Ever wonder who’s handling growth in Fort Mill? Hint. It’s not as easy as you think.

Folks can say what they want about planning in Fort Mill, but anyone who thinks it isn’t happening didn’t take a seat with Fort Mill Town Council on Thursday afternoon.

Two hours into 37 oversized pages of potential development ordinance changes, and they were almost through page two. They talked dwelling units per acre. Rear alley access requirements for townhomes. Half an hour on the impact of adding a foot to side setbacks on future non-conforming structures, including if they burn down.

And don’t even get them started on sidewalks.

The marathon workshop is a side of town planning most people don’t see. And part of the reason planning isn’t as easy as people think.

“It’s not,” said Joe Cronin, town planning director. “And every decision you make, it has an impact on people.”

After an advisory committee and two years of line-by-line review, Fort Mill had a draft unified development ordinance ready for its planning commission to adopt last summer. Hundreds of pages are now down to 193 potential changes for Council to consider. When complete, the ordinance will set a wide range of development standards for new construction.

One rule allowed lots to be combined using either zoning, regardless of size. A proposed change would require one of them to be rezoned before combining.

“We looked at it and said that could be a roundabout way of rezoning,” Cronin said.

Another increased some average lot sizes by 40 percent. Increasing townhome heights from 2.5 to three stories is also on the table. Apartments could go from 35-foot and three story limits to 60-foot and four stories. A major change would calculate density based on land a developer actually could build something on, rather than using flood plains or overly steep areas to meet open space requirements.

That idea of gross versus net acreage is one residents throughout the county clamored for when York County went through its most recent development re-write, but didn’t get.

“The new (ordinance) says 50 percent of your open space has to be usable space,” Cronin said. “That’s a big change.”

Council members literally spent time at the drawing board Thursday, plotting out sample units per acre. They critiqued each other’s penmanship amid more serious discussion. Councilman Chris Moody looks at past projects, and issues like clear-cutting sites, as opportunities to put measures in the new ordinance preventing problems.

“This is our opportunity to make sure nothing like that ever happens again,” he said.

The main theme of residential construction rules, though, is density.

“This is our chance to do something to manage the density,” Moody said.

Still, there is a balance. Going overboard by requiring massive lots will mean new homes at several times the price.

“We’re trying to do it right,” said Dennis Pieper, town manager. “I want my firefighters and public works people to be able to live in Fort Mill.”

Even for experts, planning isn’t always an exact science. Like when gauging public demand for new homes, and developer demand for building them.

“Are the builders building those because that’s what people are buying, or are people buying because that’s what the developers are building?” Cronin asked.

The development ordinance is a work in progress, Savage said, that she believes will help the town steer itself toward a future resident say they want. She hears from those residents. Council members “get a lot of heat” for how many residential projects get approved, and for the density of them, Savage said.

Council members also consider landowners and what it means for their property if overbearing rules won’t let them develop it. They consider what a community with no growth at all would be. Then, they try to balance. Often while hearing from residents that they aren’t doing enough or, worse, aren’t even trying.

Whether community members agree with the planning trajectory is of course subjective. Whether town leaders are trying to create the community they and others would want to live in, isn’t.

“It’s not easy,” Savage said. “And we hear the feedback. But it’s necessary to get the best product. And there’s a lot that goes into in that the public doesn’t always understand.”

This story was originally published July 31, 2017 at 1:14 PM with the headline "Ever wonder who’s handling growth in Fort Mill? Hint. It’s not as easy as you think.."