HEbrews Cafe

06/09/2026

Friends ~

In 2 days, the polls will be closed and the votes tallied; please make sure you are informed and choosing the person who best represents your values and vision for Lexington County. The future of our county will be shaped by the choices we make now, and every vote plays a role in determining that direction.

⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️⬇️

I want to be very clear about something.

I do not believe Lexington County has a responsibility to build endless housing simply because people from other states want to move here.

My responsibility is to the people who already call Lexington County home.

Lexington County is special. It is more than a place on a map. It is generations of families, farms, churches, schools, small businesses, wildlife, open spaces, and a culture that has existed for centuries. That legacy deserves respect and protection.

In full disclosure, prior Councils could not have anticipated the unprecedented migration we are experiencing today. Pointing fingers at decisions made years ago does nothing to solve the challenges we face now.

What matters most is actions taken in the past 3 years and what we do moving forward.

Some of us recognized the warning signs years ago and began working toward a different approach. Beginning in 2023, Lexington County started the process of implementing meaningful growth management tools. Those efforts ultimately resulted in the adoption of stronger development ordinances and concurrency requirements in 2024.

Unfortunately, thousands of residential lots had already entered the development pipeline under older, inadequate zoning standards.

Before concurrency, many developments simply had to meet antiquated zoning requirements and receive approval at the staff level to move forward.

What you are seeing today is often the result of approvals granted years ago.

In June 2024, following third and final reading, Lexington County implemented concurrency requirements designed to ensure infrastructure and public services can keep pace with residential growth. These requirements evaluate the capacity of Fire, EMS, Law Enforcement, Waste Management, and zoned public schools before major residential developments move forward.

School concurrency was originally approved by Council in October 2023 and became part of the county’s broader concurrency program in 2024.

When school concurrency was removed (I was a NO vote) in October 2025 without a replacement policy, more than 600 citizens signed a petition asking Council to reconsider.

On January 27, Council restored school concurrency with a 6-3 vote after I sought and obtained legal guidance from the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office regarding the County’s authority and responsibility to consider public school capacity.

Today, school concurrency once again helps ensure residential growth is evaluated against enrollment and building capacity within our public schools.

That matters.

South Carolina is one of the fastest-growing states in America. More people are coming, and growth will continue. The question is not whether growth occurs.

The question is whether growth is managed responsibly.

Responsible growth means protecting the quality of life that attracted people here in the first place while preserving the character and resources that make Lexington County unique.

I have previously argued that Lexington County was growing too fast, and I still believe a temporary pause on additional large-scale residential approvals is warranted so we can see the current pipeline build out and fully understand its impact on Lexington County.

I have argued that roads, schools, public safety, utilities, and infrastructure should keep pace with growth.

Infrastructure before houses isn’t a slogan. It’s a responsibility.

Just as importantly, County Council is now the final arbiter on major residential developments requiring concurrency approval. That is exactly how it should be. Your elected Council members are accountable to YOU, not developers, not consultants, and not special interests.

Do you think a builder~ council member will actually tell another builder NO? 🧐

One final note: not every Council district currently has concurrency protections in place. Whether concurrency applies in a district is determined by the Council member elected by the citizens of that district.

In other words, elections matter.

Your responsibility is to vote and choose wisely.

The decisions we make today will shape Lexington County for generations.

WHO YOU ELECT WILL HAVE LASTING CONSEQUENCES.

In this case, experience is essential to finish what we’ve started.

I humbly ask for your vote; because I love our home and I want future generations to experience the investment, love and protections we’ve poured into their home.

~ Beth

06/09/2026

Reminder we are closed today and will reopen for normal hours tomorrow.

06/08/2026

CLOSED tomorrow for annual meeting.
Will return Wednesday 6/10 at 8 AM

06/07/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1EZ8HpeW2D/?mibextid=wwXIfr

Develop Lexington County Responsibly (DLCR) believes Lexington County should grow responsibly—and that voting records matter MORE than campaign promises, flashy billboards, mailers, and digital ads.

