Sumter County Council approves three rezoning requests amid limited public comment

Sumter County Council unanimously approved three rezoning measures during its Aug. 22 meeting, clearing the way for upgrades to utility infrastructure, a church parsonage and conversion of two small residential lots for commercial use.

The Council approved second reading for RZ-23-15, a request from Duke Energy Progress, LLC to rezone roughly 15.59 acres at 315 E. Red Bay Road from General Residential (GR) to Light Industrial–Warehouse (LI‑W) to allow replacement and modernization of existing utility towers that staff said date to the 1980s. Planning staff member Helen Roodman told council the parcel sits next to an active rail line and nearby industrial operations and that the proposed LI‑W use is generally consistent with the Sumter 2040 Comprehensive Plan. Resident Gloria Scriven McFadden asked whether the new towers would be taller than the existing structures; the council did not provide technical details during the meeting. "Will the new power towers be higher than the existing power towers?" McFadden asked during the public hearing.

Council also approved RZ-23-16, rezoning about 3.62 acres at 1600 S. Pike E. from Light Industrial–Warehouse to Neighborhood Commercial to permit a parsonage for The Revelation Sanctuary Church Ministries, Inc.; Planning staff said the request aligns with the Comprehensive Plan's suburban development goals. No one spoke during the public hearing on that item.

The body voted to rezone two adjoining parcels at 419 and 429 S. Guignard Drive (RZ-23-12) from General Residential to General Commercial. Roodman told council that although the parcels lie within the Conservation Planning Area — where non‑agricultural commercial uses are generally discouraged — rezoning would remove automatic residential entitlement and could reduce flood-risk exposure for dwellings if developed under the county's Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance. Applicant supporters, including Alphozo Grayson, spoke in favor of the change. Councilman Carlton B. Washington asked how the Planning Commission had voted; Roodman said the motion carried 4–3 at the Planning Commission.

All three rezoning motions passed by unanimous vote on second reading. Motions and seconds were recorded on the minutes: agenda and minutes approvals, each rezoning approval, and the adjournment were moved mainly by Councilman Artie Baker and seconded by Vice Chairman James R. Byrd Jr.

The Council did not hold an executive session. The meeting record shows an absence of technical detail about the planned tower replacements; Duke Energy representatives were present but did not provide measurements or visuals in the public hearing. The next procedural step for these rezoning approvals is compliance with any conditions and applicable permitting under Sumter County zoning and floodplain regulations.