York County Council Defers Split Zoning Rewrite and Approves $1,055,000 York Conservation Deal

During a meeting that ran past 11 p.m., including nearly two hours in executive session at the York County government headquarters on Monday night, the county council postponed the second reading of its mixed-use zoning ordinance, approved $1,055,000 in spending for farmland preservation in the City of York, and authorized the state to study the development of a public shooting range at Worth Mountain Park.

The council also held a first reading on a zoning amendment to allow commercial and service activities in general commercial and industrial zones, rezoned 367 parcels across four townhouse developments in Fort Mill, initiated the process for a potential school impact fee for the York School District, established a pilot agricultural advisory committee, and authorized two economic development grant applications linked to the creation of 129 total jobs. Residents used the public comment period to question the council about Silfab Solar’s ​​operations on Logistics Lane and to urge that the agricultural sector be considered in the county’s land-use decisions. The meeting concluded with the referral of special event regulations to the Justice and Public Safety Committee and a decision to hold a workshop on economic development incentives and school tax revenues.

Oath, recognitions and a conservation pitch

Christopher Stephenson was sworn in to the York County Natural Gas Board by County Attorney Laura Dover.

Sheriff Tony Breeden and council recognized James Lingerfelt on his retirement after 25 years in the York County Detention Center. Breeden said very few officers complete a full career in detention, and a second speaker from the sheriff’s office said Lingerfelt had discussed returning as a volunteer working with the inmate population.

Emergency Management Director Chuck Haynes appeared with his staff and with emergency managers from the Catawba Indian Nation and the city of Rock Hill to mark the county’s first observance of Emergency Management Awareness Month. Council adopted the proclamation on the consent agenda.

Pierre Langevin, chairman of the York County Forever Commission, told council the commission was created 28 years ago to the day and has completed 41 conservation projects covering more than 12,000 acres. He said the commission is funding an update to the 1992 York County historical and architectural inventory and asked council to consider how other counties fund conservation and to build conservation into the county’s conversations with companies it recruits.

Public forum

Three speakers addressed the Silfab Solar dispute. They said a July 21 final order and judgment from Judge McKinnon found that solar cell manufacturing is not a permitted use on Logistics Lane, and they asked council to enforce the order and revoke the certificate of occupancy. Speakers cited school evacuations in March, the presence of potassium hydroxide and hydrofluoric acid within a mile of a dozen schools and daycares, and impact studies the residents commissioned through public health experts at the University of South Carolina and a blast expert at the University of North Carolina. One speaker said residents had pursued the question through the Board of Zoning Appeals and the courts and that the county should now follow the ruling.

Chairwoman Christi Cox said the volume of litigation limits what the county can say and directed residents to the county’s Silfab information page online.

Three more speakers, including a farmer whose family has worked the same York County land since 1718, asked council to create an agricultural advisory board. One speaker said the county has more than 983 farms covering 105,000 acres and recorded $127 million in product sales in the last census, and that more than 2,000 students were enrolled in agriculture courses across the county’s four school districts in 2025-26. Another said the board should function as a planning resource that reviews proposed zoning and land use changes for their effect on farming before development occurs.

Consent agenda

Council approved the 50-item consent agenda as amended by voice vote. Three items were pulled at council members’ request and moved to new business: item 12 on manufactured home replacement, item 16 on the Bullocks Creek Volunteer Fire Department building addition, and item 20 on the McCullough subdivision roads. A council member asked that the record reflect that item 46, a $156,407 conservation easement expenditure on 129 acres along Whitworth Road in the Bethany community, falls in District 3 rather than District 2 as printed. Cox called it a typographical error that does not affect the item.

The consent agenda also carried second readings on two rezonings and on an ordinance making manufactured homes a conditional use in the RSF-40 district, a $29,551,810 construction manager at risk agreement with M.B. Kahn Construction for the Moss Justice Center booking and renovation project, a $90,260 conservation easement expenditure on 300 acres along West McConnells Highway, and the purchase of a $1,095,750 rescue pumper for the Oakdale Fire Department.

