COASTAL OBSERVER

The fate of the 3.4 acres on  the Georgetown waterfront is uncertain after the developer withdrew a request last week to rezone the property for a mixed-use development.

The proposal to  create a “master planned residential district” would allow five single-family lots and seven multi-family units around the former Independent Seafood dock at the end of Cannon Street; more multi-family units around a historic home; and either multi-family units or a hotel on property owned by the Post and Courier newspaper that is currently leased to the Georgetown County Chamber of Commerce.

The city Planning Commission voted 4-2 last month to recommend denial of the rezoning.

 Residents packed the City Council meeting last week to urge members to follow that recommendation. It was not announced until later in the meeting that the request had been withdrawn.

Dan Stacy, the attorney for the developers, said afterward that he learned that any approval would come with restrictions.

“Terms and conditions were proposed that the applicants were unwilling to pursue,” Stacy said. “They are evaluating their options.”

The lack of a city planning director and the change in the makeup of City Council are all factors, he added.

There are seven parcels with three different owners in the proposed development. In addition to the newspaper, there is a limited liability company whose principal is Buddy Hucks and Margaret Tarbox, who owns the historic home.

Most of the public comments to the council at the start of the meeting were about the rezoning.

The residents’ concerns ranged from the preservation of the city’s oldest commercial building, the lack of specific detail about the project and the rush to bring the issue to a vote before three new  council members and a new mayor take office.

Ross Davies, who lives across the street from the proposed development, collected 130 signatures in three days on a petition opposing the rezoning.

“I urge you to listen to them and vote no on the project as it stands,” she said.

Kim Shell said she opposed the rezoning request because it isn’t clear what will be built.

“The document is full of statements that begin with ‘if, maybe, to be determined’ and ‘in the event of,’” she said. “If you do not know what you’re going to build, how do you calculate parking and traffic?”

Paige Sawyer, a local historian, recommended that an archaeological study be done prior to a vote. “No one, at this time, knows what artifacts are hidden underneath that soil,” he said.

Suzanne Doyle, whose husband Jay was elected mayor this month, pointed out that the current City Council appointed most, if not all, members on the Planning Commission.

“I hope the City Council supports and respects this commission’s decision by following suit and vote no on this zoning request,” she said.

Jerry Springs, a lifelong resident, said he worked at Independent Seafood when he was a high school student. The rezoning request is too open-ended, he said. 

“It gives the developers too much room to do whatever they want to,” he said. “All of my neighbors are against it. Why can’t we wait until the new council is seated? The voters already made the decision that we’re not happy with this council.”