Dorchester County Council approves industrial rezoning for former Giant Cement parcels; tables one neighborhood rezoning

Dorchester County Council on March 2 unanimously approved a rezoning that converts more than 2,000 acres associated with the former Giant Cement site near Harleyville to Industrial zoning, bringing existing mining and operational uses into legal conformance.

Planning staff told the council the parcels (rezoning request 950) are tied to Heidelberg Materials and include operational facilities and permitted mining activity. Staff said the rezoning would allow routine site work — "even put up a shed or a small building" — without enabling large-scale expansion. Tommy Fagan, a Summerville resident, asked whether the change would trigger reassessment or alter tax payments; Denise Christmas, Dorchester County chief financial officer, said property tax bills are based on use and noted some properties are subject to fee-in-lieu agreements that affect online visibility of tax receipts.

The council also approved a smaller commercial rezoning (request 946) for 1.63 acres on Sampson Road, with planning staff and the planning commission recommending approval subject to a traffic impact analysis before third reading because Sampson Road offers limited access and becomes narrow past adjacent driveways.

By contrast, council tabled rezoning request 949 — a proposal to change roughly 1.35 acres near Dantzler Road from Mixed Use Community to Commercial Light Industrial — after resident Gloria Holcomb objected to potential traffic impacts, loss of neighborhood character and the effect on longtime homeowners. Planning staff and council members discussed access alternatives and buffer requirements, noting Dantzler would not be an allowable access point and that access would need to come from Jedburgh or Gallashaw; members asked staff for additional traffic and buffer studies before a final vote.

At the planning commission level, the large industrial rezonings had generated some opposition but ultimately carried staff recommendations for approval. Council members voted on the items during the meeting; votes on the approved rezonings were unanimous. The council recorded motions to table and to approve when appropriate and closed each public hearing before taking votes.

The planning committee reported these actions to the full council, which heard the committee’s recommendations and moved them forward in the meeting.

The council’s recorded actions leave the Heidelberg-associated parcels rezoned to Industrial, the Sampson Road parcel approved with a condition for traffic review, and the Dantzler Road request held for further information.