Narrative Summary
Summary
The Fort Mill Planning Commission held its regular meeting on December 16, 2025, with six of seven members present. Business was light, consisting of one substantive land use action, two informational updates, and approval of prior minutes. The commission approved a commercial appearance review for two retail buildings at Catawba Ridge Market, then received briefings on the 2026 meeting calendar and the ongoing Comprehensive Plan and Downtown Master Plan rewrite. Planning Director Penelope Karagounis indicated both planning documents are expected to return to the commission in January for a formal resolution to Town Council.
Key Decisions & Votes
- Approval of Minutes — November 18, 2025 — Motion to approve minutes as corrected. Vote: 6-0, approved. Commissioner Sarah Curtis noted a correction prior to the vote.
- Commercial Appearance Review: 2 General Retail Stores — Catawba Ridge Market — Motion to recommend Commercial Appearance Review approval for construction of two new general retail stores for ARIC Fort Mill, LLC at Fort Mill Parkway and North Dobys Bridge Road, upon the condition that staff is allowed to make minor administrative changes. Vote: 6-0, approved. The proposed buildings deviate from originally approved 2019 plans through reduction of tenant spaces and material changes; applicant representative Ted Barnes confirmed new materials match the adjacent Harris Teeter.
Watchlist Flags
No watchlist items flagged.
Action Items & Upcoming Dates
- January 2026 — Penelope Karagounis to bring Comprehensive Plan Rewrite and Downtown Master Plan Update before Planning Commission for review and resolution in support of plans to Town Council.
Agenda Items
-
Approval of Minutes
Chairman Mark Kerr requested approval of Planning Commission meeting minutes from November 18th, 2025. Commissioner Sarah Curtis noted a correction to be made. The motion was made and seconded.
- Outcome
- approved
- Motion
- Motion to approve the minutes from November 18th, 2025
- Moved / seconded
- Jonathan Hutchinson / Sarah Curtis
- Vote
- 6-0
- Source ref
- page: p.1
- Tags
- minutes
-
1
Commercial Appearance Review: 2 General Retail Stores – Catawba Ridge Market
Planner Emily Hawkins presented a request from ARIC Fort Mill, LLC for Commercial Appearance Review approval for construction of two new general retail stores in Catawba Ridge Market located at the intersection of Fort Mill Parkway and North Dobys Bridge Road. The applicant has deviated from originally approved plans (November 19, 2019) with reduction of tenant spaces in both buildings and material changes. Ted Barnes, representing the applicant, confirmed new materials match the Harris Teeter in the surrounding development.
- Outcome
- approved
- Motion
- Motion to recommend Commercial Appearance Review approval upon the condition that staff is allowed to make minor administrative changes
- Moved / seconded
- Matt Lucarelli / Dan Stout
- Vote
- 6-0
- Source ref
- range: pp.1-2
- Tags
- commercial appearance review retail construction elevation changes zoning HC corridor overlay district
-
1
Boards and Commission Calendar 2026
Planning Director Penelope Karagounis presented the Planning Commission meeting dates for 2026.
- Outcome
- informational
- Motion
- No motion recorded
- Moved / seconded
- Not recorded / Not recorded
- Vote
- No vote recorded
- Source ref
- page: p.2
- Tags
- calendar planning commission
-
2
Comprehensive Plan Rewrite and Downtown Master Plan Update
Planning Director Penelope Karagounis noted that Town Council provided comments and the consultant is working to update the report. She indicated plans to bring the Comprehensive Plan and Downtown Master Plan before the Planning Commission in January, at which time they will pass a resolution in support of the plans to Town Council.
- Outcome
- informational
- Motion
- No motion recorded
- Moved / seconded
- Not recorded / Not recorded
- Vote
- No vote recorded
- Source ref
- page: p.2
- Tags
- comprehensive plan downtown master plan resolution
Votes
-
Approval of Minutes
Motion to approve the minutes from November 18th, 2025
- Vote
- 6-0
- Outcome
- approved
- Source ref
- page: p.1
-
Commercial Appearance Review: 2 General Retail Stores – Catawba Ridge Market
Motion to recommend Commercial Appearance Review approval upon the condition that staff is allowed to make minor administrative changes
- Vote
- 6-0
- Outcome
- approved
- Source ref
- range: pp.1-2
Public Hearings
No public hearings listed.
Action Items
-
Bring Comprehensive Plan and Downtown Master Plan before Planning Commission for review and resolution in support of plans to Town Council
- Owner
- Penelope Karagounis
- Due
- January 2026
- Source ref
- page: p.2
Upcoming Dates
-
Comprehensive Plan Rewrite and Downtown Master Plan Update to be presented to Planning Commission
- Date
- 2026-01
Watchlist Flags
No watchlist items flagged.
Uncertainty Notes
-
no_schema_validation
- Field
schema_version- Value
- Not applicable
- Note
- Schema is 0.1.0-draft; final validation must happen downstream in Codex.
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vote_granularity
- Field
facts.agenda_items[*].vote- Value
- Not applicable
- Note
- Approved minutes record tallies but not per-member dissent.
-
watchlist_coverage
- Field
generated_narrative.watchlist_flags- Value
- Not applicable
- Note
- Zero watchlist regex hits on this meeting.
-
member_validation_pass
- Field
facts.attendees- Value
- Not applicable
- Note
- Member-name validation against https://fortmillsc.gov/275/Planning-Commission (fetched 2026-05-26T00:00:00+00:00): checked 7 names, matched 7, unknown 0, inactive 0. Matched canonical names: ['Mark Kerr', 'Matthew Lucarelli', 'Dan Stout Jr.', 'Jonathan Hutchinson', 'Sarah Curtis', 'Daniel Reynolds', 'Erin Pratt']