Easley council debates new unified development ordinance; members split on ADUs, density and setbacks

City of Easley councilors spent the bulk of their Sept. 8 meeting on a first reading of ordinance 2025-11, a measure to repeal the city’s existing zoning ordinance and land development regulations and replace them with a unified City of Easley development ordinance (UDO).

The debate focused on six open questions staff flagged for council direction: whether to include accessory dwelling units (ADUs) in the UDO or treat them as a separate ordinance; whether subdivisions should require a mandatory second entrance based on lot counts or a traffic study; the size of buffer zones adjacent to protected water bodies (currently 25 feet or four times the channel width); whether traffic impact studies should be mandatory for developments with more than 100 parking spaces; removal of campgrounds/RV parks from the code; and setbacks and density adjustments.

Why it matters: the UDO would replace two longstanding planning documents and set rules for future development. Councilors said the measure affects growth, housing affordability and public safety (access for emergency vehicles), and the city is operating under a moratorium that expires in November. That deadline framed arguments for both moving forward and pausing for more review.

Most contentious issues

Accessory dwelling units (ADUs). Staff and the city planner said ADUs had been included in the draft but that planning staff and the planning commission left the policy choice to council. City Planner Corey (identified on the…