First Community Land Use Meeting Held Last Night in Una

There were about 50 people in attendance at the meeting at the Una Fire Department. Contrary to the newspaper's (or a Councilman's) report, we had only 6 people in attendance....3 of whom did not speak a single time. Of the 3 that did speak, 1 was a resident of that Council District, 1 was asked to speak by the Assistant County Administrator, and 1 relayed the comments of the group with whom he worked and did not make personal commentary. Tell me - is that stacking the deck?

Yes, we encouraged our rank and file membership to attend the meetings and sent them our official policy statement. This is the first time our membership has received an official statement from our leadership and we encouraged them to get involved. We would be remiss as a good membership organization if we did not inform the very people whom this will affect the most.

Land Use and Review of the ULMO

The HBA recognizes that sensible growth is imperative to the well being of Spartanburg County. As such, we believe that careful review of our current Unified Land Management Ordinance (ULMO) is merited at this time. Furthermore, we believe the ULMO, when properly enforced, has served our county well, and with a few modifications, will guide our growth in Spartanburg County in a manner that is suitable for all citizens.

Our members understand that there are current shortfalls in the ordinance, specifically in areas such as mixed use developments, setback requirements, and confusing buffering requirements. We also recognize there is strong concern for protecting property owners from incompatible adjoining uses. Our current ordinance can and needs to be modified to address these and other challenges that we face now and will face in the future.

Further, our conviction is “parcel-by-parcel zoning” would not be advantageous for Spartanburg County. However, we recognize that there may be other land use mechanisms that could help protect our special attributes of the County, while not hindering property values and affordability of new homes and development. We wish to be part of these discussions to find a compromise that is suitable to everyone.

Similar to the original drafting of the ULMO which had input from many varying perspectives throughout the County, we strongly believe that the best revised policy for growth management will only come from allowing all voices to be heard.