Residents and environmental lawyers urge Greenville County to adopt Mountain Creek overlay to limit flooding and protect waterways

A group of Mountain Creek residents and environmental attorneys urged Greenville County officials to approve a new overlay district aimed at protecting the watershed from accelerated runoff and development pressures.

"It's all about the water," said Brenda Butchik, a Taylors resident supporting the overlay. She warned that decades of development without modern stormwater protections have left the watershed vulnerable to erosion and repeated home flooding. Butchik said more than 2,000 parcels in the area predate flood‑plain and stormwater rules and argued the overlay is “our chance to correct course.”

Emily Poole, staff attorney at the South Carolina Environmental Law Project, told council the overlay's provisions — including a 50‑foot undisturbed perimeter buffer, a 100‑foot riparian buffer, requirement to design for a 100‑year storm event, and at least 50% of site acreage set aside as protected open space — are tailored to preserving the watershed’s sensitive features. "These provisions are specifically designed to protect the environmentally sensitive features of the area," Poole said, listing waterways, wetlands, recharge areas and steep slopes as examples.

Staff explained the draft ordinance has been revised to align stormwater language with the county's land‑development regulations and stormwater design manual. The changes retain the policy's core protections while clarifying landscape buffer criteria and variance procedures, Todd Batchley said.

Supporters urged the council to consider invoking the "pending ordinance" doctrine so protections could apply during the ordinance's review period. Council did not vote at the hearing; the overlay will move through the planning and development committee and the council's three‑reading process with a scheduled final reading Sept. 1, 2026.