Public Comment / Opinion
With the release of the 2040 Plan “Final Draft” and upcoming Planning Commission meeting next week, it is highly likely that the 2040 Comprehensive Plan will be moved forward to City Council. Public concern about the plans contents and future impact will need to be presented and substantiated at this meeting. Citizen attendance and participation is important at this meeting. A large turnout of citizens at this meeting is needed in order to communicate to the Planning Commission that many citizens have specific concerns and are not in favor of moving the 2040 Comprehensive Plan forward to City Council.
Over the next few weeks, the City of Georgetown will give us all opportunities to fill our cups with abundant joy. Worship, concerts, tree lightings, ice skating, and caroling will be part of our citywide celebrations. I am grateful for the people who work to ensure that these freedoms and traditions continue and to God for the blessings of this wonderful city.
For several months, I have considered writing on this platform about a different side of our city life. This other side involves the push and pull of citizen involvement versus government decision making surrounding the 2040 Comprehensive Plan and the forces of change that are on our doorsteps. Many of you have encouraged me to write on this platform about my involvement, concerns and the next steps in this very important process. It has been a personal struggle for me to articulate my thoughts without seeming judgmental or arrogant. However, being complacent is also problematic. I have been waiting for the right timing for my public comments.
Asleep at the Wheel
Part II – The role of the Planning Commission (visa-vi Municipal Comprehensive Planning)
From the outset of authoring this multipart series of articles, I stated that my intent was not to be overtly critical of our City’s Local Government. That withstanding, my narratives are meant to be thought provoking and a reflective wake-up call, not only for the planning commissioners but our city council at large (both past and present).
Comprehensive plans play a pivotal role in guiding the future of cities throughout the country. They act as a roadmap guiding us toward sustainable, resilient and vibrant communities. You can’t build a house without blueprints. Likewise, you can’t grow a community without a vision, one that is captured in the Comprehensive Plan.
THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM
So, if a Comprehensive Plan is so meaningful, why is the City’s Planning department apparently down playing its importance and implying that it some form of obligatory formality?
Ensuring Georgetown’s Future and the Regulation of its Development
Introduction
This post is a logical progression to my previous article which highlighted my involvement with the 2021 Comprehensive Plan (CP) task force which, in my opinion was not utilized in way that gave its members a sense of involvement or achievement. The final draft, sent to the Planning Commission in February of 2022 culminated in a plan that was woefully weak. However, as a unified community, it is time to move forward and decide how best to proceed and rectify the past shortcomings.
The concerns regarding the inadequacies and potential detrimental impact of the newly proposed City of Georgetown Comprehensive Plan are valid and require immediate attention. The lack of a clear purpose, transparency, and strategic direction poses significant risks to the city's future development. Ambiguity in recommendations and the absence of a coherent strategy leave the plan open to misinterpretation and exploitation by developers. If approved as it stands, the plan could irreversibly alter the character of Georgetown and lead to over development akin to other coastal communities, endangering the unique identity that sets Georgetown apart. A thorough overhaul of the Comprehensive Plan is essential to safeguard the city's heritage and ensure sustainable growth that aligns with the community's values and vision for the future.
I would like to voice my concern regarding the transparency of the planning dept. The City website only shows some meeting dates and a smattering of meeting minutes. Dating back to 2022, out of 18 meetings posted only six have meeting minutes. Furthermore, in 2023 there are no meeting dates, agendas or minutes posted for Jan, Feb, June, July, Aug, Sep, Nov and December. And Feb 2024 is also missing.
My name is Nick Robinson and I was one of the task force members that were invited, in January 2021, to develop a revision to the comprehensive plan that had last been authored in 2011. At that time, we were fired up and full of excitement with aspirations that we were going to develop a new plan that embodied the vision and the future of the City of Georgetown. It was thought that the revised plan would chart the evolution of the city in the coming decade.
When the present City Council of Georgetown voted in favor of eight-story buildings at certain points on the perimeter of Historic Georgetown, I saw the beginning of the end of this wonderfully slow southern town with its old world charm that cannot be found anywhere else anymore.
This post is not against affordability or density. It is intended to explain how planners and developers consider affordability and density to be linked.
Any desirable real estate is not low cost. Desirability drives up prices. Desirable land in the Georgetown city core is expensive.
Peter, Please register that I strongly urge you, as the Planning Director of Georgetown, to ask the Commissioners to table their decision on the 2040 Comprehensive Plan until they have seen ALL the revisions. To vote on an incomplete and even erroneous Plan of this significance is irresponsible.
If you go back 50 years ago, the population of Mt. Pleasant and Georgetown was about the same. Around 10,000 people. Now, they are the fourth largest city in SC with a population of 90,000. If you go back 50 years ago, Myrtle Beach had a summer season that usually ended after Labor Day. And now Horry County is the largest populated county in SC. Congestion and growth have taken over these two places.
I read and re-read the document from front to back and came up with some suggested changes that need to be made to the Comprehensive Plan.( I will admit my background as Director of Corporations always has me picking up a red pen whenever I read important documents.)
I have read the comprehensive plan thoroughly. In fact, my wife and I provided edits that were hopefully sent to the Waccamaw Regional Council of Governments to be incorporated into a revision. While reading the plan, we were both struck by the lack of a working knowledge of the City of Georgetown. Clearly somebody unfamiliar with our town was tasked to update the Comprehensive Plan and much appears to be cut and pasted from other documents.
Highlighted in Yellow are references to increasing density. Highlighted in green shows inconsistency / contradiction regarding City checks and balances.
In envisioning the future of Georgetown, we must prioritize building a community that provides a solid foundation for our children and families to thrive. This foundation should be built on pillars of high morals, quality education, and a strong sense of unity and support amongst residents.
2013 Front St. Fire - For those of you that missed the horrific day, check out this video. You will notice the fire department was only able to use one hose, due to low water pressure, to fight the blaze.