Kershaw County Council will take up first reading today of an ordinance increasing minimum lot sizes — regardless of zoning, structure type or number of lots involved — across the county from 15,000 square feet to .5 acre. The Kershaw County Planning Commission voted down a motion for a favorable recommendation during a special called meeting a week ago. The planning commission serves in an advisory capacity on such issues, with council having the final say.
During the April 16 meeting, planning commissioners voted 2-3 against a favorable recommendation to council to approve the proposed ordinance, with Vice Chair Libby Davis and Commissioner Clifton Emmons absent. The two commissioners voting in favor were Ned Towell and Lanny Gunter, while those voting against were Chairwoman Fiona Martin and commissioners Heather Dykes and Robert Horton.
The vote came after nine people expressed their support of the proposed lot-size increase, most of whom have spoken before either county council, Camden City Council, or the city’s planning commission about their objections to Camden Training Center (CTC) owner Stuart Grant’s proposed development of that property.
The 10th person to speak was one of Grant’s attorneys, Joe Benny, who essentially threatened the county with litigation if the lot size increase were passed.
“It’s not American, it’s not constitutional, and it’s not fair,” to try to force an increase in lot sizes ahead of Grant formally submitting a proposal for the property to the county.
County Planning and Zoning Director Joey Adams-Raczkowski confirmed for commissioners that Grant has yet to submit anything to the county regarding the CTC property.
Many of those speaking during public comment on April 16 said they want to see things like independent traffic and other studies for proposed developments prior to approval. Others added that wildlife and greenspace impacts need to be considered. Some talked about making sure that their children and grandchildren would be able to enjoy Camden and Kershaw County as it is today.
The bottom line for most, however, was that Grant’s plans for the CTC would, as Steven Sarafin put it, “is going to ruin our neighborhood. Tell your client that,” he told Benny.
The county planning commission normally meets on the second Monday of each month, which meant its previous regular meeting was April 8, the evening before the last Kershaw County Council meeting. Based on comments made by Horton and Dykes, the commission had already received the proposed text amendment at that meeting and discussed it at length, only to vote to table it until the special called meeting.
“Frankly, we were surprised to get this last week,” Horton said, and then asked Adams-Raczkowski how many subdivisions have been proposed since the 15,000-square-foot minimum requirement was passed last fall.
“Only one so far, and its in review now,” Adams-Raczkowski.
Horton questioned why the commission was receiving the half-acre text amendment so soon — just six months — after the 15,000-square-foot change. Dykes indicated she felt the same way.
“All of this is county council driven. We seem to be putting a Band-Aid on this. What are we trying to accomplish?” she asked, especially since the county is still working on changed to its comprehensive plan. “Where are the text amendments going to stop … it seems like we’re making it difficult for everyone, not just developers. I don’t like trying to tell people what to do.”
Martin then confirmed with Adams-Raczkowski that the proposed text amendment would affect all new structures in all zones, regardless of the number of lots involved or if they are residential or commercial lots.
Towell, on the other hand, said, “We need to tap the brakes” on growth, but also said the proposed text amendment would not be a “silver bullet,” and even went so far as to indicate the lot-size increase might be a temporary measure while the county continues working on the comprehensive plan, and zoning and land development regulations (ZLDR).
“Smart growth or responsible growth — what does that really mean. They need to be defined,” Towell said, and also warned about even more potential residential growth with the pending construction of the Scout Motors plant in Blythewood in northern Richland County. “I think it’s worthwhile to send a favorable recommendation to council.”
Gunter said the commission was facing a difficult decision.
“It’s not one size fits all. I agree we need to tap the brakes and I don’t like telling people what to do with their property,” he said, adding, however, that he was concerned about the impact large developments would have on services, schools and infrastructure.
Horton asked Towell if he was saying that he didn’t want any Scout employees to move into Kershaw County. That led to a bit of an argument between the two commissioners, with Towell saying he merely wanted the county to be prepared for the possible influx of new residents. Horton, meanwhile, said the problem the county has had is a lack of planning and placed the blame for that on its elected officials. He also said he felt the text amendment was not fair to the average county resident trying to build a home on a single lot.
“We have to make our decisions on facts, not emotion,” Horton said, adding that the county hasn’t really been “planning” since DuPont (now INVISTA) began scaling back more than a decade ago.
