FORT MILL, S.C. — A circuit court judge affirmed a York County Board of Zoning Appeals decision that solar panel manufacturing is prohibited in a light industrial district.
Silfab said it doesn’t mean operations will cease.
Students will return to Flint Hill Middle School in about two weeks, and parents are frustrated. The school is yards away from plant operations.
“It’s taken a while, but I’m very glad to hear that the judge affirmed the BZA’s decision,” said parent Kate Hanauer.
She told Channel 9’s Tina Terry that she was excited to hear about the circuit court judge’s filing on Tuesday. The judge affirmed a decision made at a York County Board of Zoning Appeals meeting more than two years ago.
That BZA decision ruled that solar power manufacturing is prohibited in a light industrial district.
“All the chemicals need to be removed for the sake of the children and the community,” said York County Councilmember and Fort Mill neighbor Debbie Cloninger.
Cloninger said on Tuesday that she hopes the decision will lead to Silfab moving chemicals away from kids at two nearby schools, including Flint Hill Elementary.
“The middle school is opening,” Cloninger said. “So, this puts another layer of concern onto unnecessary concern onto parents and grandparents and really, staff, everyone.”
Silfab officials said in a statement on Tuesday that they were disappointed in the judge’s ruling, but the “decision has no effect on our current operations.”
It added, in part, that “As York County has previously confirmed, the BZA’s ruling only applies prospectively and does not affect Silfab because our project was well underway prior to the BZA’s decision.”
Attorney Cam Halford represents the neighbor who first pushed for that BZA hearing. He said a court may have the final say.
“The citizens really haven’t had their day in court, and that needs to happen,” Halford said.
A lawsuit filed by neighbors seeking to have Silfab shut down was on hold pending this decision. Many are waiting to see what happens with that case now.
Terry reached out to York County with questions about this. She did not get any answers by late Tuesday afternoon.
Full Silfab statement:
While Silfab Solar is disappointed by the ruling, we are pleased that the court acknowledged that the BZA’s decision was limited to determining whether solar panel manufacturing falls under one specific use category only and left open the possibility that it may fall under other permissible use categories. More importantly, this decision has no effect on our current operations. As York County has previously confirmed, the BZA’s ruling only applies prospectively and does not affect Silfab because our project was well underway prior to the BZA’s decision. Nevertheless, we will be appealing to ensure that future opportunities to expand production and hiring remain open and to protect the zoning process from being manipulated in the future as our opponents did in this case.
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