Split zoning ordinance deferred

The first public hearing item, a second reading amending the zoning code and land development code to govern split zoned parcels by the district covering the greatest area and to allow combinations of split zoned residential lots, drew nearly an hour of questions before council voted to defer.

Planning and Development Services Director Jonathan Buono told council the amendment has two parts. The first applies a plurality rule for the purposes of new development on a single parcel when all districts on that parcel are residential. The second removes the current prohibition on creating a new split zoned parcel when property is combined or recombined. He said the change is voluntary, does not amend the zoning map and does not change how any owner may use property today.

Buono said 1,144 parcels in the county are currently split zoned, roughly three quarters of them residential. Council members questioned whether the ordinance solves the problem that prompted it, described as two property owners who cannot record a plat or complete a sale because their parcels carry two districts. Several said they would rather handle those cases through council initiated rezonings. One member raised density, arguing the ordinance should default to the less dense district rather than the larger portion. Another said the ordinance is too broad and does not preserve enough opportunity for public input.

County Manager Josh Edwards said the amendment came out of multiple Planning and Zoning Committee meetings and reflects council’s direction to reduce the number of routine rezonings coming before the body. Assistant County Manager Thomas Couch said staff compared approaches used in other counties and found the greatest portion approach the most common, though most jurisdictions are silent on split zoning because they have far fewer such parcels.

No one signed up to speak for or against during the public hearing. Council voted to close the hearing, then voted to defer second reading to its next meeting, with staff asked to simplify the ordinance language and bring back three or four worked examples.

Use table amendment gets first reading

Council approved first reading of an ordinance adding trade services as a permitted use in the general commercial district and adding building material and supply stores, farm and garden supply with equipment sales and service, vehicle service, repair and customization without overnight outdoor storage, and parking areas as permitted uses in the industrial district. Motor vehicle, recreational vehicle or boat storage is added as a conditional use in the industrial district.

A resident of Vanderlakes Drive in York spoke against the item, saying she was concerned the two zoning ordinances on the agenda would strip residents of notice and public hearings and asked who benefits from them. Staff said the uses being added are already permitted in less intensive districts and are currently blank in the industrial column of the use table, meaning an owner’s only option today is to seek a rezoning. Cox said the amendment removes no public hearing. The motion passed by voice vote.

Townhome rezoning approved

Council approved first reading of case 26-15, a council initiated rezoning of 367 parcels in the Ashe Downs, Cole Creek, Pikeview Place and Town Square communities in the Fort Mill area from RMX-10, RMX-20, GC, UD and PD to RMX-6. Staff said RMX-6, created in the 2022 recode, is the only district that allows townhomes, and that the rezoning removes the communities’ nonconforming status without changing how the properties are used. Certified letters went to all owners. The Planning Commission recommended approval 5-0, and the council vote was unanimous with no public comment.

A fourth public hearing item, case 26-19, a request to rezone 95.8 acres at 1696 Lawrence Road in Clover from AGC to RUD for 60 single family homes, was withdrawn by the applicant. Council opened and closed the hearing, no one spoke, and no action was taken.

York School District impact fee study

Council unanimously adopted a resolution directing the Planning Commission to conduct the studies required under the South Carolina Development Impact Fee Act for a possible K-12 impact fee within the York School District, and to recommend a capital improvements plan and a resulting ordinance. Edwards said the district requested the study and that the resolution is the first step. Councilman Andy Litten said he hoped the county was not wasting the district’s time.

Worth Mountain shooting range

Council authorized the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources to begin due diligence on a public shooting range at Worth Mountain Park inside the existing wildlife management area. An agency representative said the proposal includes a 100-yard rifle range, a 25-yard pistol range, two skeet and trap fields and a five stand, and that the skeet and trap fields would give schools competing in the state’s scholastic clay program a place to practice.

