Laurens County Council has adopted, by title only, the ordinance that will allow the Planning Commission and county planners to change the way they approve cluster developments.
These are subdivisions that use a loophole in the current regulations — leaving a portion of property vacant as “public property” in exchange for clustering houses closer together than the rules otherwise would permit - to get the kind of return on investment that developers want.
Two subdivisions, Brentwood and Cambridges Farms, fall under this designation, and the Council has imposes a moratorium on any future developments of this type. A resident, Ethan Anderson, told council at its Monday evening regular monthly meeting that Brentwood went through the county’s technical review process and got a permit before neighboring residents even knew the subdivision was being proposed.
Residents of an area near Clinton also have opposed permitting and construction of Cambridge Farms.
“This is not anti-growth. This is smart growth,” Anderson said. “It holds developers accountable.”
Council Chairman Jeff Carroll said the first reading, approved 7-0 by the council Monday night, just starts the process of passing Ordinance 911 which is proposed to repeal and replace Section 12 of Ordinance 926. Laurens County does not have zoning, but it does have subdivision regulations.
Council Member Brown Patterson asked if the council would be prohibited from making any other changes to Ordinance 926, and Carroll said the action does not preclude the council from making other changes. Once county staff and planners develops a new Division 12 text, they will bring it to the council as a whole, explain the changes, and ask for council approval of the revised ordinance.
After 3rd and final reading of the revised ordinance, Council will be asked to approved a resolution ending the moratorium on new cluster developments.
Proponents of the moratorium say it is needed to keep Laurens County from being too densely populated in subdivisions, especially in the Northern area (Gray Court/Fountain Inn).
Opponents say the moratorium sends the message “Laurens County is closed for business.”
Council passed the moratorium on a split vote. It is set to last 6 months, and can be renewed for another 6 months on the council’s majority vote.
In other business, Carroll said the Laurens County Fire Service has received from Horry County an official “thank you” resolution for sending firefighters to battle a March 1 wildfire in the coastal county.
Council heard an update from local Keep America Beautiful Affiliate Director Courtney Stonell, and made three appointments to the Agriculture Committee: Joey Avery, on council member Arthur Philson Jr.’s recommendation; Brandon Hurley on council chairman Carroll’s recommendation; and Raymond Prescott on Patterson’s recommendation.
Council gave the 2nd of 3 readings to the fee-in-lieu-of-taxes arrangement for Project Sora, a $9.2 Million investment to create 42 new jobs by an existing industry. Project Sora will be up for final reading on Oct. 13.
Council also agreed to purchase a pumper fire truck of 1,250 gallons from Deep South, after discussing the matter in closed session.
During council members’ comments time, most of the members thanked the audience for attending and congratulated Presbyterian College Football for starting the season 2-0. But Philson made a statement that called the council “a bunch of backstabbers up here,” and took issue with the fact that the County is offering candidates for the county administrator’s position only a 3-year contract.
“Why buy a house when you’re only guaranteed three years,” he said.
Philson said the council puts money where it wants to put it, but where it is needed. “You come up with money when you want it,” he said, “(while) people living in Laurens County need it. All you want to do is get re-elected. All you want to say is ‘everything is all right,’ but it’s not all right with Arthur Philson Jr.”
Speaking to the audience, he said, “I’m for y’all. I’m going to fight for you.”
Carroll did not directly respond, but he said it is going to be interesting at budget time working with people who have not yet been through a budgeting process and understand “the limits on county resources.”
“We’re super excited to have these new people on board, and we will be better for it,” he said.
