A company can’t keep building homes in Lake Wylie. At least until the runoff stops.

A stop work order has been issued for a Mattamy Homes project in Lake Wylie.

York County inspectors will review the Lake Crest site early in the coming week, county spokesperson Trish Startup said Friday. “There is a stop work order for off-site sediment cleanup,” she said. A stop work order means home construction can’t resume until environmental standards are met.

The recent order isn’t the first for Lake Crest. In December 2015, York County issued a notice of violation to Mattamy at the Lake Crest site. A notice of violation precedes a stop work order or fines. It gives the developer time to correct issues before those more severe penalties. The county didn’t specify what led to the 2015 action, other than the company “disturbed (land) outside the delineated area” for construction.

That 2015 incident was the first time Allison Love announced publicly she would run for York County Council, citing over development and runoff from development as major concerns for the health of the lake. Now as a Council member, Love has the same concerns.

“One of my goals from the start has been to protect our lake,” she said. “Driving down muddy roads to get home every day is a reminder to me that we are a long way from the awareness and measures necessary to accomplish that goal.”

Love has ongoing zoning committee work aimed at larger buffers and other measures geared toward keeping sediment out of Lake Wylie. The other part of having regulations is making sure they are followed.

“York County has procedures in place and if a developer doesn’t know what is expected of them, I want it to be made clear,” Love said. “If they do know I want them to be aware there will be consequences for choosing to ignore it.”

Love plans to meet with environmentalists and state legislators in coming weeks on the issue.

Lake Crest was approved for 175 homes on 85 acres. It’s one of many ongoing residential projects in Lake Wylie and neighboring communities.

Mattamy has several projects in the area. Lake Crest is in the Bonum Road section, while King’s Grove and King’s Grove Manor sit just south of Five Points. Ayrshire in Fort Mill and Cadence in Tega Cay are Mattamy projects. As are Ridgewater and Stonehaven at Berewick in the Steele Creek community.

This story was originally published July 16, 2017 at 9:34 AM with the headline "A company can’t keep building homes in Lake Wylie. At least until the runoff stops.."