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Broad River Business Alliance urges emergency zoning and business restrictions after two shootings
Summary
A Broad River Business Alliance spokesperson told Richland County Council that two recent fatal shootings require an emergency zoning overlay, mandatory security standards and a moratorium on certain high-risk businesses; council took the comment under advisement and did not adopt immediate legislation.
A representative speaking for the Broad River Business Alliance urged Richland County Council on June 16 to adopt emergency zoning and licensing measures after two recent fatal shootings in the Broad River corridor.
The speaker, who identified himself on the record as Huarez of 1120 Brier Gate, described two shootings—one June 8 at an extended-stay hotel and one June 14 at a restaurant—that he said left multiple victims and prompted the alliance’s demands. "This overlay must carry real enforcable teeth, no aspirational language," Huarez said, calling for enforceable operating-hour restrictions, mandatory security standards, lighting requirements and licensing-accountability triggers tied to documented violent-incident histories.
Huarez also called for a comprehensive public-safety and code-compliance audit of extended-stay motel properties, a moratorium on new predatory business licensing (including payday lenders and certain vape retailers) in the Broad River district, and a dedicated public hearing before Richland County Council focused solely on the corridor’s public-safety and zoning failures.
At the same meeting, the council held a public hearing on an ordinance authorizing up to $12 million in general-obligation bonds for fire-protection capital improvements. Connie Turner, a resident of Irmo who spoke in that hearing, thanked the council for attention to the fire advisory and said the department’s needs are substantial: "The needs of the fire department are many, as has been identified in those reports," she said.
Council members did not take immediate legislative action on the Broad River business-alliance demands. Several members acknowledged the public-safety concerns and signaled willingness to consider formal review or hearings; the alliance requested a single, dedicated public hearing with recorded testimony and a committed policy response. The council’s packet includes multiple right-of-way and transfer ordinances and other items; council members suggested that the alliance’s petition would best be addressed through a separate agenda item or public-hearing process.
The meeting record contains no further official response from county legal staff or a council motion to schedule the requested hearing. Councilmembers and staff will need to determine whether to add the overlay or related licensing measures to a future agenda for formal consideration.
