Council approves annexation and IG rezoning for 16.71‑acre Commerce Drive site

City council voted May 27 to accept a planning commission recommendation and approve first‑reading ordinances to annex approximately 16.71 acres at 2782 Commerce Drive (proposed annexation M‑2025‑03) and rezone the property from York County Industrial Development (ID) to the city's Industry General (IG) zoning.

Planning staff told council the site, currently wooded and undeveloped, fronts Commerce Drive and lies near the city wastewater treatment center and a growing corridor of commercial and industrial uses. The applicant proposed subdividing the parcel and constructing a spec light‑industrial/distribution building; staff said the applicant had revised the plan to reduce the building size and pull the structure further from an on‑site creek.

Staff and the planning commission noted several requirements and open issues that will be addressed during site plan and construction review: sidewalks will be required along the site frontage, the site will need major site‑plan approval because it sits within an approved industrial business park, and utilities are available. York County and SCDOT projects (Red River/Sail River widening under a Pennies for Progress program) are planned for the corridor and staff said a traffic impact analysis (TIA) may be required once an end user is known. City traffic staff also said a future TIA could trigger roadway or turn‑lane improvements depending on the tenant and trip generation.

Council took three separate formal actions on the application: it accepted the planning commission recommendation, approved the annexation petition, and approved first reading of both the annexation and the zoning map amendment. Each motion carried by voice vote.

Council members questioned truck routing and consistency with prior decisions about truck traffic near other interchanges; staff responded that truck traffic to and from the site would likely route north via Red River to the Palmetto Parkway interchange and not south toward the Dave Lyle interchange. Staff emphasized that required sidewalk, site‑plan and TIA requirements, and coordination with SCDOT would be resolved at later stages before development proceeded.

What’s next: The site will proceed to major site‑plan review and, if a tenant is identified, a TIA and any recommended mitigation will be required as part of the civil plan submittal and approval process.