The agency said federal grant rules bar it from generating program income, so the rifle and pistol ranges would be free and a nominal fee for clays would offset operations and maintenance. A range safety officer would be on site during open hours, and the state would need a lease of at least 20 years to qualify for the grant. Parks and Recreation Director Katherine Jones said a lease agreement will return to council after environmental compliance and site work, and that residents with questions can start with her office. Staff said the roughly 200 acres of equestrian trails at Worth Mountain will not be affected. The motion carried.

$1,055,000 conservation expenditure passes 6-1

Council voted 6-1 to authorize an additional $1,055,000 in York County Forever Commission funds to the Nation Ford Land Trust to purchase development rights on about 120 acres along Kings Mountain Street in York, project 25-03. The money is contingent on the closing of the sale from the Episcopal Church to the Yorkville Agricultural and Education Society and on the conservation easement being recorded at the same time.

The dissenting member said he supports the project but not the price, noting the applicants already had $4 million for the purchase, that 80 acres were already headed into an easement, and that a $39,000 easement allocation was approved for the property at a July 2025 commission meeting. He said the commission protected 6,866 acres through easements between 2015 and 2024 at a cost of $827,000, and pointed to 550 acres for sale next to Worth Mountain for $2.5 million.

Cox said conservation is the only tool the county has to preserve farmland without taking property rights, and noted the commission receives a quarter mill, about $492,500 this year, against roughly eight or nine mills for the library. Staff said the commission had an estimated $2.3 million fund balance during budget development. Cox called for a joint meeting between council and the commission to build a countywide conservation plan.

Fee in lieu of taxes items

Council gave first reading by title only to an ordinance amending the fee in lieu of taxes agreement with BAC/Calare Rock Hill LLC and Pallidus Inc., updating the assessment ratio from 4% to 6% and removing Pallidus as a party after the company decided not to move forward.

Council adopted a resolution amending the fee agreement with Pratt (Rock Hill Corrugating) LLC and SP Rock Hill Legacy East #2 LLC. Economic Development Director Mitch Miller said the October 2025 agreement is being clarified so that Pratt is the party responsible for reporting job creation and investment, with minor changes to the property description, and that investment and job commitments are unchanged. Miller said the project is progressing well.

Council also adopted a resolution assigning the fee agreement from SL8 Industrial Acquisition LP to SL8 Class A Industrial LP. Miller said the 2016 agreement covered a speculative building with an investment requirement of $7.68 million and no job commitment, and that the investment has been met. Both resolutions passed by voice vote.

Two grant applications

Council authorized staff to apply for and accept a South Carolina Coordinating Council economic set-aside grant, C-26-4230, for Project Blue Mako, a $22.6 million reuse of an existing industrial facility in Rock Hill expected to create 59 jobs. Council also authorized an application for grant C-26-4219 for Project Bolt, a $33.9 million project expected to create 70 jobs off State View Boulevard in Fort Mill. Each company is seeking $200,000, and no local match is required.

Miller said Project Bolt would do assembly and light manufacturing of electrical components for charging stations, with an average wage of $35.67 an hour, and that the only chemicals on site would be cleaning products. He said the county acts only as the pass through agency and that neither item involves county incentives. Company names will not become public until the companies announce, and Miller said both are also considering North Carolina sites.

Councilman William “Bump” Roddey said he wanted the record to show that the presence of hazardous chemicals should not by itself disqualify a company, since protocols and safety data sheets exist to manage them. Both motions carried.

Ad hoc agriculture committee created

Council voted to create an ad hoc agriculture committee as a pilot that sunsets in December 2027 absent further action. Cox said the charge includes advising council on agricultural matters, reviewing ordinances referred by council or the planning department, promoting agribusiness and agritourism, and serving as an educational resource, with membership drawn from the forestry commission, Farm Bureau, beekeepers, soil and water conservation, micro farming, urban farming and agritourism interests and spread geographically across the county. She said the group that requested the committee recommended the membership.

