SUMTER, S.C. — A Sumter County farming community is coming together to oppose a rezoning request. Tuesday evening, Sumter County Council is having the second reading for the piece of land across from Nova Molecular on Race Track Road.
“Farming is my life. I mean it means the world to me,” Lee Newman shares. “If you’re gonna farm, you have to have it in your heart. You’ve got to love it.”
Newman has been farming in Sumter County for more than four decades, taking over his family farm.
“It's my future. My children’s future, my grandchildren’s future,” Newman shares. “I mean, farmers have to have land to make a living and that's why it matters.”
It’s a future he wants to protect along with his family members and fellow farmers like Kenny Newman.
“I'm just real upset right now because my way of life and my children's way of life and grandchildren's way life is going to be changed forever,” Kenny says. “It's important to keep agriculture alive and growing because we all need it.”
He’s upset because of a rezoning request, which would use farmland the county has bought and rezone it from agricultural conservation to heavy industrial.
“We farm, we need land and that's taking up really good farmland. I mean it's not…if it's some bad land it would be different but this is some of the most highly productive land in Sumter County,” Lee says.
“They feel that it’s going to be safe for economic development,” Councilman Eugene Baten says about the county council. “I feel comfortable that if we approve this that we have done this because we have done our homework.”
Baten represents the district this land is in and says he opposes the request, although he does understand how using it for industrial growth could help the local economy.
“I feel that by us growing, that we make the county better for all citizens where there are more opportunities, particularly if we can bring in business and industry that’s going to pay a high salary, that’s going to stop a lot of our people from graduating and migrating up north or going to other places, they can stay home and get good paying jobs,” Baten explains.
Baten tells me his main concern is making sure that there isn’t any potential pollution that would damage the surrounding land or natural water.
“I think the key issue is how are we going to during discussion how are we going to present this to the public and let them know that we have looked into this, we're concerned about their welfare, and the decision that we make tonight is not going to be a danger to them or their family,” Baten says.
“I think more planning should be done to assess the land, assess the traffic, what's it going to do to the community and just consider the people in this community,” Kenny tells me.
The council says the planning department will do more research if the rezone request is approved, which it says is a typical timeline. As for Lee, he says he’s looking for a conversation.
“We have to live together and work together. And, you know, we need more communication from the planning commission here in Sumter County,” Lee says. “You know, we need to sit down and have a good discussion about where's a good place to put these plants and what the future for our agriculture is here in the county.”
The council says this rezoning request is a part of a more than twenty year plan to build infrastructure for industries starting with Continental Tire then Nova Molecular.
In the late 1990s, part of the county was designated by the federal government as an “Empowerment Zone,” aiming to bring jobs close to low-to-moderate income areas, according to the county.
As part of this effort, US 521 South was expanded into a four-lane highway with a water plant and sewer lines, the county says.
The most recent development in this plan is utilizing the land currently being discussed, known as the “Gibbs Rail Site” to help with further job creation.
The county council says when it comes to this specific parcel of land, there are not currently any specific plans for industrial infrastructure to go there; however, the council says it is looking to decide on the rezoning request so it can begin research and prepare for future potential opportunities for the land.
The rezoning request was deferred until all environmental studies have been completed and they subsequently meet with nearby property owners.