Most every York County development project goes through them. So, who should they be?

One group has significant say on the majority of development projects that get approved or denied in York County. Another wants to make sure that group is working the way it should.

York County Councilman Michael Johnson chairs the county finance and operations committee. Council members Allison Love and Robert Winkler also sit on it. The finance and operations group takes applications for county-appointed positions, including the planning commission, then recommends its pick to council. By the time a recommendation comes to council, it generally passes without hesitation by the full group.

“In a way, the finance committee is shaping every committee here,” Johnson said.

On Nov. 20, the group considered applicants for the York County Economic Development Board and Board of Assessment Appeals. Johnson’s group also recommended reappointing Walter Heinsohn and choosing Jennifer Bowman from a list of seven candidates for the planning commission. The finance committee deferred its annual review of four more members, starting a “fairly lengthy discussion” on how to proceed.

“What is the proper balance on the planning commission?” Johnson said, summarizing the discussion. “What should the planning commission look like? Should it have experts? Should it have citizens?”

Heinsohn is an attorney in Rock Hill whose practice specializes in real estate. He is the current planning commission chairman. Bowman is retired from the banking industry. Her husband, David, is a former council member who represented parts of Fort Mill and Tega Cay.

Traditionally, planning commissions both in York County and in municipalities like Fort Mill and Tega Cay, have had some or all of its membership include workers from the building industry. Increasingly, citizens from some of the faster-growing parts of York County have questioned the pace of new growth. The case could be made industry experts serve a commission well, since they know the detailed questions to ask of new developments.

Another case could be made that people in the industry may be less likely to turn down a project.

Whether from outside the building industry or not, membership on the county planning commission can run into problems.

“Our consensus was, we have too many people on each extreme right now,” Johnson said. “Too many people that approve everything that comes along, and we have too many people that say no to everything that comes along. And what we need is some people to actually sit down and analyze what’s before them and try to make decisions that are the best for York County.”

He asked the full council either for a workshop or discussion item on an upcoming meeting agenda. Something to provide direction for his group, and thus the county.

“If we continue to just put these polarizing groups in, we’re not going to get good results,” Johnson said.

This story was originally published November 27, 2017 at 5:14 PM with the headline "Most every York County development project goes through them. So, who should they be?."