and what’s planned there now
A new wedding and event venue got a key approval last week.
Fort Mill owner Joe Stamato moved to the area from Maryland about two years ago. Stamato bought property on the north side of S.C. 5 in Catawba, southeast of Rock Hill and not far west of the Catawba River.
Stamato told the county zoning board of appeals Thursday he intends to build an event venue and home on almost 20 acres, where he and his wife will live about 200 feet from the venue.
“I think that’s the difference... I’m not just building something and leaving it out there,” Stamato said. “I will be out there with my wife and we will run the venue.”
Event venues in York County require a special exception from the zoning appeals board. They’re classified by size. The Millstone would be a large event venue able to accommodate weddings, receptions, corporate gatherings, fundraisers and other special events.
Events would run Thursday through Sunday.
It would be closed for cleaning and maintenance on Mondays. Tours and photos would be scheduled the remaining days. The site would be open 10 a.m.-10 p.m. year-round, at three events weekly or about 150 events per year envisioned.
The site would be able to host up to 180 people.
The building would come from Nebraska, where a company designs and builds them for transport.
“It is a farmhouse-inspired building,” said county zoning administrator Rachel Grothe.
The S.C. 5 property is about a quarter mile east of Reservation Road. Rural homes and agricultural areas are nearby.
The venue would be several hundred feet away from the main highway, behind a grove of trees.
“The proposed development will not impact the surrounding traffic network in a negative manner,” Grothe said.
The only concern expressed by the zoning appeals board is one common to event venues.
“It’s always that consideration of noise because they’re always in rural areas, and people move to rural areas because they don’t want noise,” said board member Jeff Blair.
Amplified music in particular was discussed.
“Sound carries at night,” Blair said.
Other board members noted the venue is a significant distance from the nearest homes, several times what the requirement is for allowing event venues with amplified music. Also, board members said, the venue would have the same decibel limits any home or other property would.
One member said event venues are a need in the community.
The 19-acre site recently was carved out of a larger, 80-acre lot. Stamato said he spent more than a year looking for sites. He met with neighbors of the existing and other potential locations to gauge interest.
The zoning board approved the exception needed to allow the new venue.