Litten questioned whether the committee duplicates work already done by Farm Bureau and soil and water conservation and asked what other industries would then ask for their own committees. Roddey said his experience with ad hoc committees is that they work best with a narrow charge and said he was uneasy about the group advising on zoning, though he did not oppose forming it. Another member, who co-chaired a previous agritourism committee, said a group like this could bridge aging landowners and the 2,000 students studying agriculture, and floated certified York County farmers markets around the county. Adkins said the county is down to two dairy farms and that cotton acreage is fading. The motion carried.

Pulled consent items

Council approved second reading of the ordinance allowing a nonconforming manufactured home to be replaced with a larger unit if other requirements are met. Cox said she supports the change and asked staff, before third reading, to look at whether a provision specific to manufactured homes causes an owner to lose replacement rights after six months, and to revisit a case in which a resident who served 30 years in the military was blocked from replacing a manufactured home over a road issue.

Council deferred the $102,000 award to Salem Builders of York for the Bullocks Creek Volunteer Fire Department building addition to its first meeting in September. A member noted the county does not own the building and the deed has not transferred. Staff said the bid pricing, which predates budget adoption, has been extended, giving the county time to develop a policy on capital spending at volunteer departments and to work through the deed with the county attorney.

Council accepted the roads in the McCullough subdivision over one dissent. Litten said the county is already underfunding the roads it has and should not keep taking in subdivision streets. Staff said the roads meet county standards, that the repairs referenced in the packet reflected the developer packaging all seven phases at once rather than structural problems, and that a one-year warranty applies. The county attorney read section 154.376, which says a developer may not deed a private road to the county without council approval and compliance with the requirements of that part. Cox said she would support the motion given past practice but asked that subdivision road acceptance be added to the Transportation Committee agenda, noting Lancaster County no longer accepts subdivision roads.

Committee reports

Roddey reported that the Public Works Committee met July 8 and received another update on the animal shelter, covering site selection, holding costs within budget and materials, and that another meeting is expected before Sept. 14.

Audette reported that the Finance and Operations Committee met at 5:30 p.m. Monday and approved appointments to the Lake Wylie Marine Commission, the Rock Hill/York County Airport Commission and Keep York County Beautiful, along with district allocations to a District 6 mentoring group, a Boy Scout troop and three projects from a historic preservation foundation.

Non-agenda comments

Adkins asked that regulation and code placement of special events be referred to the Justice and Public Safety Committee. Edwards, Couch and Assistant County Manager David Garner said the approval process sits in the zoning code and runs through the Board of Zoning Appeals today, and that most special event impacts are public safety impacts better handled through a standalone ordinance and administrative approval. Cox confirmed the referral covers special events, not event centers, and that the resulting ordinance change would come back to full council without returning to the Planning and Zoning Committee. Adkins also announced the York County fall livestock show for Sept. 11 and 12 in York.

Roddey asked council to discuss a resolution or policy limiting the percentage of school district revenue used in future fee in lieu of taxes agreements, and to meet with the four superintendents. He said the standard 50% share may have worked 10 or 15 years ago and that every district except Rock Hill has since sought an impact fee. Another member said fee income is concentrated in the Rock Hill district while Fort Mill, Clover and York schools house the families of workers commuting to those jobs, and suggested rethinking distribution.

Cox said economic development incentives and the economic development fund are already slated for the first council workshop and asked members to send availability so the workshop can be held before the next council meeting, which falls on a holiday. A member asked that the Silfab ruling be added to the workshop agenda.

Another member asked that a presentation from the Tobacco-Free York County Coalition on teen vaping be referred to the Health and Environmental Committee. Cox said the request appears to seek a zoning buffer around schools and asked for a more specific charge before assigning a committee, suggesting the speaker return under citizen concerns in the meantime.

Council entered executive session for litigation updates and contractual and personnel matters involving the county manager and county attorney. Cox said no action was taken, and council adjourned.

York County Council next meets Sept. 8 at 6 p.m. at the York County Government Center, 6 South Congress St., York, when the deferred split zoning ordinance is scheduled to return for second reading.