GREENVILLE — The South Carolina Environmental Law Project has threatened to sue Greenville County Council over its passage of a controversial new land development rule, saying a quorum of council members communicated privately to whip votes before a heavily-amended rule was passed without public comment or debate on Aug. 17.

Michael Martinez, a Greenville attorney with SCELP, sent a letter to council members Aug. 27 that warned of a lawsuit if the council did not reconsider its vote at its next meeting.

The warning comes two weeks after the council split its vote 7-5 in a final reading of a long-awaited rule to replace Article 3.1 of its land development regulations. Those rules primarily govern how subdivisions can build in the county’s half-million unzoned acres.

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