Can you have too many new businesses? For some in Lake Wylie, sites matter
Depending on who’s talking, Lake Wylie is either becoming a miles-long drive-thru lane of car washes and storage sites or an anti-business spot that doesn’t respect property rights. And there are plenty of people talking.
A relatively simple zoning rule change sparked about four hours of back-and-forth discussion this week as scores of residents lined up to address York County Council. Eventually the proposed change was pushed back for more debate.
So what’s all the fuss about? And more importantly, will anything change?
Lake Wylie limits some business
In early 2022, a new set of county zoning rules included updates for a Lake Wylie area that runs from Buster Boyd Bridge west along S.C. 49 to the Three Points intersection with S.C. 274 and 557, then south past the Five Points area where Lake Wylie Road and S.C. 55 join.
Changes came amid community push-back to the types of business popping up there.
The existing rule requires a distance of 660 feet between any of the following business types: self-storage, gas stations, restaurants, food sites with drive-thru or drive-in service, car wash, car detail and vehicle service, repair or customization. Those sites have to be that far from any other listed land use.
The issue is bigger than what happens to any one land parcel, said Councilwoman Allison Love. “It’s the issue of having multiple of all of these uses,” she said. “That’s the problem.”
Now changes are being considered.
They would specify that the distance rule applies only to a new land use, and puts a distance requirement on it from any other property of the same use. So, for instance, a new gas station only would have to be separated from the next nearest gas station. The proposed change also increases the requirement from 660 to 1,000 feet.
Another change would eliminate the separation rule when a new use is on the same lot or an adjacent lot sharing access to a property it otherwise would have to avoid.
Many properties along S.C. 49 — think any gas station with an attached car wash — don’t meet current rules. They’re allowed to stay in business because they were operating at the time the rules took effect, but in most cases can’t expand, said county planning and development services director Jonathan Buono.
Some Lake Wylie residents want to limit business types
Eric Carpenter lives on Branch Hill Lane. “Within one mile of my home there are four storage facilities, three car washes, three gas stations, six auto parts (or) oil change businesses, eight fast food restaurants with drive-thru windows and 15 restaurants,” Carpenter told the council.
The community has plenty of those types of businesses, and he doesn’t want the two-year-old rule reconsidered.
Margaret Blackwell has been in Lake Wylie more than two decades. The almost 30 businesses within four miles of each other fit into the listed land uses are part of the county’s inattention to Lake Wylie growth, she said.
“For many years all of those concerns fell on deaf ears,” Blackwell said. “I watched development after development approved, and none of them met the specifications of what Lake Wylie residents said we wanted in our community.”
Caleb Standafar doesn’t see community gathering spots through all the similar businesses. “We need to make room for that,” he said. “Don’t crowd it out with these other businesses we have enough of.”
Several residents talked about the overall feel that so many storage sites, gas station and other repeat businesses create. “The number and frequency at which they’re popping up gives Lake Wylie the feel of an extended strip mall,” said resident Steve Salata. “More and more it’s like a place you pass through on the way to somewhere else.”
Concerns over property rights
John Gossett likens the “disaster” of traffic and crowding along S.C. 49 to a beehive. Yet rules limiting business stomp on property rights and are clear government overreach that should concern the community, he said.
Gossett worries about a planned restaurant or the Harris Teeter that’s been in discussion for a decade in his area that new rules might deter or rule out.
For many people, property is their retirement fund and the county shouldn’t limit its value, he said. Residents in Lake Wylie want the lower taxes from being unincorporated but want to use the county as an unofficial town hall to make property decisions, he said.
Jackie Helline lives off Concord Road and has property between Lake Wylie and Rock Hill. She isn’t for more oil change places. “What I am for is choices and convenience,” Helline said.
Along with property rights, limiting the ability for like businesses to be near one another pushes them closer to homes, she said.
Jeff Ledford, board chairman of the Lake Wylie Chamber of Commerce, wants not just the proposed revision but the rule from two years ago reconsidered. It makes sense for businesses to be clustered, he said. The change two years ago were slipped into a more than 600-page document, he said.
“This has resulted in the county council taking away property owner rights with no notice or voice,” Ledford said.
‘Heart of Lake Wylie’ to grow
Lake Wylie has two distinct areas. The S.C. 49 corridor from Buster Boyd to Three Points is almost entirely built out Distance requirements there largely impact existing businesses that may want to expand someday.
The area from Three Points to Five Points has much more open space. Yet a decades-old county land development agreement will allow for new homes and business.
It’s where Love and others expect that Harris Teeter to go. The Clover School District has ongoing plans to put a high school and elementary school there.
“That is the hub,” Love said of Five Points. “That will be the heart of Lake Wylie.”
The Lake Wylie area rules can largely determine if that new growth resembles S.C. 49. “We’re going to create another one right there at Five Points, unless we’re smart,” Love said. “That is our blank slate.”
Council opted to hold off on the proposed rule change and send the issue back to its planning commission for review.
