GEORGETOWN, SC (WMBF) – The Georgetown City Council has approved the first reading of an ordinance placing a moratorium on re-zoning for 180 days.<\/p>\n
Mayor Jay Doyle told WMBF that he proposed the ordinance because he believes the city\u2019s Unified Development Ordinance, which the previous city council approved in December 2025, was developed too quickly and has flaws.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t feel our current zoning laws were done properly. They were done hastily,\u201d Doyle said. <\/p>\n
Doyle said the moratorium would give council and city staff time to review and change the Unified Development Ordinance, and previously wrote that if the moratorium passes, he hopes the city will create a new comprehensive plan and conduct several infrastructure assessments before it is lifted.<\/p>\n
The council voted 4-3 on the ordinance\u2019s first reading. <\/p>\n
Councilman Bruce Carl raised concerns during the meeting about the message the ordinance would send to entrepreneurs and businesses interested in Georgetown, as well as the costs involved with developing new plans.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople who have come in and may already have invested some money, now are sitting with holding costs and can\u2019t move forward with certain processes, that\u2019s one concern of mine,\u201d Carl told WMBF. \u201cThe second is, I think it shows to the people that we\u2019re not really moving forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Georgetown resident Billy Weaver said rezoning has brought many changes and he hopes the Georgetown area stays the way it is.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople have land and farms and things out here, where they can plant a garden, but then you get the developers coming in, and they want to push it and take it away from the older generations,\u201d Weaver said.<\/p>\n
Nat Kaminski said while he does think rezoning needs regulation, new development could bring good things to the city as it continues to grow.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt does have to be regulated and controlled, so, I feel good about it. I think they\u2019re doing some good things,\u201d Kaminski said. \u201cI think there\u2019s gonna some big changes, great deal of development coming to Georgetown, which it probably should have. It\u2019s a place that people want to live.\u201d<\/p>\n
The re-zoning moratorium will need to pass a second reading to be put in place. <\/p>\n
Doyle says a second reading is planned for the city council meeting in February.<\/p>\n
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