Georgetown SC WPDE — The Georgetown County Planning Commission held its third public hearing Thursday on a controversial new zoning district for golf courses.
The Planning Commission heard from community members about the possibility of rezoning the land on the Litchfield Country Club and Founders Club Golf Courses.
Last time the planning commission met, they agreed that some language needed to be changed to clear up confusion.
In Thursday’s meeting, the commission looked over the language changes, but it did not ease the concerns of many residents.
“It seems to me that we are always in a position where the only people who have rights in this county are property owners, not neighboring homeowners,” one resident said.
Back in March, Georgetown County officials proposed a new zoning district for the land on Litchfield Country Club and Founders Club Golf Course, promising to protect against development on golf courses while conserving as much land as possible.
The zoning district for golf courses like Litchfield Country Club and Founder’s has been R-10, or 10,000 sq. feet residential, which is roughly four homes an acre.
While Georgetown County officials see the proposed neighborhood amenity district as an effort to limit any redevelopment of the area, or if it is developed, residents argue this is a problem the county created itself after the recent land use changes were passed last summer.
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“The reason we are in the situation we are in right now is because the county failed to update the zoning from 2007 until 2024 and we shouldn’t even be here. The zoning should have been changed decades ago,” Executive Director and Legal Council of Keep It Green South Carolina, Cindy Person, said.
South Carolina Senator Stephen Goldfinch attended the meeting and said it’s important for him to see the Waccamaw neck protected.
“You can’t necessarily stop development but unfettered development is a problem for the Waccamaw neck, for both Horry and Georgetown counties. We have to figure out how to develop smart, we have to figure out how to work with people,” Goldfinch explained.
Goldfinch said he doesn’t want to see another Indian Wells, which was an Horry County golf course that closed to make way for housing developments.
“If everybody puts their foot down and says it’s our way or the highway, golf course developers will just say okay if we can’t develop it, we can’t make money on the golf course anymore we have to shut it down. There has to be an negotiated agreement to try and figure out development that’s smart, that sets aside green space, development that doesn’t add to flooding,” Goldfinch said.
All items dealing with the new zoning for the golf courses were motioned to be sent back to the Council to adjust the draft plan.
