Anti-Development NIMBYs and Why They’re Wrong

Greenville is growing—and with that growth has come louder neighborhood politics. Zoning meetings fill up. Social feeds light up. And at the center of almost every local flare-up is one familiar refrain: not in my backyard. In this episode of Selling Greenville, the conversation zeroes in on how anti-development activism has evolved in the Upstate, what’s driving it, and why its most common talking points fall apart on closer inspection.

Anti-development NIMBYs in Greenville

“Anti-development NIMBYs in Greenville” isn’t just a clever phrase—it’s a shorthand for a very real, very organized bloc. NIMBY stands for “Not In My Backyard,” and it describes residents who rally to stop, slow, or reroute development near them. As Greenville County and nearby municipalities have seen more proposals and rezonings, this group has become the loudest voice in the room. Their presence is felt in public hearings, their influence showed up in 2022’s local elections, and their tactics can be, at times, extreme—reports even surfaced of activists following council members to their homes in Pickens County to apply pressure.

They don’t call themselves NIMBYs, of course. They see themselves as defenders of quality of life, infrastructure, and property values. But when you strip it down, their platform is simple: development is okay somewhere—just not here.

“We Don’t Want to Be the Next Charlotte”

This is the rallying cry NIMBYs love most. It’s also the least convincing.

The comparison doesn’t hold up. Greenville is a small city, roughly 75,000 in population. Charlotte has been a large city for a long time, and its explosive growth from “medium-large” to “mega” unfolded over decades.

Greenville isn’t on that trajectory. Its layout, especially the way Main Street anchors downtown, doesn’t lend itself to a Charlotte-style skyline or commercial sprawl. More importantly, both Greenville City and Greenville County have master plans that simply don’t contemplate that kind of transformation. Those plans are public; anyone can read them. And the recent success of anti-development candidates locally makes a sudden pivot toward hyper-urbanization even less likely.

So when someone hears about a proposed 250-home project in Simpsonville and responds with “we’re becoming Charlotte,” it’s not an argument. It’s scaremongering.

Infrastructure Anxiety—and the Impact Fee Trap

On roads, sewer, and services, nearly everyone agrees: parts of the Upstate have struggled to keep pace, especially in rural and lower-income areas. The go-to compromise has been impact fees—developers pay extra to help improve nearby infrastructure for the projects they’re building.

Here’s the catch: developers don’t swallow that cost—buyers do. Impact fees raise the cost to build, which raises the price to purchase or rent. Poll anti-development activists, and they’ll say two things at once: housing is too expensive, and we should make builders pay more. Those statements don’t coexist in the real world.

There’s also an equity problem hiding in the fine print. If a neighborhood’s roads or sewer get upgraded because a nearby project requires to fund it, existing owners receive public benefits without contributing, while future residents foot the bill at closing. And when wealthier neighborhoods organize to block new communities (or load them up with fees), builders go where resistance is lower—into less affluent areas. The result can be de facto socio-economic segregation and, too often, neglected infrastructure that doesn’t get the same political protection.

South Carolina has already tried the “tax the motorists and fix the roads” approach—the gas tax push, the reversals, the eventual passage, and the ongoing disappointment with actual repairs delivered. The point isn’t to litigate past policy; it’s to underline a stubborn truth: if every “solution” makes housing more expensive, affordability loses.

“More Parks, Not More Apartments”

It’s a catchy slogan. It’s also a false choice.

Apartments are part of how a region keeps rents in check. As housing costs have climbed across Greenville County, rental prices have climbed with them. Blocking multi-family projects doesn’t freeze the present—it raises the future floor. Meanwhile, parks are great (and Greenville has some gems): Paris Mountain State Park to the north, Lake Conestee Nature Preserve (connected to the Swamp Rabbit Trail) to the south, and, of course, downtown’s crown jewel, Falls Park. But parks rely on available public land and densities that make them practical. In rural areas, lot sizes are larger and public land is scarce; you can’t just copy-paste a city model and expect it to fit.

When people say “no more apartments,” what they often mean is “no more neighbors.” Growth inevitably brings more of them. The question is whether that growth will be channeled into thoughtful, higher-density areas—or pushed outward into longer commutes, patchier infrastructure, and steeper housing costs.

What Growth Can Improve (That “Hidden” Upside)

There’s a development going up near where the host used to live—one that drew standing-room-only opposition during approvals. It passed. As part of the work, roads were re-engineered. Today, the main corridor drives better and handles traffic more safely than before. That happens more than people think: where growth goes, streets get upgraded, turn lanes appear, signals are modernized, and drainage gets fixed. Those improvements benefit everyone—not just the new arrivals.

The Next Generation’s Mortgage Math

Here’s the part that rarely makes it into public comment:

• In 2007, the median price per square foot in greater Greenville was $84.76, and the median sales price was $151,500.

• In the final six months of 2022, the median price per square foot was $168.91—almost double—and the median sales price was $342,700—more than double.

• Over the same period, median U.S. household income rose from $36,000 (2007) to $56,000 (2022). That is nowhere near a doubling.

  
  

If price per square foot were to double again over the next 15 years, we’d be staring at $337.82/sq ft.—a number that reads “luxury” in today’s Greenville. This isn’t about spreadsheets; it’s about what the next wave of buyers—our kids—can actually afford. If demand keeps rising and supply is throttled, prices won’t just drift upward—they’ll sprint. The only durable way to slow that rise is to build more homes.

The Ethics No One Wants to Talk About

Zoning in America carries a troubled history—including its use as a tool for racial segregation. Today, most people pushing back on nearby development aren’t doing so with discriminatory intent. But intent and impact diverge in predictable ways.

When wealthier enclaves successfully block projects, builders pivot to places with less political muscle. Those communities end up absorbing more density, often without the same infrastructure investments, and the metro subtly sorts itself by income yet again. Even if motivations are benign, the outcomes can echo the inequities of older policies.

That’s why the blanket “Not here—ever” opposition is so short-sighted. It doesn’t stop growth. It shapes it—usually in ways that harm the people with the fewest options.

A Better Conversation

None of this is an argument for rubber-stamping every rezoning. Smart growth matters. Thoughtful phasing, infrastructure planning, and location strategy matter. But shouting down every subdivision, multi-family community, or commercial node in the name of preserving the present creates a future few will like.

If you’re worried about traffic, sewer capacity, stormwater, and schools—good. Those are legitimate, solvable issues. They’re not reasons to never build. There are reasons to build well.

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Bottom Line

Greenville doesn’t need to become Charlotte to thrive—and it won’t. What it does need is enough new housing, in the right places, with the right infrastructure, to keep the Upstate accessible for the people who already live here and the ones arriving next year. Anti-development NIMBYs in Greenville frame every project as a threat. The facts say otherwise: stop everything, and housing gets pricier, growth gets messier, and inequities get deeper.

The choice isn’t between parks or apartments, new neighbors or quality of life. The real choice is whether Greenville plans for the future or tries to freeze-frame the present. Only one of those options has ever worked.

Ien Araneta

Journal & Podcast Editor | Selling Greenville