Greer council hears staff's five-year comprehensive plan update, including new resilience element
November 12, 2025 | Greer, Greenville County, South Carolina
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Greer planning staff on Tuesday presented the city's five-year comprehensive plan update — Ordinance 29-2025 — describing it as a nonbinding strategic document to guide growth and zoning decisions.
"I will summarize it, and you guys feel free to stop me with questions along the way," Miss Coddy, planning staff, told the City Council as she walked through the update, which includes a revised future land-use map and a standalone resilience element added following changes to the state enabling act.
Coddy said the update compiles new data and trends since the last plan and lists the city's priorities: managing strong population growth, protecting natural resources and stormwater assets, and guiding new development around major investments such as Fort Greer. She offered two different population estimates: Esri's figure of about 40,000 and an "in-house" estimate closer to 50,000, and reported the city has averaged roughly 1,000 housing starts per year over the five-year period, with nine new multifamily projects totaling about 1,600 units.
The presentation highlighted recent investments and program changes that inform the plan: revisions to the Unified Development Ordinance (including stronger tree-save rules), adoption of impact fees to help pay for growth, new public-art and cultural programming, trail and greenway grants (including Tiger River Greenway permits), and public safety facility acquisitions. Staff also described stormwater pilot recommendations and adoption of asset-management software to better schedule maintenance.
Coddy said the resilience element was added because the 2020 updates to the South Carolina enabling act now require it; she referenced local flooding events and the need to improve emergency response and infrastructure planning.
Council members asked for clarifications about how the plan is used in zoning decisions and about the plan's effect on specific parcels; Coddy and planning staff explained the comprehensive plan is advisory (not code) and a decision-making tool used alongside the UDO and zoning review. No public speakers spoke during the earlier hearing on the plan.
Next steps: staff will return for the ordinance's subsequent readings and the plan will proceed through required public hearings, including the planning commission review noted by staff.
"I will summarize it, and you guys feel free to stop me with questions along the way," Miss Coddy, planning staff, told the City Council as she walked through the update, which includes a revised future land-use map and a standalone resilience element added following changes to the state enabling act.
Coddy said the update compiles new data and trends since the last plan and lists the city's priorities: managing strong population growth, protecting natural resources and stormwater assets, and guiding new development around major investments such as Fort Greer. She offered two different population estimates: Esri's figure of about 40,000 and an "in-house" estimate closer to 50,000, and reported the city has averaged roughly 1,000 housing starts per year over the five-year period, with nine new multifamily projects totaling about 1,600 units.
The presentation highlighted recent investments and program changes that inform the plan: revisions to the Unified Development Ordinance (including stronger tree-save rules), adoption of impact fees to help pay for growth, new public-art and cultural programming, trail and greenway grants (including Tiger River Greenway permits), and public safety facility acquisitions. Staff also described stormwater pilot recommendations and adoption of asset-management software to better schedule maintenance.
Coddy said the resilience element was added because the 2020 updates to the South Carolina enabling act now require it; she referenced local flooding events and the need to improve emergency response and infrastructure planning.
Council members asked for clarifications about how the plan is used in zoning decisions and about the plan's effect on specific parcels; Coddy and planning staff explained the comprehensive plan is advisory (not code) and a decision-making tool used alongside the UDO and zoning review. No public speakers spoke during the earlier hearing on the plan.
Next steps: staff will return for the ordinance's subsequent readings and the plan will proceed through required public hearings, including the planning commission review noted by staff.
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