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Sumter County Council denies rezoning request for 3720 Broad Street after neighbor opposition
Summary
Sumter County Council voted 6–1 to deny second reading of a request to rezone a 0.81‑acre portion of 3720 Broad Street from General Residential to General Commercial after nearby residents raised concerns about lack of notice and potential impacts on long‑standing family properties.
Sumter County Council on April 25 denied second reading of RZ‑23‑03, a request to rezone a roughly 0.81‑acre portion of 3720 Broad Street from General Residential (GR) to General Commercial (GC), following strong public opposition and council concern about unknown future uses.
Planning Director Helen Roodman told the council the parcel is undeveloped, lacks public sewer service, is shown as outside the FEMA special flood hazard area, and may be adjacent to wetlands. Planning staff and the Planning Commission recommended approval, noting that rezoning to a single district would align with the Sumter 2040 Comprehensive Plan and existing split zoning on neighboring parcels.
Neighbors who spoke at the public hearing said they had not been consulted. “I have lived at this location all my life,” Thomasina Fishburne said, urging the council to require the property owner or applicant to disclose development plans before permitting a zoning change. Sarah Sheppard said her family has been at the nearby site for more than a century and worried that commercial zoning could preclude future residential builds and threaten family property interests.
Council discussion focused on the unknowns of what a commercial use would bring and the context that approximately 250 feet at the front of the tract is already zoned commercial. Councilman Carlton B. Washington said those uncertainties made him unwilling to support rezoning at this time. On a motion by Councilman Charles T. Edens, seconded by Council Member Vivian McGhaney, council voted to deny second reading; Vice Chairman James R. Byrd, Jr. cast the lone dissenting vote.
Denying second reading halts this rezoning at this stage unless the applicant reapplies or provides additional information to address neighbors’ concerns. The Planning Department record notes that a change to GC would allow any GC uses subject to development standards and applicable approvals.
The council proceeded to other agenda items after closing the public hearing.
