Council Advances Development Impact Fees to Fund Parks and Police as Woodruff Grows
At its March 29, 2022 meeting, Council unanimously gave first reading to a capital improvement plan with development impact fees, about $4,668 per new single-family home, for parks and police. It also advanced industrial rezonings on Highway 101 and a roughly 170-home Cavins Road annexation.
The Woodruff Times reported on April 1, 2022 on City Council's March 29 meeting.
Council unanimously approved first reading of a capital improvement plan with new development impact fees, which the Planning Commission had already approved. Developers of new homes and commercial buildings inside the city would pay a fee that helps fund expanded parks and recreation and police. City Manager Lee Bailey said the population could double or even triple within five years, and the city has to plan now to serve those residents. The proposed fees were $4,668 per single-family home and $2,970 per multi-family unit. Non-residential fees were set per 1,000 square feet, ranging from $1,514 for retail to $295 for industrial. Bailey said several other South Carolina cities already charge such fees, that Woodruff's would be affordable by comparison, and that he did not expect them to discourage development. A public hearing and second reading were expected in April.
Mayor Kenneth Gist opened the meeting by presenting a plaque to a Woodruff High sophomore who became the first girl to win a South Carolina state wrestling title.
Council discussed a request, denied by the Planning Commission, to remove a West Georgia Road property from the downtown revitalization district so it could host a used car dealership as part of a property swap tied to a possible downtown theater. The Commission had worried about setting a precedent. Bailey explained that all commercially zoned downtown property was included when the district was created. Council members Toni Sloan and Scott Dickard asked to look for a way to accommodate the project, and Council unanimously tabled the item for a month.
Council also gave first reading to rezone 291 acres near Highway 101 and S.J. Workman Highway, and 23.67 acres on Highway 101, from agricultural to industrial. It accepted a petition and gave first reading to annex 52.57 acres on Cavins Road, zoned R-2B cluster development, for about 170 homes near the leisure center.
A note from us: this is the outlet's account of the meeting, not official minutes. Read the original at The Woodruff Times.