By Scott Harper
sharper@gtowntimes.com
Georgetown County planners have been told they need to expedite the process of getting zoning throughout the county but a group of residents who will be affected by the zoning of areas of U.S. Highway 521 say it should not take place until they have a representative on County Council.
On Tuesday night, Georgetown County Planner Boyd Johnson presented the plans which will zone the areas from Friendfield Plantation westward to the Andrews town limits.
Resident Franklin Goude was the first to make the suggestion that no other work on the zoning take place until the area gets a Council member.
Sel Hemingway was the County Councilman who held the seat that represented that area. He stepped down this year after being hired as the county administrator. An election will be held June 10 to fill the seat.
Jeff Kinard, chairman of the County Planning Commission, said the decision on whether to delay the process will have to be made by Council.
Even if the zoning is delayed, it will happen, Kinard said. Tuesday's meeting was the first chance for residents and property owners to express what types of zoning should be applied to the various areas. Some residents said they don't want any zoning at all. They said the county proposed zoning for that area several years ago and they didn't want it back then either.
"Some parts of the county need to stay just the way they are," said property owner John Davis.
Johnson explained the reason zoning is important is because the county is growing and there will be developmental chaos in unzoned areas if people are able to build anything they want to build anywhere they please.
"(Developers) would love to come to a place without zoning. Then they could build anything at all on top of you," Johnson explained.
County Planning Commission member Marvin Neal told the attendees he lives in Plantersville and he was originally opposed to the zoning of that area but after studying the plans he is now a supporter.
"Zoning is not only about saying what you want but it's also about saying what you don't want in your community. Right now a Suck Bang Blow can drop right next door to your house if you live in an unzoned area," Neal said. "Be careful when you say you don't want zoning."
Some residents also expressed concerns that having the area zoned will mean an increase in property taxes. That, Johnson said, is not true.
"Taxes are based on property use, not the way the property is zoned," Johnson said.
Classifications
The areas being considered for zoning are along Highway 521 north to the railroad tracks and south for about a mile, Johnson said.
The proposed zoning closest to Friendfield Plantation will be some General Commercial right along Highway 521 which is surrounded by a large area of Forest and Agriculture. There is also some R 1/2 zoning proposed.
The R 1/2 zones allow one house on a half-acre lot.
Other zoning proposed for the corridor includes R1, one house per acre; MR 10, which allows one dwelling (including mobile homes) on lots of 10,000 square feet; General Residential, a high density zone for single or multi-family housing.
There are also industrial areas proposed but those are confined to areas near the County Industrial Park.
Unless a delay is granted, Johnson said he expects the zoning proposal to be before County Council for consideration within a couple of months. Before then more public hearings will be held.