Opinion: The town should allow Fort Mill Automotive to expand

Fort Mill Town Council members have been vexed by a re-zoning request Council has been considering for more than a year now. We’re going to make it easy for them: Approve it.

That may seem like an over-simplified solution to a somewhat complex situation, but it makes sense.

The re-zoning request is from Wallace Coleman, who owns property on North White Street that he rents to Fort Mill Automotive, one of the most popular businesses in town. The shop’s owner wants to buy the property from Coleman, but only if he can expand it to add a body shop.

The problem is, Fort Mill Auto, grandfathered in so it could continue to operate when the town previously changed the zoning in that area, could not add an auto body shop under the general industrial zoning Coleman asked for last year. But that zoning will be irrelevant when Fort Mill’s Town Council approves a new unified development ordinance. That ordinance will eliminate the general industrial zoning.

It should be noted that right across the street is Walter Elisha Park, which also has a general industrial zoning that dates back to when the property was part of the Springs textile mill operation.

Town planners and some council members are concerned that allowing Fort Mill Automotive to expand will detract from efforts to revitalize downtown, including new zoning districts that will include a mix of residential, office, retail and restaurant space. Officials hope new historic preservation rules will project a small-town image even while the downtown area grows and diversifies. However, Coleman’s request and Fort Mill Automotive’s desire to expand are “not consistent with what we’re trying to promote in the downtown area,” town planning manager Joe Cronin said at a recent meeting.

“It’s not in keeping with the direction the town is taking,” Mayor Guynn Savage said.

Those are unabashedly honest statements from those two officials. Both also seem to want to find a path to help Coleman and Fort Mill Automotive consummate their deal. What we propose is granting the original general industrial zoning request and after the unified development ordinance takes that zoning away, simply look the other way. There’s nothing stopping the town from not enforcing any non-conforming use under the new ordinance and nor should it feel compelled to.

Fort Mill wouldn’t be the first municipality to practice selective enforcement and in this case it is more than justified.

Adding a body shop to the Coleman property will not deter one resident or tourist from visiting the new brewery coming to Main Street. It won’t make the park, which had co-existed with Fort Mill Automotive for years, any less popular. If the permanent farmers market the town wants to bring to downtown becomes a reality, shoppers will not be put off by the fact that a redeveloped Fort Mill Automotive is operating in the vicinity. In fact, the owner of Fort Mill Automotive said he would be willing to enhance and beautify the exterior of the business to the town’s liking as part of his investment in the Coleman property.

There is no good reason for the town, which says it wants to project a business-friendly image, not to do this. While it is important to court new business investors, not just to downtown, but wherever it makes sense inside town limits, it is even more when it comes to accommodating existing business owners, especially the smaller ones that are the engine on which the local economy runs.

There is a reason Fort Mill Automotive has a legion of loyal customers. The last thing the town should want is for them to have to follow the shop to another municipality if it can’t do business inside town limits.

This story was originally published November 3, 2016 at 12:01 PM with the headline "Opinion: The town should allow Fort Mill Automotive to expand."