A proposal to allow golf carts to operate at night on public streets within the Baxter Village community in Fort Mill cleared its second reading before York County Council on Monday, April 20, passing 5 to 2 after a lengthy and at times heated debate over whether the same rules should apply to all unincorporated York County.
The vote advances an ordinance that would give formal structure to golf cart use within the Baxter Village Traditional Neighborhood District, a planned community along Highway 160 that features both residential neighborhoods and commercial businesses within close proximity to one another. The ordinance still requires a third and final reading before taking effect.
What the Ordinance Does
The proposed ordinance builds on state legislation that already permits golf cart operation on roads posted at 35 miles per hour or less during daylight hours anywhere in South Carolina. The Baxter Village ordinance would extend that permission to nighttime hours within the community, with the additional requirement that carts be equipped with proper headlights and tail lights. Operators must be at least 16 years old, hold a valid driver’s license, and carry liability insurance, all as required under state law.
Beyond simply allowing nighttime use, the ordinance also creates geographic and operational structure that supporters say makes the overall situation safer. Under the new rules, golf carts crossing Sutton Road, a practice already happening freely throughout Baxter Village, would be limited to a single designated crossing point at Market Street rather than occurring at multiple locations along the road. That consolidation was cited repeatedly by supporters as a meaningful safety improvement over the current unregulated status.
A Countywide Expansion Attempt Falls Short
Before council could vote on the ordinance as written, Council Member Linton moved to amend it to apply to all unincorporated York County rather than just Baxter Village. He offered two reasons. First, he argued that the same opportunities being extended to Baxter Village residents should be available to residents of other communities such as Paddler’s Cove, the Landing, and Harper’s Green, noting that those neighborhoods are equally entitled to golf cart access under state law during the day. Second, he raised a practical enforcement concern, saying the Sheriff’s Office had expressed difficulty knowing where the geographic limits of a Baxter-only ordinance would be in the field, and that a countywide standard would remove that ambiguity entirely.
The amendment drew a second for purposes of discussion but ran into an immediate procedural obstacle. The interim county attorney advised council that expanding the ordinance beyond the boundaries described in the original public notice would require, at a minimum, another public hearing and most likely a return to the committee that originally crafted the Baxter-specific language. That advice effectively added significant time and process to any countywide expansion, and several council members said they were not prepared to take that step at this meeting.
The amendment failed 6 to 1.
Safety Concerns Drive Opposition to the Underlying Ordinance
The most forceful opposition to the ordinance came from Council Member Roddey, who said he does not like the state law that enabled it and is not willing to pass a local ordinance that goes beyond it. He invoked a fatal golf cart accident involving a teenager in Rock Hill as the defining concern shaping his position, and said putting more golf carts on public roads at night creates more opportunities for similar tragedies.
“I don’t want that to be on my conscience,” he said. “When you start putting them things out on roads, we are asking for more situations like what we saw in Rock Hill.” He noted that golf cart use may be appropriate in settings like Hilton Head or beach communities where carts stay off major thoroughfares, but said the dynamic is fundamentally different when carts mix with cars, trucks, and distracted drivers on public roads. He said he would not support the ordinance even for Baxter Village alone.
Another council member raised similar concerns about youth safety, noting that golf carts are already widely and sometimes recklessly operated by young people throughout county neighborhoods. That council member also asked whether the liability insurance requirement would be meaningfully enforced, and whether signage or other physical delineations would be put in place to help the Sheriff’s Office know where the Baxter district boundaries are.
Supporters Say Structure Improves on the Status Quo
Council Member Audette, whose district includes Baxter Village, made the case that the ordinance should be viewed not as an expansion of golf cart access but as a regulatory improvement over what is already happening on the ground. Golf carts are already crossing Sutton Road and moving throughout Baxter Village without any defined rules or crossing points, he said. The ordinance channels that existing activity into a safer framework.
“Currently golf carts are driving everywhere across Baxter,” he said. “What they identified in this was this was actually giving structure to it.” He described the single designated crossing at Market Street as a significant safety gain compared to the current situation where carts cross at whatever points drivers choose. He said he does not support a countywide expansion but strongly supports the Baxter application as an appropriate use of the ordinance model that Fort Mill has already demonstrated can work.
One council member noted that the ordinance language developed for Baxter Village could serve as a template for future applications from other planned developments that make similar requests, pointing out that the conditions tied to Baxter are specific to its geography and governance structure and would need to be adapted for any other community that sought the same treatment.
Sheriff’s Input Still Pending
Chairwoman Cox indicated that she will support the ordinance advancing to third reading but wants to hear directly from the York County Sheriff before final passage. She said she wants to understand what specific protocols would be in place to address the enforcement concerns that the sheriff has raised about the limits of the Baxter district and whether officers in the field will have the tools they need to apply the rules consistently.
She also acknowledged the broader tension in the discussion, noting that Baxter Village is somewhat unique among unincorporated communities in having both a planned development overlay and a mix of residential and commercial uses in close proximity, which gives golf cart access a distinct practical purpose that may not translate equally to other neighborhoods.
What Comes Next
With second reading approved, the ordinance returns for a third and final reading at a future council meeting. Council members indicated they expect to have feedback from the sheriff in hand before that vote, and at least one member said she has additional questions specifically about the Baxter application that she intends to raise before casting a final vote.
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