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Planning commission OKs Food Lion rezoning for Black Tom Road site amid traffic concerns
Summary
Berkeley County Planning Commission recommended rezoning a parcel on Black Tom Road to General Commercial to allow a Food Lion and associated uses after a public hearing in which residents raised traffic and parking concerns.
At a meeting of the Berkeley County Planning Commission, commissioners voted to recommend rezoning a parcel on Black Tom Road from Agriculture (Flex 1) to General Commercial (GC), clearing a key step for a planned 37,000-square-foot grocery store and associated site work.
Staff told the commission the applicant intends to develop the site as a grocery store and that the parcel is within the county’s growth corridor and adjacent to other GC-zoned parcels. Applicant Sam Black said the prospective tenant is Food Lion: “It would be Food Lion,” he said at the podium.
The rezoning drew the most public attention of the evening. Resident Lauren Tarpley told the commission she opposed the rezoning and cited traffic and parking concerns, saying, “Black Tom cannot handle that amount of traffic,” and noting a nearby elementary school and a planned traffic circle. Planning staff said a corridor traffic study for Black Tom Road is underway and will include a 20‑year forecast and recommendations to optimize operations. Staff also said any site development would need to address mitigation in a traffic impact analysis to meet the county’s minimum service standards.
Commission members asked whether the grocery parcel would share parking with an adjacent GC parcel; staff said a shared‑parking agreement is planned between property owners and that consolidation into a single TMS number is not part of the rezoning request. Staff also said the parcel lies in a Berkeley County Airport overlay district and must comply with applicable airport land‑use requirements.
After discussion, a motion to recommend approval passed (motion by Mister Sonnet; second by Miss Kearns). The commission’s recommendation goes forward to Berkeley County Council, which has final authority on the rezoning.
Votes at a glance
- Rezoning to GC for TMS 161-14-00-041 (proposed grocery store/Food Lion): motion to approve (mover: Mister Sonnet; seconder: Miss Kearns); outcome: recommendation to county council (motion carries). Specific roll-call vote counts were not specified in the transcript.
Planning commission action is a recommendation only; County Council must act before site development or permit decisions proceed.