Dykes said she thinks the kinds of restriction the increased lot sizes would introduce would be better suited for planned development districts, or PDDs. She also said that while she has seen some developers scaling back and slowing down in recent months, she wondered if the market was out of reach for first-time home buyers.
“I have a 23-year-old son, and there’s no affordable housing for him,” Dykes said, “but I think we’re rushing and are feeling pressured.”
Horton received a bit of pushback from the packed council chamber in which the planning commission took place when he started talking about a development from around a year and a half ago in the Elgin area.
“We approved a development near the Love’s Travel Center at Exit 87 and there was no push back,” Horton said, adding that that he thought those on hand were only there because of one development.
“Noooo!” many members of the audience called out, and did so again when he suggested that maybe they were there for just two developments.
Apologizing for misconstruing their attendance, Horton said, “It’s been the wild west for development for the last 20 years,” before telling the audience that commission members “have to” make its recommendations to council based on whether or not a development proposal “checks all the boxes.”
Speaking last before calling for the vote, Martin asked again why there was a push now to make this particular text amendment. She also read out portions of an August 2023 policy brief by the Mercatus Center at George Mason University that mentioned that studies of the effects of minimum lot size requirements as far back as the 1950s to about 1970 showed that they “failed to achieve their purported objectives of preserving open spaces and protecting the character of the community and, in fact, were even counterproductive to those goals: they adversely affected housing affordability, they promoted automobile dependance, and their constitutionality — even under a rational basis standard of review — was open to question.”
According to another portion of the brief that Martin read, other studies, conducted in the 2010s, came to nearly the same conclusion as the earlier ones: large minimum lot sizes “hinder affordability, assist exclusionary objectives, encourage automobile dependency, and increase the rate at which land is consumed for housing.
With Mercatus brief at hand, Martin said that once the half-acre rule is put on the books, it would be “incredibly hard” to reverse. She mentioned a long-standing call for in-fill housing in downtown Camden and asked if the text amendment would be a hindrance.
“I think this is incredibly short-sighted; it’s about exclusivity,” Martin said.
And when Towell brought up the suggestion that alternatives should be discussed, she said that could not happen during the April 16 meeting because they were only allowed to consider the text amendment as presented. Martin suggested, however, that the commission could work with council on idea for the future.
She then called for the vote, creating the 2-3 result.
In an addition to the agenda, Martin led a brief discussion of whether or not to livestream planning commission meetings in the future, something that has not been done in the past. She said it would not only be helpful to the public, but to council so that they could see the discussion leading to the commission’s recommendations. That led to a unanimous vote to begin doing so with the commission’s next meeting.
Due to commissioners’ schedules, May’s meeting will take place on Tuesday, May 21 instead of its regular date of Monday, May 13.
Meanwhile, in other business at today’s Kershaw County Council meeting, members will:
• consider proclaiming April as Fair Housing Month and April 28 through May 5 as Stewardship Week;
• hold a public for and, later, consider third reading of an ordinance adopting the S.C. Asphalt Pavement Association’s road design standards;
• hear a presentation from Bob Giangorgi of KC Trails;
• hold a discussion of a Kershaw County Emergency Department emergency operations plan and then, later, consider first reading of an ordinance amending Chapter 12 of the county code related to emergency management to provide for the powers of the department and its director, set forth the powers and duties of council and the chair in times of emergency, and to set forth procedures for declaring states of emergency (including the imposition of curfews and coordination of emergency preparedness activities);
• consider third reading of an ordinance amending membership provisions for the Kershaw County Clean Community Commission (KCCCC);
• consider third readings of ordinances rezoning 116 and 120 Mill Creek Trace in Elgin from R-15 to RD-2, and 1147 Smyrna Road, also in Elgin, from MRD-1 to RD-2;
• consider first reading of the county’s Fiscal Year 2025 budget in title only;
• consider a bid for three new 20-cubic yard sludge dewatering boxes;
• consider appointments to the KCCCC and the county’s assessment appeals board;
• hear updates from County Administrator Danny Templar on the boat ramp, sewer system and Wood Park projects; and
• consider entering executive session to receive legal advice related to a potential claim.
Today’s meeting will begin at 6 p.m. at the Kershaw County Government Center, 515 Walnut St. in Camden, and is open to the public. The meeting is livestreamed on the county’s official YouTube channel.
