Zoning in Spartanburg County

[Spartan]

Does anyone understand what exactly is happening with the Zoning ordinance?

They keep talking about these "business design standards" as though its something real. Everything the County is trying to do can be done with a standard zoning ordinance. I'm a bit concerned that Spartanburg will go the way of Houston, TX if they don't adopt this thing soon (Houston is the largest city in America without zoning, and they have more sprawl issues than most places). Zoning, short of adopting form-based code, is the best way to protect everyone's land values across the board. By only regulating businesses, very little is accomplished.

HJ Article

[Spartan]

This is infuriating. The county council has delayed the adoption of these so-called "design standards" because they are too strict. Give me a break!! The Home Builder's Association is against them unless they can be paired down to apply only to the Dollar General on Country Club Road. It's a damn shame that so many of our County Councilmen have a conflict of interest since they are in the real estate industry. It's also a shame that these developers can't grasp how easy they have it, bulldozing our county one subdivision at a time.

The President of the Chamber of Commerce said this: "Cordeau acknowledged that the term "zoning" can mean different things to different people and said, when asked about a basic, bare-bones form of zoning, "We're not there, yet." Part of that is because of deeply rooted philosophical beliefs, he said."

What deep rooted philosophical beliefs prevent your support of zoning? Anyone care to share?

Herald-Journal

[Spartan]

So, Greenville, Columbia, and Charleston have it completely wrong folks. According to Spartanburg developers, applying rules that will require aesthetic improvements to new buildings will scare away business. We should allow Spartanburg to turn into Highway 9 just so we don't scare away a few businesses.

I'm being facetious of course. By requiring more aesthetic improvements we will improve the look and feel of our county and thus improve land values. This will in turn make more people want to move here because its such an attractive place. Nobody wants to live in a place that looks like crap. Don't believe me? Check out which cities in this state and any other that are successful, and then look at their land use requirements. Show me one that isn't attractive that is also a desirable place to live.

HJ Article

[Sparkleman]

There is a reason when new folks are brought into town they are brought in on 176 instead of Asheville Hwy. We in the "SC" are always getting the short end of the stick. Who in there right mind could actually claim that Spartanburg is more attractive than Greenville, Columbia, or Charleston? The reason they are attractive is developers have to follow a code. Here it seems its still the wild, wild west.

[Spartan]

The sub-quality design standards are probably going to be passed by council tonight.

The major hold up appears to have been the sign ordinance issues. The people of Spartanburg County want the signs to NOT look like crap (ie: Asheville Hwy and Highway 9 in Boiling Springs), but the developers do. Here's a lesson Spartanburg has learned that for some reason some people do not get- when you have no standards or low standards, you get crappy looking buildings. When you have high standards, you get better looking buildings. More attractive buildings will play a role in making more people want to live here (among other things, or course).

So instead of getting more "monument" signs that look like Pine Street Crossing (at the Food Lion on N Pine) or Dorman Center, we will continue to get the crap that is going on in Highway 9.

I will also add that though I think this is a weak attempt at a larger goal, it is generally a step in the right direction. There are some positive merits to this ordinance in that there are at least SOME standards being adopted.

HJ Article

[Spartan]

The new regulations were passed. Baby steps.

What gets me is that the rules are based on distances of 250 ft and 500 ft for specific circumstances. 500 feet is nothing. That means the one random instance where a Dollar General moves in to a wealthy part of town, we can guarantee that it won't look crappy on 1 side.

What's worse, they do not encompass what are considered standard land use planning practices like encouraging the integration of land uses (not "buffering" or separating them) and encouraging non-motorized trips.

I don't think this will be effective in changing the way Spartanburg County is being razed by developers who want it to look like crap so they can make a buck. Raising the standards can only increase the quality of life and thus the amount of money that can be made through development.

HJ Article

[roads-scholar]

The new regulations were passed. Baby steps.

What gets me is that the rules are based on distances of 250 ft and 500 ft for specific circumstances. 500 feet is nothing. That means the one random instance where a Dollar General moves in to a wealthy part of town, we can guarantee that it won't look crappy on 1 side.

What's worse, they do not encompass what are considered standard land use planning practices like encouraging the integration of land uses (not "buffering" or separating them) and encouraging non-motorized trips.

I don't think this will be effective in changing the way Spartanburg County is being razed by developers who want it to look like crap so they can make a buck. Raising the standards can only increase the quality of life and thus the amount of money that can be made through development.

HJ Article

I'm hoping this is just the beginning of smart growth practices in Spartanburg County. The article did allude to this. The Dollar General issue did galvanize some folks.

Let's see what happens next.

[Spartan]

This is a perfect example of how if Spartanburg County had zoning, they wouldn't need to go through this exercise of developing rules to keep out one "undesirable" business.

http://www.goupstate.com/article/20111219/ARTICLES/112201005/0/news06