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Public commenter presses Greenville County Council on 30-year Project Magnolia fee-in-lieu and planning oversight
Summary
At a regular Greenville County Council meeting, resident Audrey Passen urged councilors to limit a proposed 30-year fee-in-lieu for Project Magnolia, questioned the agreement’s confidentiality and the absence of independent due diligence, and urged involvement by the Planning Commission under the state planning enabling act.
Council heard public concern over a proposed Project Magnolia inducement resolution and a related fee-in-lieu arrangement during its regular meeting.
Audrey Passen, a resident and registered speaker, told council members she was uneasy about granting a 30-year fee-in-lieu to an unnamed entity that "hasn't performed" and whose benefits to the county are unspecified. "Why do we give a 30-year fee in lieu to an entity that hasn't performed and we don't know what it's going to give us as far as a benefit?" Passen asked. She suggested shorter initial terms with extensions tied to demonstrated public benefit.
Passen also criticized the agreement's confidentiality and apparent limits on council staff fact-finding, noting the resolution states the county "has given due consideration" while also saying the county made "no independent factual or legal investigation." She told the council, "How do you perform your duty to citizens if you don't make an investigation of this thing?"
Passen urged councilors to consider the South Carolina Comprehensive Local Government Planning Enabling Act alongside home-rule provisions named in the resolution, arguing that the Planning Commission and comprehensive plan should have a role when location is a "preeminent concern," and that failing to include the enabling act narrows the county’s leverage in negotiating public benefits.
Council presented a first-reading ordinance related to Project Magnolia later in the meeting and left the item on the council floor for additional consideration. Councilor Collins introduced the inducement resolution and associated first reading of an ordinance authorizing a fee-in-lieu agreement with a company identified in the record only as "Project Magnolia." The ordinance authorizing execution of a fee-in-lieu agreement was presented at first reading and will remain on the council floor for future action.
Why it matters: Fee-in-lieu agreements (sometimes called payments-in-lieu-of-taxes) can lock in tax treatment and public obligations for decades. Passen’s remarks focus on term length, transparency, and the procedural role of county planning authorities — issues central to how local governments balance economic development incentives with planning oversight and public accountability.
Next steps: Council left the Project Magnolia ordinance on the floor after first reading; no final vote on the Project Magnolia fee-in-lieu agreement was recorded in the transcript. Councilors may return to the item at a later meeting; the record shows public concerns will be part of the file going forward.
