Housing rules to be reconsidered

The Columbia County Commission took a final look Tuesday at a proposed $57 million budget before its June 2 vote.

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The only changes made to the budget since the commission last reviewed it May 12 was the addition of $30,000 to cover the travel expenses of county recreation league teams, and a $25,000 one-time contribution for the Kroc Center in Augusta.

Next year's proposed budget represents an increase of about 0.3 percent over the current budget, county Finance Director Leanne DeLoach said.

Also at the meeting, the commission backtracked on imposing a moratorium on apartment rezonings.

Rather than imposing a moratorium, the commission instead instructed county attorney Doug Batchelor to work with planning staff on revising ordinances regarding multifamily housing.

However, Batchelor said a moratorium might still be necessary. He and planning officials could produce numerous options on ordinance revisions.

If so, county officials might impose a moratorium to give time to review those options.

Changes to the ordinances might include maximum density, parking regulations and design characteristics, according to county documents.

They might also clarify the difference between owner occupied and rental units, and set standards for comparing an apartment complex's design with that of buildings in the surrounding area.

The revisions might take as long as six weeks to write, Batchelor said.

Commission Chairman Ron Cross had requested the moratorium after recent debate concerning site plan revisions for Marshall Square.

Developers for the 47-acre Planned United Development-zoned property on Evans Town Center Boulevard had proposed an apartment density greater than the 14 units per acre allowed in standard apartment zoning.

The commission shot down that portion of the revisions during a May 5 meeting and limited developers to 189 units when they were requesting 288.

Marshall Square developers filed a $57.5 million lawsuit Tuesday against Columbia County for their decision.