City Council notes

By Cindy  

SEPTEMBER 30, 2010 10:57 a.m. (0)

It’s going to get harder to open a nightclub or bar in some areas of Greenville.

Greenville City Council members on Monday gave initial approval to a measure that will require bars and nightclubs wanting to locate in commercially zoned areas of the city to get a special exemption.

To get one, a party must go before the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals.

The process requires a public hearing where neighbors are given a chance to speak for or against the business. The Board of Zoning Appeals can also force the business to meet special requirements before opening.

According to the ordinance, which must be approved on second reading before becoming final, the council “recognizes the need to reconcile the economic and quality of life benefits of having bars and nightclubs in the community with the elevated potential for law enforcement calls and nuisance conditions sometimes associated with such establishments.”

Mayor Knox White said the change was long overdue.

Concerns over the affect of businesses locating near residential neighborhoods have reared up recently in the city.

Residents near Stone Avenue protested the 24-hour operation of a Waffle House restaurant, saying the business would negatively affect adjoining neighborhoods. The restaurant was allowed to open but the Board of Zoning Appeals said the matter would be reviewed in a year.

In addition, the council gave initial approval to the rezoning of properties in the South Academy Street corridor to C-4, which is the classification for the city’s central business district.

The council decided to exclude a block bounded by Washington Street, Academy Street, Butler Street and Hampton Avenue after resident Bob Lloyd brought up concerns about parking. The block is largely occupied by St. Mary’s Catholic Church.

Lloyd said the new zoning would not require parking. But Jean Pool, the city’s planning and development manager, said the new classification requires plans be reviewed by city staff and the Design Review Board and parking could be considered then.

In other action, the City Council voted to accept 1/10th of an acre of land at 516 Anderson St. from Priscilla A. Taylor. The land will be used for redevelopment efforts in the Sterling community.

The city will use community development money to pay for the demolition of the structure on the property. An effort to improve the Sterling neighborhood is underway by Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital System, the Greenville County Redevelopment Authority and other community partners.

A piece of city-owned land on West Washington Street will be leased so O’Leary Cole, Inc. can create an organic community garden.

The 891-square-foot garden will be used to raise awareness of sustainability.

The next regular meeting of the Greenville City Council will be Oct. 11 at 5:30 p.m. in the council chambers on the 10th floor of City Hall.

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