Should Seneca Control Growth Outside Its City Limits?

What Landon Lyle’s Municipal Overlay Proposal Means for Oconee County

County residents should be making decisions about their community, not politicians from another government.

Recently, County Council candidate Landon Lyle discussed giving the City of Seneca a role in development decisions outside city limits. That is exactly what concerns me.

If you live outside the City of Seneca, you do not vote for Seneca City Council. Yet this proposal would give city officials control over growth and development decisions affecting county residents.

A while back, city officials approached county council with a municipal overlay proposal. As we learned more about what was being proposed, county council chose not to move forward because the City of Seneca wanted control over zoning, building codes, and permitting in areas outside city limits.

County council rejected that approach because development decisions in the county should remain accountable to county residents.

And make no mistake about what that means.

A municipal overlay would have paved the way for projects like the controversial South Cove development. The city would not have needed to annex the property to exert control over development decisions. The same county residents who fought to protect their community would have had even less say over what happened in their own backyard.

And it would not stop there.

Mark Hart’s proposed Newry mega-development sits approximately one mile from Seneca’s city limits. A municipal overlay of the type that has been proposed would have extended into that area as well.

That means the largest and most controversial growth decisions facing Oconee County could be controlled by city officials elected by people who do not live in those communities and are not accountable to those residents at the ballot box.

In the video above, Landon Lyle explicitly identifies this as one of the major promises of his campaign, promising to deliver those controls to the City of Seneca if he is elected.

Lyle states:

“That’s one of the big promises of my campaign that I’m running on, is that I will make sure that a municipal overlay for the city is seen through.”

Voters should understand exactly what is being promised and what it could mean for the future of Oconee County.

Questions Voters Should Consider

There is another aspect of this discussion that voters should consider.

The Lyle family profited from the proposed Newry development by selling property adjoining the development to University Cottages LLC, one of several LLCs sharing an address with the now-defunct United Homes Group.

The property provided valuable road frontage on Old Clemson Highway that the proposed development did not previously have, creating direct access from the highway into the project.

I find it remarkable that throughout his campaign, Landon Lyle never once mentioned the Newry development, despite living directly across the road from the project with his parents.

This is not just any development. It is the most controversial development proposal Oconee County has seen in recent memory.

The controversy surrounding the project generated statewide attention. During that period, former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and former Clemson University President Jim Clements departed the developer’s corporate board. United Homes Group’s stock price collapsed, and shortly thereafter Jim Clements announced his resignation as Clemson University President.

Yet the county council candidate living across the road from the development never once mentioned it during his campaign.

Not once.

Only after property records became public and questions began to be asked did the subject finally enter the discussion.

How does a candidate for county council live across the street from the largest and most controversial development proposal of our time and never once mention it to voters?

That is a question every voter should ask before casting a ballot.

The Choice Before Us

The role of a county council member is to represent the citizens of Oconee County, not municipal governments and certainly not developers.

I do not believe we should hand the development keys of our county to a city government that has made it clear it wants growth, growth, and more growth, regardless of the impact on the people who already live here.

County residents deserve a voice in the future of their communities. They deserve representation. They deserve local control.

The question is simple:

Should city politicians control growth decisions affecting residents who cannot vote for them?

The wolf is at the door.

We can either fortify the house, or we can leave the back door open.

That is why, if you live in County Council District 3, I am asking you to re-elect Don Mize.

Don has been a strong and steady voice for the people of Oconee County. He understands that the job of a county councilman is to represent county residents, not municipal governments, not developers, and not special interests.

Early voting is underway. Election Day is June 9.

The future of Oconee County will be decided by the people who show up and vote.

Matthew Durham