Thursday was
the first Georgetown City Council meeting for new Mayor Jay Doyle and new
council members Hobson Henry Milton, Sharon Melton and Jessie Walker.
An overflow
crowd was in attendance – so much so that the 120-person limit was reached and
some people were not allowed inside the meeting room.
The first
action item was a 4-3 split vote with the new members voting “yes” and he returning
members – Bruce Carl, Tamika Williams-Obeng, and Erin Ethridge – voting “no.”
At issue was
first reading on an ordinance that – if passed at second reading – will put in
place a 180 moratorium on rezoning of any parcel, subdivision of any parcel
into more than three parcels, or consideration of zoning variances in the city
of Georgetown.
On April 17,
2025, the City Council of the City of Georgetown adopted the 2040 Comprehensive
Plan for the City of Georgetown, including the Future Land Use Maps. Then on December
18, 2025, the City Council adopted a 291-page Unified Development Ordinance
(UDO) for the consolidation of zoning powers and uses within the City, repealing
the City of Georgetown Zoning Ordinance, the City of Georgetown Land
Development Regulations, and the City of Georgetown Architectural Review Board
Design Guidelines.
The
ordinance says during the moratorium, the city will receive professional review
of the Comprehensive Plan, to be used as a guide for review of the UDO.
During Thursday’s
meeting, former councilman Jonathan Angner said the studies being proposed have
already been done:
Later in the
meeting, a motion was made to pass the ordinance, and it received a second.
Williams-Obeng tried unsuccessfully to get the vote delayed to council could receive
more information.
Carl also
spoke about why he voted “no.”
Second
reading will take place in February.