Here’s a recap of Greenville County Council’s Nov. 15 meeting:
Approved: Road maintenance fee returned to $25
Council approved third and final reading of an ordinance returning the county’s road maintenance fee to $25, a move expected to generate an additional $6 million annually toward the upkeep of the 1,800 miles of roads in the county’s inventory.
The measure passed on a 7-5 vote with Council Chairman Willis Meadows joined by members Steve Shaw, Stan Tzouvelekas, Mike Barnes and Joe Dill voting against, citing reasons of inflation and a pending lawsuit for their opposition.
The S.C. Supreme Court struck down a $10 portion of the fee in 2021, but action by the state General Assembly this past summer clarifying the language authorizing such fees paved the way for that $10 portion to be reinstated.
The $25 fee is expected to raise about $14 million annually, and during discussions about the fee members who supported it said the county was in acute need of stable funding for road repairs. Of those in support, members Ennis Fant and Chris Harrison said it was an imperfect solution to the road funding problem.
Fant has raised the possibility of putting a referendum before voters to approve a local option sales tax dedicated to road funding. Such a penny sales tax increase could potentially raise as much as $90 million annually for roads.
Denied: Rezoning for proposed subdivision in Simpsonville
An ordinance to rezone 12.5 acres in Simpsonville along W. Georgia and Rocky Creek roads from “residential suburban” to “flexible review district” to accommodate a housing development failed on a 6-6 vote at second reading.
The rezoning application was made by Ford Elliott of Contender Development and has passed through several iterations before the current plan to build 61 attached single-family units.
While county development staff recommended approval, both the county planning commission and the council’s planning and development committee recommended denial. Like a number of other housing projects that were ultimately denied, this project generated public opposition centered on traffic concerns and inadequate road infrastructure in the area around the proposed development.
Before the split vote, Harrison said he understood the public’s concerns but felt the developer had made a good-faith effort to address those concerns. He added his vote to approve was an acknowledgment of that effort.
Harrison was joined in supporting the rezoning request by members Shaw, Liz Seman, Tzouvelekas, Lynn Ballard, and Butch Kirven. Meadows, Fant, Barnes, Dill, Xanthene Norris and Dan Tripp voted against.
