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Conway staff, council discuss annexation and water-permit path for St. James Church on Academy Drive
Summary
Conway, South Carolina — Staff and an applicant discussed a path for resolving a county permit and a city annexation requirement for property on Academy Drive and for Saint James Church to obtain a city water receipt needed by the county.
Conway, South Carolina — At its Oct. 6 meeting the council and staff discussed a permit complication affecting a church project on Academy Drive. The applicant and staff described a situation in which a county permit was approved but the county will not issue a final permit until the applicant has the city water receipt and the property’s annexation status is resolved.
Planning staff explained that the county permit process and city annexation requirements can differ. Several similar situations were described from past projects: staff said the earliest the property could be inside city limits would be a first reading in November, and that staff could review plans while final action waited on county certificates of occupancy.
The applicant — who identified himself as Mister Becker — said site work and retaining walls are complete and that the church is ready to proceed with a Rectory building. Becker said he wanted to avoid delays and that he would pay the water fee to obtain the receipt the county requires. City staff and council discussed use of a restrictive covenant as a way to allow the applicant to proceed without immediate full annexation.
City planning staff said the standard approach is for the applicant to request annexation and to record restrictive covenants; then the city can issue the water receipt to give to the county, while final reading and issuance of a certificate of occupancy would await county action. Council members expressed support for that path; staff indicated they could process the annexation paperwork and covenants so the applicant could obtain the water receipt and move forward with the county.
Council discussion emphasized that sanitation service is not currently provided on Academy Drive and that voluntary annexation with recorded covenants is a common mechanism to balance the city's development standards with applicants' timelines.
Next steps: Applicant to apply for annexation and provide restrictive covenants; city to provide water receipt once requirements are met; council will hold final reading until county issues a certificate of occupancy.
