HOLLY HILL TOWN COUNCIL: Topic of public hearing was different than announced

The town placed a notice in The Times and Democrat on June 20 stating that “both proponents and opponents of the (grant application) shall be given full opportunity to be heard” during a “public hearing” on Monday, July 1.

However, the public hearing was not held. Mayor Billy Chavis said the current fleet is aging and “our police vehicles have to be up to the task.”

The council then adopted a resolution authorizing the town to apply for the funding. The town will have to provide a small percentage of the total cost.

Wastewater facility

The council did indeed hold a public hearing that evening, but on an entirely different topic – the purchase of approximately 2 acres of land on Pine Street near the site where the town will build a new wastewater treatment facility.

Chavis said the land purchase will cost a fraction of the alternative, which would be to build a bridge to the site.

The mayor invited comments on the land purchase, but none were forthcoming, so the council voted to finalize the land purchase.

The town has applied to state environmental regulators for a permit to discharge wastewater from the new treatment facility into Home Branch, which feeds into Four Hole Swamp.

State environmental regulators are inviting “interested parties to provide written comments” on the town’s application for the permit, according to a “public notice” posted on the bulletin board at the Town Hall.

The notice was not printed in a newspaper. The mayor said state officials made the decisions on how to inform the public of the opportunity to comment on the permit application.

The notice includes detailed instructions on how to access a fact sheet and submit comments. It can be viewed in the Town Hall lobby during office hours. Contact Desiree R. Occilien at occilidr@dhec.sc.gov for more information.

The public comment period will end on Wednesday, July 24.

Food trucks

A key feature of Holly Hill’s zoning ordinance is a table that lists all of the permissible land uses in each zoning classification. If a land use is not on the list, it’s not allowed, Chavis said.

Food trucks are not on the list, but when town officials began enforcing that prohibition late last year, it created a backlash among the citizenry.

So, at town officials’ request, planning and zoning consultant Rebecca Vance wrote a proposed amendment to the town’s zoning ordinance that would allow food trucks under certain conditions.

Food truck operators could set up in the Town Hall parking lot for up to 45 days – and obtain up to two 45-day renewals if desired – with the permission of the town’s zoning administrator.

Food truck operators with a special event permit could set up for one day in either of the town-owned parks – Folk or Gilmore – or on a residential property with the permission of the home owners association, if applicable.

Food trucks would have to be approved by the Orangeburg County fire marshal and the state agency that regulates food trucks, which the proposal identifies as the Department of Health and Environmental Control. The South Carolina Legislature dissolved DHEC as of June 30. As of July 1, retail food safety regulations now fall under the purview of the state Department of Agriculture.

The council gave first-reading approval to the rules for food trucks. A public hearing and a final reading will be scheduled.

Pending Ordinance Doctrine

Another proposed change to the zoning ordinance is the addition of a Pending Ordinance Doctrine clause.

It would forbid town employees from issuing permits or authorizing the commencement of construction when such action would allow a land use that is at odds with a pending zoning or rezoning change, amendment, or ordinance.

An ordinance is considered pending when the council has resolved to consider a particular change and has advertised to the public its intention to hold public hearings on the proposed change.

The South Carolina Supreme Court first defined and applied the doctrine in the case of Sherman v. Reavis in 1979.

The council gave first-reading approval to the Pending Ordinance Doctrine clause.

In a separate vote, the council gave first-reading approval to a request by MUSC Health Corporation to bring the Holly Hill Primary Care office on Bunch Ford Road into the town limits with a zoning of C-3 Limited Commercial.

The council gave first-reading approval to the budget for fiscal year 2024-2025 “in name only,” also known as “by title only.”

It is a common practice not to reveal dollar amounts or anticipated tax rates until the public hearing. The date of the public hearing was not immediately announced.

The council must give final approval to the budget before the new fiscal year begins. In Holly Hill, that’s Sept. 1.

Council member Cynthia Fuller requested that Mayor Chavis schedule a budget work session. Chavis asked the other council members if they too felt a budget work session was needed, but they said no. The mayor then said the majority had spoken. (Councilman George Summerson was absent.)

Fuller wasn’t satisfied.

“If we don’t have a workshop, that means the mayor can put whatever he wants on this paper, and if he gets three votes, that’s it. No discussion, anything,” she said.

“There’s too much going on in the Town of Holly Hill for just the mayor to be aware of what’s going on. I don’t work like that, and I just had to get that off my chest,” Fuller said.

Chavis responded that state law does not require a budget work session.

“In municipal law, in the mayor-council form of government, the mayor produces a budget to the council for approval. I presented a balanced budget to the council members,” Chavis said.

“Never has a council had a say-so in a budget,” Chavis continued. “Last year I got input because we had some very big windfalls that we had to be in this together. All the department heads got together and brought their numbers to the table.”

“At the end of the day, it was a balanced budget. Nobody shoved the numbers down your throat. It’s municipal law and it’s what we were taught by the Municipal Association when we were elected,” Chavis concluded.

The Holly Hill Town Council’s next monthly meeting is scheduled for Monday, Aug. 5, at 6:30 p.m. in the governmental complex at 8423 Old State Road. Contact Town Clerk Shelia Williams at 803-496-3330 for information.