Rock Hill City Council Delays Vote on Panthers HQ Zoning Changes
ROCK HILL, S.C. – A punt from Rock Hill city leaders on Monday night.
Theyβre delaying plans to rezone 280 acres of land for the Carolina Panthers new headquarters and practice facility.
βYou donβt have an agreement on anything, until you have an agreement on everything,β explains Rock Hill Mayor John Gettys.
Gettys canβt say much about whatβs going on behind the scenes, but it was enough to defer the vote.
The Panthers HQ would go on 280 acres south of Eden Terrace and just west of I-77.
Gettys says it would be a $2 Billion dollar mixed-use development including apartments, retail, and entertainment venues.
βThe complexity that goes with that, as you can imagine, um is a lot,β Gettys explains.
He does say the county and schools need more time to do their βdue dilligenceβ on the project.
βThe city itself has been involved in negotiations like this, this type of negotiation. But the other governing bodies, this isnβt how theyβve done things,β Gettys says.
Near the future project site, Frank Knotts says a road is planned directly behind his property.
βI think itβs going to be one of the best things that ever happened to Rock Hill,β he says.
Neighbors like Knotts support the project, as does Don Lanning.
βWeβre sorta excited about it. One, we are thinking that the real estateβs gonna go up here in the neighborhood and weβre anxious to get some of the amenities thatβs going to go along with all of this,β Lanning says.
Richard Hardin says heβs taking more of a wait and see approach.
βTraffic and how theyβre going to do the roads. So it could be a good positive,β he says.
Back at City Council, Gettys says the deferred vote isnβt expected to delay the project.
The next council meeting will be in January.
βIβm hoping weβll have it resolved before then,β he says.
And if it is resoved sooner, council could hold a special meeting just to do the Panthers zoning changes.
Council says roads and infrastructure will be paid for with the Panthers property tax dollars.
They want to emphasize they donβt expect taxes to go up for Rock Hill residents.
