Tee Coker is the project manager for Greenville County's year-long effort to produce a new comprehensive plan, which be finalized by year's end.

Coker told The Greenville News the goal of his team with MKSK Studios is to give elected officials options for minimizing sprawl but in a way that matches most closely with the community's desires. They came up with four main themes:

► Put all the county's sewer districts under one roof

► Come up with a new revenue stream to improve county roads

► Offer more housing types that are attainable for would-be buyers and avoid prevailing sprawl patterns

► Identify and develop sites for new industries

The MKSK team conducted in-person and phone surveys to gauge what the public wants, and the usual things came up: get traffic under control, leave rural spaces alone, provide more affordable housing options. Coker's team will produce a draft comprehensive plan by the end of October.

Sewer, the lifeline of economic development 

Putting all of the county's various sewer districts under one entity would better target lines where most needed. It would be especially helpful for industrial recruitment, reinvestment in aging sewer systems in urban centers and increasing density in existing developed areas.

"There are parts of the county that need significant investment," Coker said. "Everybody has to be on the same page; otherwise, our recommendations for land use aren't going to be implementable."

Consolidation is a highly divisive issue for the handful of locally elected sewer boards. Members of the Gantt and Taylors sewer districts have vocally opposed the concept at several recent public meetings. Should consolidation happen under ReWa or MetroConnects, the county's two largest sewer operators, control would shift to boards that are appointed by the governor.

RELATED: As Greenville County seeks answer to sprawl, Taylors shows how to rebuild from within

Shorter commutes = a better life

In phone surveys across Greenville County, 88% of respondents agreed that traffic congestion is a major problem.

Avoiding residential development farther from working and shopping centers is one way to mitigate that, Coker said, but the county also needs a a long-term construction, maintenance and funding strategy for transportation. This could include a countywide thoroughfare plan, but the county also needs a funding plan, he said. Five years ago, county voters overwhelmingly rejected a penny sales tax for roads, but much of that was attributed to uncertainty about projects it would pay for and whether groceries would be taxed.

"If you look at the road network, the system that Greenville County is responsible for maintaining and you look at the budget that the county has to maintain it, the two don't square," Coker said. "So we need to figure something out."

Housing we want, where we want it and can afford

► The vast majority (79%) of survey respondents all over the county agreed that future housing developments should include a range of options that are attainable price-wise for the county's workforce. A 2018 affordable housing study found that Greenville County's middle earners — with household incomes of $40,000 to $60,000 — could afford houses costing between $140,000 and and $210,000 but that not enough homes in this range were available.


Calling it "non-negotiable," Knox White said Aug. 8, 2019, that the city wants affordable housing to be part of the residential mix in the project. Anna B. Mitchell,

Incentives for in-fill development and changing zoning codes to allow more housing types (e.g., carriage homes and row houses) near existing detached homes are ways to create affordable options without pushing people farther from urban centers, Coker said. This could kill two proverbial birds with one stone.

"It's a very old idea," he said. "In the North Main area of Greenville, you have small apartments, duplexes and houses, but everything feels of apiece."

Tax-paying businesses keep services affordable

Setting aside sites for industrial recruitment and job creation along major highways and interstate corridors is the final priority for MKSK planners. 

Neighboring counties have beat Greenville at the recruiting game in recent years primarily because of the lack of sites, said Mark Farris, an economic developer who works with the county. This could spell bad news in the long-run for Greenville County, Coker said, because governments rely heavily on property taxes from commercial and industrial land to cover services. Fail at that, and counties have to raise taxes or reduce services.

"In other words, you've got to try to maintain a broad tax base," he said.

What planners have found so far

See for yourself the slides that planning consultants from MKSK Studios prepared for county leaders as part of an Aug. 22, 2019, presentation about the county's comprehensive plan, in development for nearly a year. Members of the county's planning commission, governing council and representatives from all of the county's municipalities and several service districts attended the workshop.

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