Resident urges council to revoke Silfab occupancy permit over hazardous‑materials concerns

At the Nov. 3 meeting, Fort Mill resident Leanne Shattuck used the public forum to urge York County Council to revoke the temporary occupancy permit for the Silfab solar manufacturing plant, saying the facility stores thousands of gallons of hazardous and highly flammable chemicals within a few hundred yards of homes and two schools (including Flint Hill Elementary).

Shattuck cited historical industrial incidents and regulatory failures (referencing Flint and Deer Park) as cautionary parallels and argued the county code would treat a facility storing this volume and combination of hazardous materials as a high‑hazard occupancy — which she said is not permitted in the site’s light‑industrial zoning. She asked the council to suspend the permit until investigations and pending legal matters are resolved.

Quote "The Silfab solar plant will store and use tens of thousands of gallons of toxic, highly flammable chemicals just a few hundred yards from homes and two schools," Leanne Shattuck told council. "We implore the council to take immediate action and revoke Silfab’s temporary occupancy permit until the investigations and legal cases are resolved."

Context and next steps The statement was delivered during the public forum portion of the meeting and was not part of a formal agenda item; the council did not take an immediate vote on the Silfab occupancy question at this meeting. Council or staff questions about the specific permit, inspections or regulatory classification would be handled by the county’s planning, permitting and fire‑safety staff in follow‑up.

Source: Public forum comment recorded at the Nov. 3, 2025 York County Council meeting.