By: Jeremy Handel, Staff Writer
Woodruff moved a step closer to establishing a capital improvement plan, including new development impact fees, with approval of the first reading at the March 29 City Council meeting. The new plan and fees would collect a fee on all new development to help fund the expansion of city services.
Following approval of the plan and fees by the Woodruff Planning Commission, council members were presented with the plan for consideration. The new fee would be charged to the developer of all new homes and commercial structures in the city limits. Proceeds from the fees would be used to expand parks and recreation facilities and the police department.
“The city is rapidly growing, and the population is set to double or even triple in the next five years,” City Manager Lee Bailey told the council. “The question we have to answer is how do we continue to provide services for all those new residents.”
According to Baily, the fee per new single-family home would be $4,668; multifamily properties would be $2,970 per unit, and non-residential would be charged per 1,000 square feet and range from $1,514 per square foot for retail space to $295 for industrial space.
Bailey reinforced the importance of planning ahead to ensure the city is able to provide services for the expected growth. He told the council that several other cities in South Carolina already charge such fees and that Woodruff’s would be quite affordable by comparison. He doesn’t expect it to have a negative impact on developers bringing more projects to the city.
The council approved the first reading unanimously. The public hearing and second reading is expected to take place at the April meeting.
In other business, the council opened its March meeting by recognizing Woodruff High School sophomore wrestler June Welch. Welch became the first female to win a state wrestling title in the state of South Carolina. Mayor Kenneth Gist presented Welch with a plaque commemorating her accomplishment.
The council also discussed an item requesting the removal of a property from the city’s revitalization district for the operation of a used car dealership. The request, which was denied by the Planning Commission, sought to remove property on West Georgia Road from the district to accommodate a property swap.
The swap would involve the owner of Hometown Pawn on Main Street moving the building owned by downtown businessman Ben Harrison and moving the pawnshop to the property just west of the railroad tracks on Georgia Road. Harrison told the Planning Commission that he intended to then look at developing the current pawn shop building into a theater.
The Planning Commission previously denied the request as they didn’t want to set a precedent for properties to be able to remove themselves from the district to accommodate businesses that aren’t allowed within the district.
Council members questioned why the property on Georgia Road had been included in the revitalization district as it’s one of only two properties west of the railroad tracks – both owned by the Harrison family – to be included. Baily explained that when the revitalization district was established, all properties with commercial zoning in the downtown area were included in the district.
Council members Toni Sloan and Scott Dickard expressed interest in looking into a way to accommodate the proposed development. Sloan moved to table the item for another month to look into potential options. Dickard seconded, and the tabling passed unanimously.
In other business, the council:
Approved the first reading to rezone 291 acres near Highway 101 and SJ Workman from agricultural to industrial
Approved the first reading to rezone 23.67 acres on Highway 101 from agricultural to industrial
Accepted the petition and approved the first reading to annex 52.57 acres on Cavins Road and approved the first reading to zone the property as R-2B cluster development for the development of approximately 170 homes near the leisure center.
Woodruff City Council meetings take place on the last Tuesday of the month at 5:30 p.m. at Woodruff City Hall. The meetings are open to the public. The next meeting will be on Tuesday, April 26.
Author: Tracy Sanders