The voting records of Beth Carrigg, Larry Brigham, and Glen Conwell reflect consistent support for the responsible growth changes that have been made since 2020, including requiring adequate levels of service for public safety and schools before new developments can move forward (concurrency), reducing housing density and increasing open space and tree protections in developments, and supporting better planning for our county to grow in a more responsible manner moving forward.

Please take a moment to review the voting records below.

An informed community starts with informed voters.

These important County Council seats WILL BE DECIDED on June 9—make your plan to vote. 🗳️ 🇺🇸

Polls will be open from 7am - 7pm this TUESDAY, June 9th at precinct locations with some combined precincts.

If needed, check your “sample ballot” at scvotes.gov for your precinct location.

Please SHARE this post.

06/03/2026

Hey Lexington County friends - this guy is your best shot to keeping your county COMPLETELY over populated 👇

06/03/2026

Larry Brigham Ain’t Been Sitting on the Porch Watching Growth Happen

If you’ve lived around Batesburg-Leesville, Gilbert, Summit, West Lake Murray, or Fairview very long, you probably don’t want to wake up one morning wondering if you accidentally moved to Charlotte.

Larry Brigham sure doesn’t.

Truth is, Larry has spent years trying to make growth make sense , not just letting developers roll in, throw up houses like they’re playing Monopoly, and call it “community planning.”

Larry’s been serving the people of District 2 the way a public servant ought to: listening to neighbors, showing up, voting for zoning changes that better manage growth and working to protect the communities folks call home.

And his voting record shows it.

Larry supported efforts to:

🏡 Reduce the number of homes per acre a development can have because stacking houses on top of each other like sardines ain’t exactly the country life most folks signed up for.

🌲 Protect farmland, rural areas, and Lake Murray with stronger buffers, overlays, and watershed protections.

🚒 Require roads, schools, EMS, fire protection, and services to keep up FIRST, because if traffic is already backed up and classrooms are full, maybe adding hundreds more rooftops deserves another look.

🚧 Increase setbacks and spacing between homes so neighbors can still wave from the porch instead of sharing Wi-Fi passwords through the kitchen window.

🏘️ Limit oversized apartment complexes and overdevelopment especially where roads weren’t built to handle city-style traffic.

🌳 Protect trees, open space, and rural character —because clear-cutting every acre and replacing it with copy-and-paste neighborhoods isn’t exactly what folks love about Lexington County.

He even supported slowing things down with a temporary moratorium during zoning updates in 2021 so the county could stop, catch its breath, and improve the rules.

“But if Larry passed all these changes… why are we still seeing so much development?”

Fair question.

Government moves slower than molasses in January.

A lot of what folks are seeing right now ,especially around Gilbert near the Strawberry Patch and other fast-growing areas ,was already approved or already in the pipeline before many of these new rules got passed.

And once projects are approved under the old rules, counties usually can’t just hit the brakes and say, “Never mind.”

So while people see houses going up and think, “Nothing changed,” the reality is:

The rules DID change but many neighborhoods being built today are still playing by yesterday’s rules.

That’s frustrating. Larry knows it. Neighbors know it too.

But over time, as new projects come through under updated ordinances, folks will start seeing more of the changes Larry and others on County Council worked hard to put in place.

And Larry will tell you himself:

He still isn’t happy with a lot of what’s happening.

Too many national developers are coming in building the same ol’ cookie-cutter neighborhoods where every house looks copied and pasted and the only tree left standing is the one they forgot to bulldoze.

That’s exactly why Larry is still working on more changes, including:

✅ Further reducing density
✅ Increasing lot sizes so folks still have room to breathe
✅ Stronger architectural design standards so neighborhoods actually fit our communities
✅ Better exterior finishes and building quality instead of cheap-looking developments that age badly
✅ Even stronger protections for Lake Murray and the watershed
✅ Preserving the rural way of life that makes this area special

Because growth should fit Batesburg-Leesville, Gilbert, Summit, West Lake Murray, Fairview, and rural Lexington County not turn them into somewhere folks were trying to escape in the first place.

And here’s something important to know:

Larry Brigham isn’t a developer nor does he have ties to the building industry or real estate industry.

