Lancaster City Council gave final approval Tuesday to rezoning a house at 1103 East Arch Street for business use, voting 4-2 after neighbors again asked members to keep their block residential.
The Sept. 8 work session also produced a $925,730 construction contract for Municipal Justice Center Park, final approval of industrial zoning for a former propane site on West Meeting Street, and first-reading votes on a year-end budget cleanup and a fire department staffing change.
Arch Street rezoning
Ordinance O26-11 moves the 1.295-acre parcel owned by Rosalia Benito from R-6 Residential to B-2 Neighborhood Commercial. The lot sits at the corner of East Arch Street (S.C. Highway 9) and Kershaw Street and holds a single-family house built around 1938. A real estate agent speaking for the owners said they plan to run a tax office out of the existing building.
Three residents of nearby Hudson Street spoke against the change. They cited poor sight lines where Highway 9 narrows from four lanes to two, the lack of sidewalks and street parking, children walking to Buckelew Park and the chance that a future owner could open a different business, since zoning stays with the land.
City staff told council an online petition opposing the rezoning arrived that afternoon and had not been verified. Council Member Marsh moved to table the vote so staff could review it, but the motion failed 4-2. The rezoning then passed 4-2, with Marsh voting no after supporting the first reading Aug. 25.
The City Planning Commission recommended denial Aug. 4 on a 2-1 vote. Staff recommended approval, citing the mix of commercial and residential uses along the East Arch Street corridor.
The owners’ agent said the building’s circular driveway fits about six cars and customers would not park on the street. Under the zoning table of uses in the agenda packet, a convenience store would need a special exception from the Board of Zoning Appeals in a B-2 district, and restaurants and gas stations are not listed as allowed uses.
The member presiding over the meeting said new businesses help ease the tax load on residents and urged neighbors to take speeding complaints to the police chief.
Park contract
Council voted 6-0 to award the Municipal Justice Center Park project to JF Contractors LLC of Sumter, the lowest of four bidders, at $925,730.22, pending state approval.
The project is funded by a $300,000 Community Development Block Grant and $500,000 of the city’s remaining American Rescue Plan Act money. After administration and engineering costs, only $755,000 was left for construction, so the extra $170,730 will come from General Fund unrestricted reserves, according to the staff memo.
Council accepted only the base bid, which covers drainage and erosion control, an asphalt trail with boardwalk sections, a paved parking lot, benches, bench swings and site preparation for three playground areas. Playground equipment installation and a picnic shelter were bid as alternates and were not part of the award.
Sanitation and Maintenance Operations Director Matt Berry said work should start 60 to 90 days after the state signs off.
Former propane site
Council unanimously approved second readings of O26-12 and O26-13, rezoning 3.14 acres and 3.66 acres next to 1117 West Meeting Street to Industrial for Propane Solutions LLC. The parcels were previously zoned for a manufactured home park and R-6 Residential.
The owner plans a rail transload operation along with warehousing, storage and logistics. Southern Gas Co. and AmeriGas Propane used the site for about 60 years. A railroad freight yard requires a separate special exception in the Industrial district, which the applicant says it is seeking.
Budget and fire staffing
Finance Director James Absher presented O26-14, the annual true-up of the fiscal 2025-26 budget, which shifts money between line items in departments that ran over. Absher said no fund exceeded its overall budget. The amended total rises $165,832 to about $77.7 million, covered by higher-than-expected revenue from vehicle taxes, hospitality tax and in-city water. It passed first reading.
Fire Chief Justin McLellan’s O26-15 would cut volunteer firefighter slots from 15 to five and use that money to reclassify three Firefighter I positions as Firefighter II, the entry officer rank on apparatus. McLellan said the department has not filled its volunteer roster in years because of training demands. The change would let the city staff its ladder truck around the clock and reduce overtime spent calling back officers, he said. No new employees would be hired. It passed first reading 6-0.
Both ordinances are set for second reading at the Sept. 22 council meeting, according to the agenda packet.
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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.
