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A proposed 600-home development on county-owned land outside Chapin has pitted Lexington County against the small town’s mayor in a dispute over sewer service. The standoff now threatens a $20 million land sale and could end up in court.
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Here are key takeaways:
- Dozens of Chapin residents lined up at a Wednesday, June 10, hearing to oppose the $20 million sale of the Chapin Business and Technology Park at Brighton, while Lexington County Council voted to do “whatever is legally necessary” to enforce a sewer agreement.
- Chapin Mayor Bill Mitchell told council members he has “solid legal grounds not to issue taps,” citing the town’s aging wastewater plant and a planned $42 million expansion that could take up to a decade to complete.
- Brighton Capital Partners LLC plans to turn the 200-acre site into a master planned community called Palatin, featuring 600 homes priced between $600,000 and $1 million, with about half age-restricted for residents 55 and up, the developer announced.
- The development will also include a technology incubator called the Foundry at Palatin that could create between 2,500 and 3,000 technology-focused jobs on roughly 40 acres of commercial and light industrial space, said Andy White, president of Lifestone Homes, who is leading the project.
- The $20.4 million sale is contingent on the developer securing water and sewer hookups, and the county must “use its best efforts” to enforce its 2015 sewer agreement with Chapin, according to a draft sales contract.
- A 2015 contract signed by former Mayor Skip Wilson obligates Chapin to provide 667 sewer taps and to increase capacity within 24 months if needed, potentially exposing the town to damages if it defaults, a review of the decade-old agreement found.
- Mitchell rejected a $4 million offer from Lexington County to purchase 667 sewer taps for the site, though the 2015 contract does not require upfront purchase and instead allows tap fees to be paid as individual users come online, the contract shows.
- Mitchell said currently approved taps would bring the wastewater plant to 97% capacity, leaving only 3% breathing room that the town will issue on a case-by-case basis for small developments, he announced in a Facebook livestream.
- Council members Michael Bishop, Larry Brigham and Charli Wessinger, who represents the Chapin area, voted against advancing the Brighton sale, while Glen Conwell abstained and five other members voted yes on the initial April approval.
The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The full story in the link at top was reported, written and edited entirely by journalists.
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