The Back Swamp community needs your help! Next Thursday, July 18, Florence County Council will vote on a rezoning that, if approved, will have long-lasting negative effects on the historic Back Swamp Community. In addition, the integrity of existing protected land is at stake from incompatible development associated with the heavy commercial zoning request.
Send an email to tell Florence County Council to deny this rezoning!
Florence County, with just 1.7% conserved land, is the lowest ranking county in the entire Pee Dee Region for protected lands. The protected lands of the Back Swamp Community along Pocket Road in District 7 are not only a gem of Florence County but also of our state!
Back Swamp community members in Florence and Darlington Counties have protected lands in perpetuity through private conservation easements. These conservation easements benefit not just everyone in the immediate vicinity but also all those living downstream through ecosystem services. Benefits include enhanced water quality, mitigating erosion, flood storage, and connecting wildlife with additional habitats.
Approving a rezoning from RU-1 (Rural Community District) to B-3 (General Commercial District) on the 103-acre tract near Pocket Road for more intense commercial development is not a way to support this historical community nor the myriad benefits their conservation easements provide everyone in the community and beyond.
This rezoning would be the first of many more to come, threatening conservation efforts in a county that has very few protected conservation lands overall.
Use our email template below or write your own letter to council members requesting they NOT approve this rezoning from RU-1 to B-3 on July 18th. Share this with your friends and neighbors and ask them to send an email, too.
We suggest the following language for your email:
Dear Council Member,
I am writing to ask you to please deny the rezoning request for Properties of Tax Map Numbers 00202, Block 01, Parcel 003 And 065 Located At 1510 E. Pocket Road, Florence, SC And Property Located Off of N. Williston Road and E. Pocket Road. A rezoning allowing for B3 is NOT the highest and best use of these parcels. A rezoning towards more intense commercial development will have substantial negative impacts on the adjacent historical Back Swamp Community. There are better options for this site.
Support the Back Swamp Community and strike a balance between conservation and development by denying the rezoning from RU-1 to B-3. RU-1 still allows for some commercial development, just not the heavy commercial of another Buc-cee’s type. We urge County Council to see how RU-1 zoning is more compatible with the adjacent rural working lands and the invaluable conservation easements of the Back Swamp Community.
The Back Swamp Community has successfully protected thousands of acres through private conservation easements, which is more than half of what the state has protected in Florence County. Yet, Florence County still ranks last in the Pee Dee Region for total acres conserved. Conservation easements are vital to maintaining ecosystem services like flood storage, water quality, erosion control, and wildlife habitat connectivity. These efforts to protect lands should be recognized and valued as their benefits extend well past this community and to all those downstream.
Deny this rezoning request that aims to only benefit the developer and choose to support our community instead. Florence County must value conservation lands and the many benefits it provides the greater county and all those downstream.
Emails may be sent to Florence County Council members at the following addresses:
We must act now to help protect natural resources, working lands, and the Historic Back Swamp Community!