York County leaders drop Lake Wylie overlay

Added land-use protection for Lake Wylie won’t come as quickly as residents want. But it could cover a broader area.

York County Council hammered out changes to its zoning and land use ordinances during a workshop Monday night. Many Lake Wylie residents hoped the new rules would tighten development standards close to the lake. By itself, it won’t.

“Council decided to consider all proposed revisions be applied countywide, so no Lake Wylie overlay is being proposed,” said Audra Miller, planning director.

Council discussed a watershed overlay for the Catawba River and Lake Wylie, not just for the few miles along S.C. 49 in Lake Wylie that spurred interest in land-use protection.

“Such an overlay would encompass the watershed, which is much larger than what has been discussed for a Lake Wylie overlay,” Miller said.

Residential growth in Lake Wylie has drawn dozens of residents to York County Council meetings in the past year asking for anything from slowed development to an all-out building moratorium. Residents argued high-density construction not only overwhelms roads, fills schools and stresses utilities, but also endangers the lake with sediment runoff.

York County planners took a new look at zoning and subdivision codes. They looked at building densities, road connections, traffic impact and future land use. About 200 people turned out to public meetings in Lake Wylie, Fort Mill and Rock Hill.

On Aug. 17, Council gave initial approval to the ordinance overhaul despite concerns that Lake Wylie wasn’t addressed. A Sept. 8 public hearing was put off and the Sept. 28 workshop scheduled.

Miller said a public hearing and second reading on the ordinance revision will be Nov. 2. Final reading would follow Nov. 16.

“We will update the planning department website in the next couple of days with the schedule and documents showing the revisions Council will be considering,” Miller said today.

As for the watershed overlay, county planning staff will share research with the planning commission in November.

“This would only be a presentation of the concept and not an ordinance,” Miller said. “If such an overlay were enacted, staff estimates a year to prepare, present and receive final Council approval.”

Allison Love, one of many Lake Wylie residents who spoke out the past year in favor of stricter development standards near the water, served on a stakeholder committee that helped form the revision. Love said issues, like how the county calculates the building density it allows, matter to residents. But so does the lake, which she hopes won’t entirely be left out of the planning process.

“Legally it seems there will have to be a countywide watershed to protect the water in our lake,” she said. “This however does not address the issues such as density and traffic.”

This story was originally published September 29, 2015 at 1:54 PM with the headline "York County leaders drop Lake Wylie overlay."