Council Oks Midway Subdivision, Nixes Rezoning for Women's Home

Anderson County Council on Tuesday night rejected a request, tabled from earlier this year, to rezone a portion of property at 1226 Massey Road near Pendleton for use as a crisis pregnancy home. The issue attracted nearly 100 local residents to the council meeting to voice support/opposition to the plan at the earlier meeting. 

Local residents who live in the area, spoke out against the rezoning to allow for the residential St. Clare's Home crisis pregnancy center proposed by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charleston, which sought to rezone the parcel as part of the 100 acre-tract of land. 

Also on Tuesday night, council: 

Gave final approval to a new subdivision at the corner of Midway and Crestview roads.The new 74.6-acre subdivision would bring between 170-180 single-family houses to the property. The project, which would be built by Falcon Real Estate Development, would also set aside 25 acres of the property as green space, which would include a trail, a dog run and playground area. Two entrances to the tentatively titled “Spencer Trails” subdivision, one on Crestview, one on Midway would also be included. Details on the project here. 

Gave final approval tax incentives for Element Materials Technology (Element), a leader in materials and product qualification testing. The company’s $3.4 million investment is projected to create 31 new jobs, with an average salary of $23.81 per hour, and an annual payroll of $1.2 million. Located at 1370 Shiloh Church Road in Piedmont, S.C., the company’s new, 30,000-square-foot facility is projected to come online in December 2018. Hiring for the new positions has already begun, and interested applicants can visit www.element.com/careers for more information.

Gave final approval a tax-incentive agreement to work with the City of Anderson to help develop unused buildings in downtown Anderson to recruit and bring in new businesses. The buildings are directly across South Main Street from City Hall. The buildings are being renovated for commercial use. The infrastructure credit agreement will allow investors to pay reduced property taxes on those properties. 

Agreed, on second reading, a plan to lease .75 acres at the Anderson County Sports and Entertainment Complex to Duke Energy Carolinas, to provide “solar photovoltaic power aways, voltage regulations, and power quality regulation.” The move is for an emergency shelter that will provide power for Anderson County citizens in the event of an emergency. Wooten said the value of the solar project would cost the county $8 million if not for Duke Energy constructing the project. “This will be a tremendous benefit to public safety,” said Anderson County Councilman Ray Graham. “We want to thank Duke Energy for their investment in Anderson County."