Lake Wylie residents air county planning issues

More than 100 residents dropped in Thursday night with their takes on how York County should grow. The most common refrain: it shouldn’t grow nearly so fast.

The county planning department is updating its comprehensive plan. A public meeting Thursday at Oakridge Middle School was one of three set to take input. Residents aired concerns about housing density, crowded roads and increased need for public service.

Resident Rob Morris was one of many asking to limit or eliminate new apartment projects in Lake Wylie. Apartments tie into another frequent complaint, he said, in the condition of roads.

“I know apartments bring more people per acre, which means more cars per acre,” Morris said.

Residents brought up a proposed rock quarry off Ridge Road in Clover, where last summer York County Council voted against a rezoning request there for about 200 acres. Residents are concerned the plan will resurface.

“It’s going to destroy the county,” said resident Beverly Wood. “Once it gets built, it’ll just tear up the roads.”

Others talked traffic, the impact on fire or medical service should responders need to get through Lake Wylie during high-traffic hours. Councilman Bruce Henderson, who represents Lake Wylie, is concerned with packing people onto single-entrance peninsulas and the potential fiasco it could create in an emergency or evacuation.

“It’s out of control,” Henderson said of Lake Wylie development. “It’s wildfire.”

Lake Wylie residents pleaded in the fall with Council to limit residential building near the lake. Many of those same residents turned out Thursday. Henderson called for a moratorium then, and continues work toward pushing housing density away from the lake. Henderson heard what he thought he would Thursday from residents.

“It’s really not a surprise,” he said. “With some of the most recent development issues that have surfaced, they’ve kind of taken it upon themselves.”

Residents asked county staff whether community input matters. The last major push for public comment in Lake Wylie came a couple of years ago, drawing hundreds. The recommendations made it to the county planning commission, but never to Council.

Staff members said the new comprehensive plan will be a guide for future decisions. It won’t be regulatory, and planners cautioned they can’t restrict existing property rights. If a property comes for rezoning, though, public input and a comprehensive plan can steer a decision.

“If they do go up for rezoning, then you do have an opportunity to get involved in the process,” planner Steve Allen said.

Henderson said Council is interested in acting on the comprehensive plan, and a building code review that recently drew input from Lake Wylie. The issues are too great, he said, for residents or county leaders to think public say doesn’t matter.

“It matters now,” Henderson said. “It’s having to matter more.”

This story was originally published March 20, 2015 at 11:54 AM with the headline "Lake Wylie residents air county planning issues."