Planner presents consolidated zoning ordinance draft combining city and county rules

Rick Gregory, consultant to the county, presented a consolidated draft zoning ordinance that combines the Old City of Hartsville and Bridal County land‑use regulations into a single document intended to simplify administration and make standards easier to find.

Gregory said his mandate was to combine existing ordinances rather than to remake them: “My task was to combine and not to reinvent, and we didn't do that,” he told the commission. The draft blends definitions, creates a use‑classification section and a two‑page use matrix, and moves floodplain regulations into an appendix to make future updates easier.

Key features of the draft include a consolidated set of general provisions, a use matrix (appendix A) that lists which use categories are permitted in which zones, a default regulations table for setbacks and dimensional standards (appendix B), and an appendix with floodplain rules (appendix C). The draft also retains separate development standards where city and county requirements differed substantially — for example, mobile‑home park standards remain distinct for the former city urban‑services area and the former county general‑services area.

Gregory said the combined document runs roughly 132 pages in draft form and that the county attorney, Randy Bell, had reviewed agricultural language revisions. Staff said the next step is to provide the full consolidated draft to the planning commission for review and then forward it to the full commission; any changes at the full commission would return to the planning commission before final adoption.

Commissioners thanked Gregory for the work; no vote on adoption was taken at the meeting. Staff will deliver the full draft to the commission and the item will return for formal review and recommendation before any adoption vote.