Get AI Briefings, Transcripts & Alerts on Local & National Government Meetings — Forever.
Residents press council on growth, EMS delays in Liberty Hill and long-running drainage problems
Loading...
Summary
During public comment at the April 28 Kershaw County Council meeting, residents raised concerns about vacant impact studies on subdivisions, slow EMS response times in Liberty Hill, and a decade‑old drainage problem around a pecan orchard; speakers urged council to prioritize impact studies and infrastructure before approving permit-allocation changes.
Multiple residents used the public‑comment period at the April 28 Kershaw County Council meeting to press elected officials on growth management, public-safety response times and neighborhood drainage.
Lee Reed of Lake Wateree described what he called “unacceptable” EMS response times for the Beaver Creek/Liberty Hill area, saying the average there was nearly 27 minutes and recounting a personal account in which an ambulance arrived about 45 minutes after a 911 call. Reed asked that the county “approve, fund, and install a full time ambulance or full time QRV in Liberty Hill” or otherwise reposition resources or contract third-party services to meet county targets presented by emergency services staff.
Several speakers focused on the Smart Growth ordinances on second reading. Linda Knatzer urged enforcement of ZLDR-required impact studies, asking that “transportation and traffic study first, school capacity second,” and asked council to make receipt of those studies a prerequisite for moving permit applications forward. Builders and trade representatives, including Ashley Rabin and Kelly Bowers, warned that an allocation system that limits permits could harm small, custom builders and their subcontractors, raise housing costs and create loan-timing hardships for buyers.
Melody Harden returned to a long-running drainage complaint affecting a pecan orchard and adjacent roads, telling council that county action had been limited to minimal ditch scraping and that neighbors had waited more than a decade for meaningful work. Harden asked the county to complete basic ditch and stormwater fixes now rather than promise future, unspecified projects.
Councilmembers acknowledged the range of concerns. Several said they supported some form of short-term control on the pace of development while committing to additional outreach and technical review. Others urged caution to avoid unintended harm to local contractors and called for more data and planning-commission input.
Council asked staff to accept written materials from commenters and to work with stakeholders as the permit-allocation ordinance proceeds to third reading; the allocation ordinance passed second reading as amended later in the meeting.
