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.
Theyโre delaying plans to rezone 280 acres of land for the Carolina Panthers new headquarters and practice facility.
โYou donโt have an agreement on anything, until you have an agreement on everything,โ explains Rock Hill Mayor John Gettys.
Gettys canโt say much about whatโs 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.
โThe complexity that goes with that, as you can imagine, um is a lot,โ Gettys explains.
He does say the county and schools need more time to do their โdue dilligenceโ on the project.
โThe city itself has been involved in negotiations like this, this type of negotiation. But the other governing bodies, this isnโt how theyโve done things,โ Gettys says.
Near the future project site, Frank Knotts says a road is planned directly behind his property.
โI think itโs going to be one of the best things that ever happened to Rock Hill,โ he says.
Neighbors like Knotts support the project, as does Don Lanning.
โWeโre sorta excited about it. One, we are thinking that the real estateโs gonna go up here in the neighborhood and weโre anxious to get some of the amenities thatโs going to go along with all of this,โ Lanning says.
Richard Hardin says heโs taking more of a wait and see approach.
โTraffic and how theyโre going to do the roads. So it could be a good positive,โ he says.
Back at City Council, Gettys says the deferred vote isnโt expected to delay the project.
The next council meeting will be in January.
โIโm hoping weโll have it resolved before then,โ 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 donโt expect taxes to go up for Rock Hill residents.
