New ordinances designed to control continued growth in Lexington County drew praise and criticism during a public hearing at a Dec. 5 County Council meeting.

The new regulations pertain to “concurrency requirements” that would make it so any new development would have to go through a screening process that could require major changes in their plans. Developers would have to undergo a review by county staff to determine that the plan coordinates with rules and regulations of law enforcement, fire services, EMS and solid waste management before they can go ahead.

While many local residents complimented council for taking action to control the rapid growth throughout the unincorporated areas of the county, developers in the construction field warned council that restrictions on growth would hurt the county in the long term.

“Developers should not dictate infrastructure,” said Chapin resident Liesha Huffstetler. “Listen to residents, not developers. Builders want the money. Take into account the services that would be needed for new development.”

“We need breathing room,” she said.

Will Allen, elected to Lexington Town Councilman in November said it’s “common sense” to regulate growth when you don’t have the infrastructure to support it.

Lexington resident John Allen posited that growth can be detrimental to the county.

“We don’t want to be Myrtle Beach,” he said.

The new regulations will be “incredibly beneficial,” he said.

But workers in the building industry complained that all of the new regulations will hurt a large number of people who depend on new development projects.

“You are marginalizing people,” said Paul Flowers, a Lexington resident and project manager at Columbia-based surveying company CEC. “I’m not going to be able to afford what you are doing. It’s an injustice to the little man.”

Some of the workers advised the council to have a “dialogue” with developers to reach an agreement on the regulations.

In an interview with the Chronicle, County Council Member Debbie Summers said she listened to all of the concerns and is open to the council addressing them. She said she liked the suggestion that council have more communications with the building industry on acceptable regulations.

During the public hearing, council also heard concerns about new regulations on short-term rentals.

Proposed new amendments to the county’s ordinances governing housing developments would cap new apartment complexes to no more than 200 units. The changes would also require a three-mile separation between multi-family housing projects. Buffers would be required to make sure housing projects are separated enough for green space.

Summers said council is likely to review some of the regulations that are considered overly restrictive, such as time restrictions on late night visitations.