York County has 1,800 certified letters to deliver. Some big sites can expect them.

The 40-acre homeplace on Garrison Farm Road is getting a certified letter. The Ross distribution site and parts of the old Knights Castle property near Fort Mill are, too. Lake Wylie Plaza and Lake Wylie Marina are getting them, along with several properties north of S.C. 49 from Buster Boyd Bridge inland.

York County is looking to make a zoning change set to impact more than 1,800 properties. The idea is to phase out a zoning district that planners admit doesn’t mean much.

“It’s what we called the ‘what’s it?’ category,” said Audra Miller, county planning director.

The UD zoning dates back as far as county zoning itself. Some designations are specific to residential, commercial or industrial construction. The UD listing isn’t. It’s more of a catch-all class.

“At its inception it included everything from single-family homes to explosives sites,” said Stephen Allen, planning services manager for the county. “Which really means no zoning.”

Between existing land use and county comprehensive planning, there is a better sense now what zoning uses should be allowed on land parcels. The county plans to rezone UD properties based on uses, fit with nearby parcels and the type of development expected.

“The point of this is not to hurt anybody at all,” Miller said. It’s to bring them into compliance.”

It won’t be easy.

A typical rezoning requires weeks of preparation before it ever sees a planning commission agenda, public hearing and three readings from York County Council. County leaders still have to have public input opportunities even with the large number of properties. They look to tackle the rezonings district by district.

“This is a big project,” Allen said. “This is going to take a while.”

Districts 3 and 7 are up first. The largely rural Dist. 3 in western York County should be a little easier place to start. Not so in Dist. 7, which covers downtown Fort Mill and much of Rock Hill.

“I don’t mind being first,” said York County Councilman Chad Williams, who represents Dist. 7. “I think it’s going to be positive. It’s all about education.”

Williams said he wants to present to real estate and related groups along with the public forums expected as part of the process. He wants people to understand why the zoning change is happening, and how it may help them. He imagines plenty of people will want a commercial zoning since those sites often fetch a higher sales price than residential.

But the new zoning will have to fit the character of and vision for the site. Williams said he believes most people would benefit from the change, but can see where some wouldn’t like it.

“Especially developers,” he said. “They love a piece of land they can put anything on.”

More specific zoning is one way to achieve something both Lake Wylie and Fort Mill residents have been clamoring for, a more designed growth pattern. Zoning has been an issue for years in Lake Wylie, from the commercial development of sites like Mill Creek Commons a decade ago to residential construction in recent years. Because Lake Wylie isn’t an actual town with its own municipality, developers can come in and build by right – as long as their end use is allowed in the existing zoning.

A more tailored zoning classification would mean a developer looking to do something different would have to go through county rezoning and the public hearing process, something that hasn’t always been necessary even with large-scale projects.

Planners want to present the effort to Council on April 3. Property owners will be notified by certified letters and public workshops held on the rezoning.

“It’ll be an open house style,” Allen said. “We feel like that works best.”

Property taxes aren’t directly related to zoning, but to land use. It’s the land use that relates to zoning. Changing UD properties in largely residential areas shouldn’t be too challenging. Except in areas where subdivision covenants exist.

“Those are going to be very interesting to deal with,” Allen said.

Any property with defined development on or around it will give planners a place to start.

“What’s more difficult are the ones that are vacant,” Allen said.

Planners believe there are opportunities not only to define what land uses already are present through better zoning, but to steer future land uses.

“When we get into commercial properties, what are we zoning that to?” Miller said. “What do we want to encourage?”

It’s expected the county will waive traditional rezoning fees for impacted properties, though if property owners disagree with the new zoning proposed for a site they may have to go through the usual process which would include fees.

This story was originally published March 7, 2017 at 11:03 AM with the headline "York County has 1,800 certified letters to deliver. Some big sites can expect them.."