Moving public hearings for planning department items from Conway City Council meetings to the planning commission could be beneficial to both the public and developers, city officials said.
The proposal would shorten the time it takes for an application to make its way through planning commission and city council, as well as give the public an opportunity from the beginning to vocalize support for or opposition to items.
鈥淚n the interest of providing the applicants with the best use of time for the review process,鈥 said Allison Hardin, Conway鈥檚 director of planning and development. 鈥淲e鈥檙e proposing to change the order of the way we do things to give the applicants and staff input from the public sooner in the process so that the applicant can make any changes that may need to happen based on public input.鈥
This is how it currently works: the planning commission meets on the first Thursday of every month to make recommendations to city council based on the requests the planning department receives. These requests include annexation and rezoning petitions, amendments to the Unified Development Ordinance, comprehensive planning activities and amendments, and other issues requested by Conway City Council.
From there, the application can sit for 11-18 days before it is placed on city council鈥檚 agenda for the third Monday of each month. At that meeting, the council typically is just introduced to the item and discusses it, but does not take a vote. Council has the chance to ask staff or the applicant to bring additional information to the public hearing.
The application then sits for another 14-21 days until the public hearing and first reading. If council approves the item during first reading, the application sits for another 14-21 days before a second reading where it could become law. Hardin said this waiting period could be a time for developers to tweak their requests and make necessary changes.
鈥淭he public input is extremely helpful to both the developer and the staff because oftentimes they will bring up points about the neighborhood that neither staff or the developer had considered,鈥 Hardin said. 鈥淲e can get a better product in the end with less delay. Currently, the public comes into the process nearly halfway through.鈥
The current process has multiple issues, city officials say, including that the developer has to wait many days and the item is not always publicized until public hearing and first reading at council meetings. In other words, neighbors may not have heard about a rezoning or annexation request until the item has gone to through a planning meeting and on to city council.
Mary Catherine Hyman, assistant city manager, said the planning commission members do not have a chance to hear from the public before making recommendations to council.
鈥淚t would take that burden off city council and you would get a more thorough recommendation from planning,鈥 Hyman told city council during its budget retreat Friday.
According to state law, the comprehensive planning act allows government bodies to assign planning commissions to be responsible for public hearings. The default is that hearings are held by councils, according to a spokesperson for the Municipal Association of South Carolina.
State law requires just one public hearing to be held ahead of enacting or amending any zoning regulations or maps, either at the planning commission or at council meetings. It's up to the government body to decide.
The proposal
Planning staff recommends moving public hearings to planning commission meetings because it can allow for better input at the start of the process.
鈥淥bviously public input is extremely important in any of the planning process,鈥 Hardin said. 鈥淭he public has a way to be involved. We鈥檙e interested in getting them involved earlier in the process so that we can maximize their input and minimize extensions or delays in the development process.鈥
The public鈥檚 needs could also be addressed during planning commission meetings instead of waiting until the item gets to city council.
鈥淪ounds like a no-brainer,鈥 said Conway Mayor Barbara Blain-Bellamy during the budget retreat. 鈥淲e鈥檙e all for it.鈥
This proposal would cut two weeks from the review time. Under the city鈥檚 current practice, an item鈥檚 time until final reading can be between 53 and 74 days. If changed, it would shorten the process to 49 to 63 days.
An amendment will have to be made to city ordinance in order for the change to occur. If the city council votes to approve the proposal, it could be implemented as soon as the new fiscal year begins July 1.
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