Tega Cay planning panel reviews Marina Overlay changes as waterfront residents warn of siltation in Nivens Creek

Tega Cay planning commissioners opened a public hearing Feb. 18 on proposed revisions to the city’s Marina Overlay District and a requested phasing change to the Main Street planned development, while multiple Serenity Point residents urged tighter stormwater and sediment controls to protect Nivens Creek.

The changes under review would narrow some commercial uses and add frontage and operational limits intended to reduce conflicts with nearby housing. Planning staff said hotels were removed last year and that the commission’s draft redlines would require mixed-use properties to be rezoned, bar new standalone multifamily and townhome approvals inside the overlay, limit restaurant footprints and set new standards for outdoor seating, lighting and hours of sales and service.

Nick Cawthon, Tega Cay’s development services director, told the hearing that the commission’s draft would limit restaurants to 4,000 square feet, require outdoor seating and live-entertainment areas to be at least 200 feet from residential zoning and cap those outdoor activity areas at 1,000 square feet. The redlines also lower the maximum nonresidential height to 45 feet and add tighter exterior-lighting standards; the commission plans an official recommendation in March and will present that to council for consideration.

At the same time, Cawthon said Main Street’s developer has requested a phasing change so the western side of the property along Stonecrest Boulevard would be built first. He said revised Phase 1 would include 59 townhomes and an approximately 40,000-square-foot brewery/food-hall building with an estimated 30,000 square feet of activated outdoor patio space.

Several residents who live on or near Nivens Creek told council they fear the cumulative effect of recent construction has accelerated erosion and deposited sediment in the creek and adjacent coves. “We’re not anti this development, but we want to make sure that our concerns are addressed,” said Mark Pranzi, a Serenity Point resident, describing years of visible sediment and shallowing docks at the creek’s mouth. Mike Dye, another Serenity Point resident, said previous projects left silt that has compacted the channel and that construction-area runoff can carry large volumes of sediment into the system during storms.

“I don’t want to be overly dramatic, but we’ve lost several feet of depth,” said Allison Scardino, who described being unable to use her dock and said residents want daily inspections and stronger on-site retention during and after construction. Resident Gus Matunas told council he had sought follow-up from staff after earlier complaints and had not received a timely reply; city staff later said a misaddressed email caused the gap.

City Manager Fondenberg and development staff said they have reinspected the creek since residents raised the matter and forwarded updated photos and reports to the state environmental agency for review. Staff noted the stream bed is on private property (homeowner association, private lots or Duke Energy) and that DHEC (the state environmental regulator) must review and advise on corrective actions; a DHEC site visit was described as possible but not confirmed. Cawthon and Fondenberg also said the city’s stormwater manager had been temporarily out due to injury, which delayed some field follow-up.

Residents asked council to require stronger construction-phase controls — including escrowed remediation funds or bonds, stricter enforcement, and the use of turbidity curtains or floating silt barriers near creek mouths — and asked for daily inspection and quicker city response when sedimentation problems are observed.

The planning commission will vote on its formal recommendation at a March meeting; council is scheduled to consider any ordinance amendments thereafter. City staff said they will forward DHEC’s findings to the complainants and to council once the agency issues a response.