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Greenwood County Council denies rezoning request for Pollard's Auto Salvage Yard after contested public hearing
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Summary
After a public hearing with neighbors raising traffic, safety and land-use concerns, Greenwood County Council voted 6'1 to deny a request to rezone about 34.88 acres at 3414 Highway 221 South from R-1 (single-family) to I-2 (heavy industrial). The planning commission had earlier voted to deny the request unanimously.
The Greenwood County Council voted April 21 to deny Ordinance 2026-15, a rezoning application by Gary Pollard for roughly 34.88 acres at 3414 Highway 221 South (Pollard's Auto Salvage Yard), rejecting a request to change the property from R-1 (single-family residential) to I-2 (heavy industrial).
Assistant County Manager Rob Rushin presented the application and told council the site has operated as a legal nonconforming auto salvage yard for decades and that staff had recommended I-2 to align zoning with use; he also noted the county's future land-use map shows the parcel as industrial. Rushin reported that the Planning Commission had unanimously recommended denial and that several residents in the area voiced concerns at the planning commission meeting.
Applicant Gary Pollard told the council that rezoning to I-2 would allow him to better regulate appearance and fencing and that industrial redevelopment could be "kinder and gentler" than the current nonconforming salvage yard. Supporters said an industrial building could be more aesthetically pleasing than what might come if the area were redeveloped for multifamily housing.
Opponents, including nearby residents Alice Hintz and Glenn Weidman, argued that the site has a single access point near a bridge on Highway 221 South, creating safety and traffic concerns if heavy industrial uses were permitted. Residents also asked what the I-2 district would allow; staff read the extensive list of permitted uses in I-2 (including manufacturing, truck terminals, warehouses, certain agricultural uses, solar farms, and in some cases solid-waste transfer stations), which prompted additional neighborhood concern about "what might go there" under heavy industrial zoning.
Council member Miss Griffin moved to deny the rezoning request; the motion was seconded by Miss Bishop. The council voted 6'1 in favor of the motion to deny (denial therefore means the rezoning request failed). The planning commission had earlier recorded a unanimous denial of the rezoning request.
Why it matters: The vote preserves the property's existing residential zoning designation despite its long-standing nonconforming use, leaving existing operations as legal nonconforming until or unless they cease for the statutory period. Residents who opposed the rezoning expressed concern about traffic, safety on Highway 221 South, and uncertainty about the breadth of uses allowed in the I-2 district.
What happens next: The applicant retains the site's legal nonconforming status unless he ceases the salvage operation for the statutory abandonment period; the county will not rezone the parcel to I-2 based on this vote.
Sources: Rob Rushin, Assistant County Manager (presentation); public commenters Gary Pollard, Alice Hintz, Glenn Weidman (Greenwood County Council meeting, April 21, 2026).
