The Darlington County Planning Commission is in the midst of three public hearings to get input from residents on their thoughts about land-use issues in the county.
The first public hearing was held last Thursday.
The next one is today at 6:30 p.m. at Lawton Park in Hartsville and Jan. 27 at the Palmetto Rural Fire District fire station on McIver Road near Darlington.
Land-use plans are required under state law and have to be updated every so many years.
Keep in mind that the land-use plan is not zoning nor does it restrict usage.
In 2006, about 51 percent of Darlington County voters voting in an advisory referendum indicated they favored some form of land-use planning.
As one county official said that’s not a big majority for it, but we hope residents realize the need as the county grows.
So we urge county residents to find out more about the plans and the issues and let county officials know how they feel.
In an interview with the Morning News, Darlington County Planning Director Doug Reimold said he hopes citizens will attend the meetings and tell planners what they want to see or not see in the land use plan.
After the hearings the planning staff hopes to give an updated plan to Darlington County Council in April.
Recent conflicts over proposed hog and turkey farms have made the issue of land use and zoning even more important in Darlington.
Florence County faces the same types of issues, especially as the urban area of Florence expands in what is actually the county.
But those areas have no zoning and so conflicts or issues arise in Florence as well.
And other counties in the Pee Dee, of course, have similar issues.
Marlboro and Williamsburg counties are facing issues with proposed mega waste dumps.
“The biggest thing is for people to understand that the land use plan is not a regulation,” Charles Brooks, senior planner for Darlington County, told the Morning News. “It’s not zoning. It’s not an enforcement tool. This is not going to restrict development one way or the other.”
At present, land-use development in the unincorporated areas of the county occurs at the will of individual property owners, Reimold told the Morning News.
The land-use element of the plan is a “wish list” or vision of how the county could or should develop and grow over a prescribed period of time, Reimold said.
As Darlington and Florence and other counties continue to grow, however, we not only need these land-use guidelines, but we need well thought out zoning that’s appropriate for what an area has become or might become.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement