Here’s a recap of the Sept. 14 meeting of Greenville City Council.
Final approval: Annexation applications
City Council approved the final reading of seven annexation applications, including one for 135 acres along Woodruff Road and Interstate 385 – the largest single annexation into the city to date. Approximately 87.5 acres of real property and 47.6 acres of right-of-way will be annexed into the city limits.
The annexation area contains 19 commercial parcels, including the 60-acre Merovan Business Center, Sam’s Club and other businesses. The properties will be zoned Business General District (BG), Business Heavy District (BH) and Industrial Flex District (IX).
The other annexation applications include:
- 6.28 acres on Augusta Road, Traynham Place, Cashel Place, Carson Place and Caston Lane, with the city zoning of Community 3 (RC-3), Park (PK) and Mixed-Use 3 District (MX-3)
- 1.56 acres of land at 111 A St., 924 and 926 2nd Ave., 12 Lyncrest St., 115 3rd St., 104 B St. and 23 4th St., with the city zoning of Neighborhood A District (RN-A)
- 0.66 acres of land at 200 and 202 Minus St., with the city zoning of RN-A
- 0.20 acres of land at 41 E. 5th St., with the city zoning of RN-A
- 0.16 acres of land at 101 Mason St., with the city zoning of RN-A
- 0.11 acres of land at 22 Draper St., with the city zoning of Neighborhood Flex C District (RNX-C)
Initial approval: Stormwater variance for trail work
City Council gave initial approval to a stormwater variance for the planned rehabilitation of the Prisma Health Swamp Rabbit Trail between River Street and Hudson Street near Unity Park. The city’s Planning Commission recommended approval of this item in early September.
The rehabilitation project will widen the high-traffic trail to 16 feet and create two dedicated 8-foot lanes for pedestrian and bicycle users. These improvements aim to reduce congestion and conflicts on the trail. The city is also considering adding lighting along the trail and a raised crosswalk at Westfield Street.
A stormwater variance is required in order to widen the trail. According to the city, the proposed encroachment into the regulatory floodway of the Reedy River would not result in increased floor levels during base flood discharge. This was demonstrated through hydrologic and hydraulic analyses completed in accordance with standard engineering practices.
Initial approval: Funding for Richland Creek Greenway
The city of Greenville plans to complete a flood mitigation planning project for Richland Creek. The project will consist of evaluating existing and future flood risks of the creek and developing corresponding mitigation strategies.
The city’s Engineering Services Department was awarded a $375,800 grant from the South Carolina Office of Resilience for the Richland Creek Greenway Planning and Design Project. The funding comes from the Hurricane Helene Community Development Block Grant-Disaster Recovery Mitigation Set-Aside funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
A resolution was approved by City Council authorizing an agreement between the city and SCOR to use the CDBG-DR mitigation funds for the project. The city will contribute $104,200 to the project, including a $19,900 grant from the Duke Energy Foundation and $84,300 from its Stormwater Enterprise Fund. City Council gave initial approval to appropriate $480,000 for the project.
Final approval: $8.27M for utility undergrounding
City Council gave final approval to appropriate $8.27 million for the first phase of utility undergrounding along Augusta Street. Phase one will bury overhead power and communication lines from Lupo Street to Melville Avenue. Construction for the estimated $8.3 million project is expected to begin in October.
The South Carolina General Assembly contributed $5.8 million to the utility undergrounding project in the fiscal year 2023-25 budget. Duke Energy will provide an estimated $2 million to the project. Approximately $1.16 million will also be appropriated from the city’s utility underground fund for the project.
Update: Parks master plan
City Council received an update on the development of the city’s first master plan for parks, recreation and tourism during its work session on Monday. The planning document will outline priorities, goals and strategies for enhancing the city’s parks, trails, recreation facilities, programming and events over the next 10 years.
Developing the Parks, Recreation and Tourism Master Plan began in the summer of 2025. Massachusetts-based Agency Landscape + Planning serves as the project’s consultant. Public feedback was collected through pop-up events, shareholder conversations, public meetings and an online survey.
City staff will soon have a final workshop with the project’s consultants to fine-tune the master plan’s goals and action-step recommendations. The master plan is scheduled to be presented to City Council at its Nov. 9 work session. This item would then go before City Council for final approval in December.
Discussion: Short-term rentals
City Council discussed whether to revisit Greenville’s restrictions on short-term rentals within the Greenville Development Code. The code currently does not allow lodging or short-term rentals in house scale (RH) and neighborhood scale (RN) zoning districts. However, these are allowed by right in mixed-use districts (MX).
Michael Frixen, the city’s deputy director of planning, presented a potential code update that would allow short-term rentals in all zoning districts under a conditional use permit. Restrictions included limiting permits for owner-occupied dwellings, restricting occupancy, creating a spacing requirement, capping the number of permits in residential districts and more.
Councilmembers Lillian Brock Flemming and Ken Gibson raised concerns about neighborhood impact, housing affordability and the enforceability of the permits. Greenville City Manager Shannon Lavrin noted that the city’s Planning Department would need additional staff to help regulate short-term rentals.
If City Council decides to move forward with this item, staff would prepare a draft amendment to the Greenville Development Code. The proposal would be presented at a project preview meeting before going to the city’s Planning Commission and finally to City Council.
Presentation: Greenville Police Department
City Council reviewed updated crime statistics from the Greenville Police Department at its work session. Chief Howie Thompson said the city has seen a 16.6% decline in total part one crimes year to date.
Violent crime such as murder, assault, and robbery decreased by 1% from 195 offenses in 2025 to 193 in 2026. The department reports that property crime, including burglary, theft and shoplifting, was also down from 1,282 offenses in 2025 to 1,039 in 2026 – a 19% decrease year to date.
Additional Items
- City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance approving deed restrictive covenants on parcels of land in Cleveland Park. The covenants limit the use of the properties to park purposes only and comply with restrictions mandated by the U.S. Department of Interior.
- Final approval was given for appropriating $38,098 in grant funding to replace the Greenville Police Department’s handheld narcotics analyzer and essential accessories. The funding was awarded to the department through the FY2025 Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program.
- City Council approved renaming the event space within the Phillips Family Farm at the Greenville Zoo from AM-PM Farms Overlook to Moore Family Overlook.
- City Council gave final approval to abandon a portion of Spartanburg Street between East Stone Avenue and North Church Street. AP Hold Investments LLC plans to complete improvements to the site, which currently functions as a parking lot for a barber shop.
- Initial approval was given to the rezoning of approximately 2.84 acres at 3030 Augusta St. and 109 Old Augusta Road. The parcels are proposed to be rezoned from House C (RH-C) and Mixed-Use 2 District (MX-2) to Civic District (CV).
- City Council approved the first reading of a rezoning application for 0.19 acres at 811 Pendleton St. The two parcels are proposed to be rezoned from Neighborhood B District (RN-B) to Neighborhood Flex B District (RNX-B)
- First reading was approved for a rezoning application for approximately 0.46 acres at 300 Birnie St. The parcel is proposed to be rezoned from Community 2 District (RC-2) to CV
- City Council approved two separate resolutions updating the requirements and duties of the city’s Poet Laureate and Youth Poet Laureate.
- City Council approved the amended bylaws for The Greenville Housing Authority. The agency’s board of commissioners made the amendments in 2024 and 2025 regarding its annual meeting.
