B-3 committee drafts new zoning districts

After months of discussion, a committee tasked with clearing up zoning concerns in the Panhandle has developed a proposed list of commercial zoning districts.
County Planning Director Chris Karres said the list of 16 business districts was recently drafted by a county committee made up of Lancaster County Council members Larry McCullough, Larry Honeycutt and Charlene McGriff, members of the county planning department, the planning commission and residents from Van Wyck and Sun City Carolina Lakes.
“They got different zoning districts defined as far as general structure of what they’re for and the list of uses for each one,” Karres said. “They decided to break it up into 16 commercial districts. We only have four right now, B-1, B-2, B-3 and B-4.”
The new districts, which have not been adopted by the county, include separate classifications for offices, regional businesses, shopping centers, medical offices, food services, car dealerships and entertainment establishments, among other businesses.
“So we have a definition for all 16 now. It’s part of our draft plan,” Karres said. “That’s what we ended up with.”
The draft is the latest development in the months-long debate over how to handle commercial rezonings in Indian Land.
Last year, McCullough, who represents Indian Land, championed a moratorium to halt rezonings in Indian Land until B-3 rezoning classifications were better defined. There are now more than 80 permitted uses for B-3 districts.
Under the moratorium, council cannot consider any property rezonings in the northern end of the county except for those strictly related to economic development, such as industrial or corporate headquarters projects.
McCullough also supported the creation of a B-3 corridor overlay district for the Panhandle, an idea proposed by Karres. The overlay would apply to properties zoned B-3P (Panhandle) directly along main roads such as U.S. 521, S.C. 9, S.C. 160 and other major Panhandle roads, all of which have commercial developments or rezonings.
In order to craft the proposed overlay district, the committee has been debating what types of businesses should be allowed in commercial zones, as well as creating new definitions and uses for the zonings. The idea is to prevent the creation of too many strip malls or scattered developments along main thoroughfares.
“Eventually all the issues, not just the uses, will be addressed. We’re trying to address all the B-3 concerns in this,” Karres said. “They want to make sure everyone is agreeable to the zoning districts.”
But with the local economy still struggling, council is now considering lifting the moratorium as a means to lure more companies to the Panhandle.
Karres said council may decide whether to remove the moratorium based on the committee’s progress over the next few months.
“If the committee makes enough progress, County Council could look at extending a moratorium on B-3 rezonings for a couple of months. At this point, at the end of April, it’s over,” Karres said.
Karres said the committee will most likely bring a full plan for its new commercial districts to the county’s planning commission within the next few months. If approved by the commission, the plan would then be reviewed by County Council.
Karres said the committee has already held six meetings, but plans to meet several more times. Its next B-3 overlay meeting is from 5 to 6:30 p.m. today, Feb. 15, at Del Webb Library, 7641 Charlotte Highway. Karres said committee meetings are open to the public.
“We are not done with this at all. This process could keep going on for awhile,” he said.