Swim-gate: Columbia Instructor Sues City Over Backyard Ban

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by ERIN PARROTT

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A Columbia, South Carolina woman who taught private swim lessons to hundreds of children is taking the City of Columbia to court after local officials banned her from using her backyard pool for lessons she’s been teaching for years.

According to a petition filed last Monday (November 3, 2025), Elizabeth “Libby” Souder is appealing a decision by the City of Columbia Board of Zoning Appeals (BoZA) upholding the city’s interpretation of its zoning ordinance – one that now prohibits her from conducting private swim lessons outdoors at her home on Quail Lane.

Souder’s lawsuit named both the City of Columbia and its BoZA as defendants and seeks to overturn the ruling that effectively shut down her business.

According to the pleading (.pdf), Souder said the city first approved her home-based swim instruction business in 2018, issuing a business license explicitly authorizing “private swim lessons” at her residence. That license – signed annually by Columbia’s zoning administrator – doubled as a zoning permit and was renewed every year through 2024 without issue.

For years, Souder says she complied with city rules, limited her class sizes and even built a second driveway on her property in 2019 to ensure clients wouldn’t park on the street. Her petition alleged the city “repeatedly represented” that her business was lawful and in compliance with zoning codes.

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However, after a neighbor questioned the legality of the business with the City of Columbia in 2024, the city’s stance changed. The complaint alleged Souder’s outdoor lessons violated a zoning rule requiring all home occupations to be “conducted entirely within the principal structure or within a fully enclosed, lawfully approved structure.”

Souder received two notices of violation in the spring of 2024, though the city never issued any fines or took further enforcement action that year. Despite that, when she sought to renew her business license for 2025-26, the city denied the renewal – even after initially confirming receipt of her payment and notifying her that her renewal had been “approved.”

Instead, the city issued a refund check and a written interpretation (.pdf) on July 9, 2025 stating that a fenced-in backyard pool “is not a fully enclosed, lawfully approved structure.” That interpretation, made by Columbia Zoning administrator Andrew Livengood, was later affirmed by the BoZA in a 3-2 vote.

At the September 4, 2025 BoZA hearing, Souder’s case drew strong neighborhood support. Records show the board received 30 letters in favor of her business, with neighbors who described Souder as a considerate, community-minded instructor whose small-scale lessons caused no disruption — including a quote from a nearby resident who stated, “in my ten years living across the street, I’ve never experienced any problems such as excessive noise or traffic.”

Despite this show of public support, it is worth noting that text messages received by this outlet indicate some neighbors did have issues when it came to the noise from Souder’s business – issues she appears to have acknowledged.

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RELATED | COLUMBIA’S CHOICE

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Going further, one of Souder’s former clients described the at-home instructor as “an absolute nuisance.”

“And she is misrepresenting herself as a swim teacher who focuses on children with special needs and that couldn’t be further from the truth,” the former client claimed. “She is a swim lesson teacher for privileged white kids who charges $500 for eighty minutes of her time.”

“She is the definition of disingenuous,” the former client added, noting the vast majority of Souder’s clients are “neurotypical.”

The former client also questioned Souder’s claim that she only conducts lessons for approximately two or three hours a day – calling it “total bullsh*t.”

“It’s a conveyor belt of kids changing clothes in her yard most of the day,” the former client added. “Imagine living next to someone who has screaming children in their yard all day, every day, sun up to sun down.”

Multiple Quail Lane residents told FITSNews they are in support of the business’s closure, stating that their “lawful access to peaceful enjoyment” has been violated — but most have remained quiet to avoid retaliation.

The neighbor who filed the initial complaint against Souder told this outlet that while they respect and praise Souder for what she does, a residential neighborhood is not equipped to support such a large business — which is what prompted the city to investigate Souder in 2024 and ultimately shut her down in accordance with the City of Columbia law 17-317.

Souder’s lawsuit – submitted by Columbia business attorney Geoffrey K. Chambers – argued the city’s decision to shut her down violated Article I, Section 3 of the South Carolina Constitution by infringing on her substantive due process and equal protection rights.

As the court considers whether Columbia’s ordinance overstepped constitutional bounds, Souder’s supporters say the case highlights the growing tension between local regulation and the rights of residents to use their property productively. Meanwhile, Souder’s opponents argue her property rights extend only insofar as they do not impose on their rights as neighboring property owners.

FITSNews will continue following this case as it moves through South Carolina’s fifth judicial circuit. Stay tuned for updates…

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THE COMPLAINT…

(S.C. Fifth Judicial Circuit)

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR…

Erin Parrott is a Greenville, S.C. native who graduated from the University of South Carolina in 2025 with a bachelor degree in broadcast journalism. Got feedback or a tip for Erin? Email her here.

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