on Monday, the Jasper County Council took its first step towards extending a building and development moratorium that is set to expire in mid-March.
If the council adopts the measure, they will move the deadline until July 31. Before any extension is possible, however, the council must hold a second reading that includes a public hearing; that has been set for March 4.
The moratorium – a 270-day timeout designed to give county officials a chance to weigh increasing development pressures in the county’s most rural areas – was adopted last June, a month after the council appointed what it dubbed the Broad River Task Force.
The task force looked at mounting development and population pressures mainly in and around unincorporated areas of Hardeeville and Coosawatchie. Jasper County Director of Planning and Building Lisa Wagner said in a phone interview Tuesday that those pressures are in the form of increasing requests to build, especially in areas of the county that Wagner says simply do not have the infrastructure to support.
The moratorium itself was ignited by a development proposal to bring 700 residential units close to Broad River, a proposal that immediately upset conservation groups worried about the impact on natural areas.
The moratorium states: “County Council is concerned over the impact of new subdivisions, commercial and residential development will have on road infrastructure, evacuation routes, streetscapes, traffic congestion, storm water, open space, natural habitats and the quality of life in this area.” [sic]
The moratorium has not affected single-lot construction; it was designed to put a pause on larger commercial and residential projects.
Wagner said that on the cusp of their nine-month deadline, Jasper County officials realized that they needed more time to consider the broad set of issues they have in front of them.
She said officials want to be more deliberate about – and “to add more meat” to – the building regulations that the county wants to develop to meet immediate and longer-term growth.
“We didn’t want to rush just to get it done by the end of 270 days,” Wagner said. She added that county officials also found “a need to keep our rural and unincorporated areas rural.”
A community event to get further feedback from the public is set for March 25.
