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Sumter County approves first reading of broad residential zoning text amendment
Summary
The council approved first reading of OA 2505, a text amendment that revises definitions and application requirements for accessory apartments, duplexes, townhouses and other housing types, adds site- or plot-plan submissions for certain 1–2 unit dwellings and tabular district standards.
Sumter County Council gave first reading to OA 2505, a comprehensive text amendment to the county's residential development standards that revises definitions and submission requirements and clarifies which housing types are allowed in each zoning district.
Helen Rudman, planning staff, said the amendment would update articles 1, 3, 4, 5 and 10 to add clear definitions (accessory apartment, duplex, triplex, quadruplex, townhouse and multifamily), require additional submissions where it is unclear whether a proposed detached one- or two-unit dwelling will fit on a lot, and convert long, duplicative paragraphs into tabular development standards. "This text amendment is to amend our residential development standards in the county," Rudman said, summarizing the purpose of OA 2505.
The amendment would: define an accessory apartment as a second dwelling unit on the same lot with separate cooking and sanitary provisions; treat certain accessory buildings larger than 1,200 square feet differently for setbacks (10-foot setback from property lines); require a plot plan or floor plan for conditional-use reviews of townhouses, single-family attached units, duplexes and quadruplexes; and cap accessory-apartment size at 40% of the ground area of the principal dwelling or 1,000 square feet, whichever is less. Rudman also said accessory apartments are limited to one per property and are prohibited where a manufactured home is the principal use.
Council and staff discussed tiny ("mini") homes; Rudman said the county currently treats tiny houses as single-family dwellings under the existing ordinance but noted that any change for tiny-home-specific standards would require additional code work and coordination with state building codes and DHEC for septic and utility issues.
Council members agreed to remove an existing two-bedroom cap for accessory apartments before second reading, with one council member noting that size limits already govern the unit. Planning Commission recommended approval of the amendment.
First reading passed by voice vote; council recorded no roll-call tally in the transcript. Rudman said accessory-structure issues not covered in OA 2505 will be addressed in a separate accessory-structure amendment later this year. The item will return for subsequent readings, where additional edits may be made prior to final adoption.
