S.C. 160 commercial rezonings pass 1st test

Two moves toward commercial development along S.C. 160 between Baxter and Tega Cay appear to be on the fast track.

York County Council needed less than two minutes Monday to pass first reading on two rezoning requests. The parcels total almost 40 acres of mostly residential zoning. The requested change would mean no new homes. The properties sit across S.C. 160 from Brayden, between Len Patterson Drive and Dam Road.

Two more readings and a public hearing are needed to finalize the moves.

Springland has 37 acres at S.C. 160 and Dave Gibson Boulevard. Clear Springs has almost 2 acres just north. County planning staff noted the changes would create a “significant increase in potential uses” for the property. End users likely would be office and retail sites.

The applicants agreed to prohibiting more than a half dozen potential uses, from auto or boat service sites to car washes, commercial parking lots, RV parks and any residential use.

The applications cite several residential uses nearby, from Baxter to new apartments, as reason why its properties should transition to commercial uses. It wouldn’t encourage sprawl since utilities are already present, it notes, and would provide a commercial tax base to help with schools stressed by ongoing residential development.

“We are making this application for rezoning in order to recognize substantial changes (along S.C. 160),” they read.

Part of the plan includes realignment of Len Patterson to connect with Brayden Parkway across S.C. 160. Council’s first reading included the conditions limiting some business uses, which would stay with the property regardless if it’s sold from one investor to the next.

“The conditions go with the zoning,” said Councilman Chad Johnson. “That’s part of the zoning.”

Council expressed numerous times in past months a desire for more commercial development, compared to the significant increase in residential building particularly in the Fort Mill Township and Lake Wylie areas. A failed moratorium for unincorporated Fort Mill came up, and an overlay to impact residential construction is still on the table for Lake Wylie.

The latest rezoning bucks the trend toward residential, and drew almost no conversation with even less opposition to the move. Councilman Michael Johnson, who represents the area where rezoning is proposed, expressed no reservations.

“I support this rezoning,” he said.

This story was originally published June 9, 2016 at 9:13 PM with the headline "S.C. 160 commercial rezonings pass 1st test."