During their meeting Tuesday Pelzer Town Council amended their budget ordinance to add a line item for revitalization.
Mayor Will Ragland said that the line item was in last year’s budget but was not used and that it needs to be put back in this year. Ragland said that $100,000 from the General Fund will be transferred to the line item to cover revitalization related expenditures. One of those was a property purchase made earlier in the year in which a dilapidated house on the property was torn down and removed.
A line item was also added to the budget ordinance for July 4th. $6000 from the Special projects line item will be transferred to the account to cover expenses for the July 4th celebration including fireworks.
Council unanimously approved first reading on the amended budget.
There was considerable discussion regarding changing the minimum lot size and setbacks for new residential lots in Pelzer. The current zoning ordinance requires a minimum of 7000 sq. ft. The Pelzer Planning Commission recommended changing the minimum lot size to 18,760 sq. ft. New setbacks recommended were 20 ft. on the front and rear and 30 ft. on the side. The new footage is slightly under one half acre.
Councilman Eddie Waits said he was in favor of increasing the lot size to allow for custom homes however had some concerns about how the setbacks may affect placement of homes on properties.
After some discussion, the issue was tabled to allow councilmembers to get more information.
If approved, the ordinance will primarily affect development on the lagoon property and the old mill properties.