He’s not trying to profit off growth.

And he doesn’t take campaign money from anyone, especially from developers, because he believes his job is to work for the people and communities he represents not special interests.

His challenger for the June primary is a developer and so is his son. Nice guy and nothing personal but seems a bit scary to roll the dice when Larry has worked so hard and continues to work hard.

That means working for:

Batesburg-Leesville. Gilbert. Summit. West Lake Murray. Parts of Fairview. And Lexington County as a whole.

Protecting communities doesn’t happen overnight.

Sometimes it means saying:

“Hold on now… we can do better than this.”

And Larry’s been willing to do just that.

Facts matter. Voting records matter. And country common sense still matters too

06/03/2026

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/192eYKptev/?mibextid=wwXIfr

📢 Incumbent Candidate Voting Records Matter!

💰 MULTIPLE BILLBOARDS.💰 MAILERS.💰 ADS.

You’ve probably seen them.

The messaging says Lexington County Council has had “no plan” and has done “nothing” to manage growth — which many interpret as: get rid of the incumbents who have challengers in this June 9 primary.

But is that actually true? 🤔

Or is it possible there’s more to the story?

📌 When there’s a lot of campaign messaging and a lot of money spent 💰, it really helps to look at the FACTS — including documented voting records.

📖 The fact is: Voting records show that a majority on County Council — including Beth Carrigg, Larry Brigham, Darrell Hudson, Charli Wessinger, Glen Conwell, and former members Scott Whetstone and Bimbo Jones — voted to make major zoning and growth-management changes beginning in 2020.

❌ Not slogans.❌ Not opinions.❌ No BIG Money 💰.

✅ Just actual votes.✅ Actual policy changes.

So what changed? 👇

🏡 ✅ Housing density was reduced in many areas — changing from 12 homes per acre to 4, with some areas reduced to 3, 2, or even 1 home per acre, based on street classification.

🏢 ✅ Apartment density was reduced from 20 units per acre to 12, while adding 3-mile spacing requirements, 250-unit caps on complexes, and limiting apartments to be built only on 4-lane roads.

🚑🚒🚔🏫 ✅ Concurrency standards were added to better ensure schools, EMS, fire, law enforcement, and water systems can handle growth before development moves forward.

🌊🌾🌳 ✅ Protections were added for Lake Murray, agricultural areas, and trophy trees.

🌿 ✅ Increased buffers, open space, and minimum lot sizes were added.

📘 ✅ And in 2022, County Council updated the County Comprehensive Plan — the document that helps guide community growth and development zoning decisions.

Now, a fair question:

❓ If these changes happened… why don’t we always see them yet?

🚢 Because growth changes take time and act more like turning a cruise ship than a speedboat.

🏘️ Many neighborhoods being built today were approved years ago under older rules. Zoning changes take time to show up consistently in what residents see on the ground.

📅 The state allows developers 5 years to break ground from the date of permitting, with possible extensions.

That doesn’t mean nothing changed.

It means policy changes take time to work through the pipeline.

📢 And informed voters deserve to know that.

A majority of council members — including Beth Carrigg, Larry Brigham, Darrell Hudson, Charli Wessinger, Glen Conwell, along with former members Scott Whetstone and Bimbo Jones — supported many of the documented changes with their votes aimed at better managing growth so infrastructure can keep up.

👀 You don’t have to take anyone’s word for it.

📄 Look at the voting record.We will share it in the comments.

✅ Review the votes.

Because informed voters make stronger communities.

📣 Please share this post and tell 10 friends and family members this information to help everyone stay informed.

🗳️ And make sure to vote on June 9 — or early vote through June 5 — as County Council District seats for 2, 7, and 8 will be decided in the June primary.

🏀 Councilmembers Beth Carrigg, Larry Brigham, and Glen Conwell have the ball moving in the right direction for better managed growth. If you agree, make sure to vote for them if they are your County Council district representative.

📌 Facts matter.📌 Informed citizens and communities matter.📌 Developing responsibly matters.📌 Who we choose to represent our communities matters.

✅ Be informed.🗳️ **Vote!

06/01/2026

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