Hartsville moves to allow breweries downtown
By Samantha Lyles, Staff Writer, slyles@newsandpress.net
Hartsville City Council held their regular meeting on Tuesday, July 10 and approved first reading of an ordinance that will allow breweries and brew pubs to operate within city limits.
Ordinance 4343 unanimously passed first reading, and amends city zoning codes to allow craft breweries – which, according to the ordinance extract will help Hartsville spur economic growth.
“Local investors have expressed an interest in opening a brewery in downtown Hartsville. The planning commission has reviewed the ordinance and made a recommendation to city council to approve,” the ordinance stated. “More than 4500 breweries exist around the country. Communities, large and small, have benefitted from breweries being a part of their communities. Breweries create not only local jobs but also jobs in industries such as packaging, distributing, transportation and agriculture.”
Some of those local investors, including partner Casey Hancock and head brewer Zach Reiner, said they plan to renovate the former Gardner’s Fertilizer location for use as a brew pub. Hancock said their schedule calls for renovations to be completed and the pub to open as early as possible in 2019.
Council held a public hearing and approved final reading for Ordinance 4030, expanding the City’s historic district to include a property located at 217 East Carolina Avenue, owned by Coker College. The Historic District now includes the following historic properties: the Hartsville Museum, the Hartsville Rail Passenger Station, the Hart Cottage, Lawton Park and Pavilion, Coker Experimental Farms, Belk Building, East Carolina Avenue, a portion of the Southern Candy Kitchen, 110 East Carolina Avenue, the remaining portions of the Southern Candy Kitchen, 106 & 108 East Carolina Avenue and 152 & 154 Mantissa Row, and the original Piggly Wiggly at 217 East Carolina Avenue.
Two resolutions approved mutual aid agreements between the Hartsville Police Department and the police departments of the City of Darlington and the City of Bishopville.
Council approved the bid award for maintenance of Magnolia and Greenlawn Cemeteries, with the low bid of $98,400 per year coming from Warren’s Landscapes and Contractors of Hartsville. The five-year contract calls for an additional fee per burial service in pursuant to terms of cemetery operations and maintenance contract. Opening and closing of graves and funeral supervision for up to 100 services per year will cost $250.00 per service, billed to the city monthly. Any burials beyond the initial 100 would cost half-rate.
In approving first reading for Ordinance 4341, Council moved to adopt standards regarding the location and design of small wireless facilities in municipal rights of way and abutting utility easements. These SWFs will be considered ‘permissible use’ unless proposed to locate within a historical, design or underground utility district, in which case additional review would be required to protect the character of the districts.
Council approved first reading of Ordinance 4342, amending the business license codes to include the following changes: licenses are due yearly May 1 to April 30; each business requires a separate license; annexed businesses will have a 30 day window to obtain a license; to determine license rates, gross receipts and gross revenue from tax returns must be submitted instead of income figures; conditions for ‘Change of Occupancy’ are further defined; Appendix B of the code has been revised to reflect the latest published 2016 NAICS Business License Class Schedule.
One additional ordinance, No. 4345, also gained first reading approval. This measure proposes to suspend the hospitality tax committee in years when the city’s full H-Tax proceeds are budgeted for other operations, such as the EdVenture Children’s Museum and the Neptune Island waterpark.
