COASTAL OBSERVER

An application to rezone a former commercial tract on the Georgetown waterfront arrived just before the city suspended rezoning requests last month.

The property, which is behind Mayor Jay Doyle’s house, will be up for review by the Planning Commission next week.

It’s part of a tract proposed for redevelopment last year. That rezoning request was withdrawn after the commission voted to recommend denial by City Council.

The pending application seeks to rezone .7 acres adjacent to the former Independent Seafood from “waterfront commercial” to “R-4.”

The request also includes a proposed amendment to the future land use map to change the designation for the area within Cannon, Front and St. James streets from “waterfront commercial” to “historic district residential.”

“We want to have the same zoning as everybody around us,” said Dan Stacy, agent for the property owner, Tarbox Court 3 LLC. 

Although his name was redacted from a copy of the rezoning application provided by the city, Stacy confirmed that he is representing the LLC, whose principal is Buddy Hucks. 

The move follows last year’s intense public scrutiny over the changes to Georgetown’s waterfront character.

The Planning Commission voted in October to recommend City Council deny a zoning change that would allow residential development around the former Independent Seafood docks at the end of Cannon Street. Last year’s rezoning request sought to create a “master planned residential district” from seven parcels on 3.4 acres that have three different owners.

Stacy, who represented the owners, said at the time that the development would provide a transition between commercial activity on Front Street and the homes in the historic district.

The owners have worked for more than three years to draft a proposal that would meet the concerns of residents, he had said, but the applicants were unwilling to accept the terms and conditions suggested during the approval process.

City Council approved the second reading of an ordinance last month establishing a temporary moratorium on requests for variances and rezoning of any subdivision of more than three parcels.

The Board of Zoning Appeals considered five variance requests this month, which was an “unusually large number” according to its chairman, Jimmy Cobb.

“The five seem to be people trying to get ahead of the curve,” he said. 

The board approved three of the requests.

Cobb raised a concern to council about citizens’ being denied due process if they were not permitted to continue to apply for relief from certain applications of ordinances that could create unnecessary hardship to property owners. 

He cited the state law that grants the board the power to hear and grant variances, special exceptions and administrative appeals.

There were minor changes made to the ordinance after its first reading in January to provide clarity that submissions prior to the effective date of the moratorium would be heard since they were already in the process, according to Scott Whittier, the city administrator.

Cobb said the city’s comprehensive plan and unified development ordinance, or UDO, need to be revisited – a main reason Mayor Jay Doyle cited for enacting the moratorium. 

“I have no problems with the new council exercising that right and authority. They’re well within their powers to do that,” Cobb said. “I was merely concerned about the citizens being able to have these applications heard.”

Planning  staff are reviewing the comprehensive plan and UDO to determine what updates may be needed related to the moratorium, according to Jennifer Boyer, the director of planning and community development.

She said the city could explore the use of consultants but has not hired a consultant.

Any changes to the comprehensive plan or UDO will need approval by the council.

Cobb said he doesn’t anticipate any difficulties in the board’s work because of the moratorium.