Commission defers Heavy Industrial rezoning for Trash Girl operations after staff raises land‑use and buffer concerns

Berkeley County planning staff recommended denying a request to rezone roughly 33.9 acres on Cypress Garden Road to Heavy Industrial (HI), citing inconsistency with the county’s 2020 comprehensive plan, proximity to suburban residential areas and the absence of a site plan showing how potential industrial uses would be buffered. Planning commissioners deferred the two related items to the next meeting to allow the applicant to meet with staff.

Staff’s presentation said one parcel in the assemblage already contains roughly 3–5 acres zoned HI and that the applicant (Prestige Commercial Properties/Jeff Paluta) has indicated an intent to expand existing Trash Girl operations and to pursue state permits for a waste-tire processing facility. Staff noted the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services (SCDES) had land-disturbance permits under review and that the proposed full-assemblage rezoning could allow waste-processing uses that staff consider incompatible with the suburban communities future land‑use designation in the 2020 comprehensive plan.

The applicant, Jeff Paluta of Prestige Commercial Properties, described a portable, low-speed shredder to break tires into pieces for sale, saying the operation would be run as a “clean operation” and that shredded rubber would be removed promptly: “We’re gonna run a clean operation... Nothing fancy. Nothing exotic.” Engineer Bill Hawes (SCS Engineers) told the commission the operation would be subject to DES requirements and that “we have space on the property for adequate buffering if necessary.”

Commissioners pressed staff and the applicant about existing land disturbance, buffers, proximity to the Blackstone community and public water/sewer availability. Staff reiterated the recommendation that, if the applicant wants industrial entitlements, they provide a site plan limited to the portions of the assemblage intended for industrial use, adjust lot lines if needed, show how the required Type D (100-foot) buffer would be applied, and provide remediation assurances tied to DES permits.

The applicant agreed to work with staff and the commission voted to defer both related rezoning items until the next monthly meeting to allow time for follow-up with the planning department. The deferral was made by motion and second; the transcript records the motion carried.

Why it matters: Rezoning to HI would allow waste-processing and other heavy-industrial uses near existing and planned residential neighborhoods. Staff flagged potential incompatibility with the comprehensive plan and asked for a narrower, documented approach so impacts (buffers, stormwater and remediation) can be evaluated before any final rezoning decision.

Next steps: The applicant and staff will meet to refine the proposal, produce a site plan and identify mitigation measures; the item was deferred and will return to the Planning Commission for another vote.