Florence planning on cusp of big changes

By Charles Tomlinson
Morning News Reporter
Published: June 28, 2008

FLORENCE — Florence County and city planning officials have been on the move to new facilities lately, which means those in need of permits will have to get them at a different — although more convenient — location.

Although Florence is re-establishing its city planning department effective Tuesday, the county department will continue to handle building permits and inspections within the city at its new offices in the former TranSouth building, near South Irby and Cedar streets.

Although not necessarily a permanent location, the building offers more parking for customers and employees and about 6,000 additional square feet of space in a more useful configuration, Florence County Planning Director Bill Hoge said.

“I think it’s going to be a great place for us to be for a while,” Hoge said.

The planning department effectively closed for two days as it began moving about 9:30 a.m. June 5, Hoge said. Movers unloaded the final box at 1:15 a.m. the following morning, he said.

The planning department’s offices are located on the first two floors of the four-story building.

The city’s planning offices will be in the former county planning building, at 218 W. Evans St. The city acquired the building in a property swap through which the county obtained parking lots across from the Florence City-County Complex. The city planning department began moving from its Sanborn Street office this week.

“We should be ready to open the doors on Tuesday” at the new location, Florence Urban Planning and Development Director Phillip Lookadoo said.

The building, while cramped for the county’s nearly 40 employees, should offer ample space for the city’s seven planning employees, Lookadoo said.

Lookadoo’s department has four employees, and he has just hired a senior planner/zoning administrator. He plans to hire a downtown development coordinator and a zoning enforcement officer soon.

“You want to hire somebody who has a small learning curve because you want to hit the ground running,” Lookadoo said.

Amid all the changes, both departments’ telephone numbers will remain the same. The county planning department can be reached at (843) 676-8600, and the city department’s number is (843) 665-2047.

Appointees

Florence County

Planning Commission

(11 seats, one vacancy)

• Linda Borgman
• Cecil Cunha
• David Hobbs
• Roger Kirby
• Peter Knoller
• Jody Lane
• Bill Lockhart
• Doris Lockhart
• King D. Lowery
• Virginia Turbeville Talbert

Board of Zoning Appeals (nine seats, three vacancies)

• James Cooper Jr.
• Bill Garner
• Daniel Jackson
• Chuck Jacobs
• John Miller
• Clyde Moore

City of Florence

Planning Commission

• Drew Chaplin (vice chairman)
• Dorothy Hines
• Ella Frazier
• Louie Hopkins
• Simon Lee
• Derrick Owens
• Tommy Phillips
• Mildred Welch
• Glynn Willis (chairman)

Board of Zoning Appeals (no chairman selected yet)

• Larry Chewning
• Consuella Ferguson
• Mary Hepburn
• Charles Howard Jr.
• Randolph Hunter Jr. (vice chairman)
• Scott Kozacki
• Katherine Wilcox

Building Permits

Although the county will continue handling the city’s building permits, those who need permits should go first to the city’s planning department to get zoning clearance, Florence Urban Planning and Development Director Phillip Lookadoo said.

Once the city grants a zoning permit, it will update the county directly through a server link, Lookadoo said.

If an applicant for a permit visits county offices first, the county will notify the city that building officials need zoning clearance before granting a permit, Florence County Planning Director Bill Hoge said.