“GreenPaw” Project Pulled from County Council’s Tuesday Agenda

Oconee County Council met last night. A final vote on an inducement agreement with an apartment builder was taken off the agenda at the request of County Attorney David Root. The proposed complex of hundreds of apartment units is referred to as “GreenPaw” – because the property envisioned is bordered by Greenfield Manufacturing and Paw’s Restaurant.

One audience member questioned the appropriateness of allowing any new, major development being built in the county without requiring an impact fee. Ken Charles of Townville took the position that a “FILOT” – a fee in lieu of a tax – is not the right answer.

County officials have warmed up to the idea of a pair of new apartment complexes on 123, the increasingly busy Seneca-Clemson corridor, in part due to the developer’s offer to pay a large amount of the costs to extend utilities.

Responding to Charles, Councilman Julian Davis explained the state’s thinking back in the late 1990s, when, faced with losing out on industry to neighboring states, the General Assembly enacted “FILOT” to counteract the percentage of tax required of manufacturing.