York County Council has scheduled a special called meeting for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 30, at 6 Congress St. in York, days after a circuit judge upheld a zoning board decision against the Silfab Solar manufacturing plant in Fort Mill.
The meeting was announced by York County Councilwoman Debi Cloninger, who represents District 7, in a post on her Facebook page. Cloninger tied the session to the recent order from Circuit Judge William A. McKinnon and encouraged residents to turn out. “I urge you to attend,” she wrote.
As of this writing, the county had not posted an agenda for the meeting, and the purpose and scope of the session had not been officially confirmed. It was not clear what action, if any, council members might take.
The court ruling
On July 21, McKinnon, of the Sixteenth Judicial Circuit, signed an order affirming the York County Board of Zoning Appeals’ May 2024 decision that solar panel manufacturing is not a permitted use in the light industrial district where Silfab built its plant. The board had voted 5-0 to reverse the county zoning administrator, who concluded the operation qualified under the code category for computer and electronic products manufacturing. The order affirmed the board in all respects and denied the appeal brought by Silfab and the property owner.
The plant sits at 7149 Logistics Lane, where Exeter 7149 Logistics owns the land and Silfab is the tenant. The dispute began with a request for a formal code interpretation from a neighboring property owner, Walter Buchanan.
The ruling does not close the facility. York County has said the board’s decision applies only to future projects, and Silfab has said in statements to news outlets that it intends to appeal.
What comes next
The special called meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. Thursday, July 30, at 6 Congress St. in York. YoCo News will update this story as the county posts an agenda and as details of the meeting become available.
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Thomas Hyslip lives in Tega Cay with his wife and daughter. After 27 years in the U.S. Army and Federal Law Enforcement, he retired to pursue his passion for teaching. Tom is now an Assistant Professor of Instruction at the University of South Florida. In 2 short years he has won 10 awards from the South Carolina Press Association, including first place in column writing, education beat reporting and best podcast.
