Sumter County council advances PDO 605 amendment to allow commercial, industrial and retail uses at 1391 property

Sumter County Council moved a planned-development amendment known as PDO 605 Revision 2 to second reading after a planning staff presentation and a brief procedural hearing.

Planning staff told the council the request concerns the parcel associated with 1391 (identified in the staff presentation as the Lehigh/Manningham/Minniehan property) and would add commercial, industrial and retail uses specifically for that site. "This is PDO 605 Revision 2 at Highway 521 South at 1391 Minnie Hat Road. The applicant is Tammy Hodge," the planner said during the presentation.

The amendment would not change the existing metal workshop building on the parcel, staff said. "As part of this request, there would be no changes to the structure. It would be simply a matter of allowing specific uses to go into the property," planning staff said. The presentation said the building has roll-up doors, office space and has met building code for commercial uses in the past.

Why it matters: the property is inside a planned development that was established in February 2006 and originally allowed a small number of single-family lots plus a cabinet-making workshop. Planning staff said the surrounding area has shifted toward industrial and manufacturing uses in recent years and that the amendment is intended to permit a set of uses compatible with the existing structure and nearby land uses while retaining protections for adjacent residences.

Key conditions described by staff that would carry forward with any approved amendment include: the existing structure must be retained (any demolition or substantial change would require return to council), compliance with all building-code requirements upon any change of occupancy, a required landscaping/buffering strip between the workshop and the nearby residence, parking surfaced with crushed stone as exists today, and hours of operation limited to Monday–Saturday, 8 a.m.–7 p.m., with no Sunday operations. Staff also said uses with significant outdoor storage or "obnoxious" outdoor components would be prohibited or would require screening; junk-yard or similar uses would not be allowed.

Planning staff said a list of roughly four to five pages of potential NAICS-based uses has been proposed; those were presented to the planning commission and staff recommended approval of the request. The applicant, identified in the meeting as Tammy Hodge, was present and available to speak for the request.

Public hearing: the council opened a public hearing, heard no public speakers and closed the hearing.

Action: a motion for second reading of PDO 605 Revision 2 was moved and seconded and the council registered the motion by voice vote. The clerk recorded a voice "aye" and no roll-call tally was given.

Next steps: the amendment was advanced to second reading. Any final approval at second reading would carry the conditions described by staff and would require conformance with building-code and other applicable county requirements.

Ending note: the staff presentation noted the plan development dates to 02/2006 and that a prior modification occurred roughly 10 years ago. The exact list of NAICS uses proposed in the amendment was submitted with the staff packet and was referenced in the presentation; the council did not modify the listed hours or the prohibition on demolition during the meeting.