After weeks of discussion and three postponements, Orangeburg City Council voted 4-2 Tuesday to proceed with second reading of an amended rezoning request for a Whitman Street property.

The owners of Orangeburg Nursing Home want to use the property next door to their facility for administrative office space.

The majority of council favored a motion by Councilman Charles “Buddy” Barnwell to change the zoning from A-2 Multi-Unit Residential to O-I Office Institutional District, rather than the B-1 General Business District that had been proposed.

“In my opinion, we would protect the individual lady next door,” he said. “I don’t want to see someone build a business next to her house.”

Councilman Bernard Haire, who provided photographs of the two affected lots, said he opposes the rezoning to either Office-Institutional or General Business.

“I am very concerned about changing it any more than it has been. Once we start, there’s a domino effect,” he said. “I wouldn’t want it next door to my house. I don’t think any council member here would want it. It will bring in additional traffic. There’s no telling what will wind up in this particular structure. No one would want in our neighborhood.”

Haire said he has spoken to the next door property owner and she doesn’t want any rezoning. Also, he said he’s spoken with representatives of the nursing home and “they haven’t convinced me.”

“I’m trying to prevent additional incursion into the area,” Haire said.

Attorney Brian Bonner of the Nexsen Pruet law firm in Columbia, representing the nursing home, said all work on the property will be “completely internal” for office space, other than some cleanup.

Councilman Charlie Jernigan said that “based on that, I can’t see where it’s going to be detrimental to the area at all. Parking will not be bad. Who can say what it will be 10 years from now?”

By leaving the property as apartments, there would be a “whole lot more coming and going,” Councilwoman Joyce Rheney said.

Barnwell added that, while he “agreed with” Haire, he favored Office-Institutional because he would not want the property to go commercial.

Voting for second reading on the rezoning to Office-Institutional were Barnwell, Jernigan, Rheney and Mayor Paul Miller. Opposed were Haire and Councilwoman Sandra Knotts. Councilman Trelvis Miller did not attend the session.

By changing the rezoning request from B-1 General to O-I Office Institutional, no change in the land use map was necessary.

The rezoning and land use issue have been delayed three times.

The ordinances were first tabled after Haire, who had abstained on first reading, said he opposed the ordinance after talking with the one property owner who would be affected. Council then agreed to table the issue in order to explore the possibility of rezoning the one property as Office-Institutional instead of General Business.

Next, Pruitt Properties, owners of Orangeburg Nursing Home, requested a postponement in order to contact council members and neighbors.

Lastly, the mayor asked for a delay two weeks ago, saying only that “something has come to my attention that gives me concern.”

In other business, council:

n Gave final third reading to two separate ordinances to annex St. Matthews Road properties, as requested by the owners.

The first property, two apartments owned by Kinder Hillcrest, would be annexed as A-1 Multi-Family Residential. The other property, owned by South Carolina Healthcare Facilities, would be Commercial/General Business.

n Gave second reading to an ordinance to place the newly annexed St. Matthews Road properties into City Council District 2.

n Approved the $86,842 low bid, submitted by O’Cain Construction Co. of Orangeburg, for plaza infrastructure work at the Veteran’s Memorial Park in the Edisto Gardens. The company has already begun work on its previous bid for civil work.

n Also concerning the Veteran’s Memorial Park, accepted the lone $148,500 bid, submitted by Carolina Granite and Marble Co. of Bluffton, for granite work.

n After brief discussion of a legal matter concerning the Department of Public Utilities Wastewater Division in closed, executive session, passed three separate resolutions accepting low responsive bids for a total of $4 million in improvements and repairs. Funding is from federal stimulus money.

“All of these jobs came in well under our estimates,” DPU Manager Fred Boatwright said. “We’ll sign the documents and get the projects under way.”

The $763,296.20 low responsive bid, submitted by Seaside Utilities Inc. of Moncks Corner, is to rehabilitate the water main along S.C. Highway 400. M.B. Kahn Construction Co. of Columbia submitted the low responsive bid of $2,034,003.50 for improvements to the wastewater treatment plant. The $1,233,672.90 low responsive bid, submitted by Gravity Sewers Insituform Technologies of St. Louis, Mo., is for the rehabilitation of gravity sewers.

n Gave first reading to an ordinance amending the personnel handbook in order to adopt new federal regulations regarding the Family Medical Leave Act.

n Proclaimed “leadership” as the Community of Character trait for June.

n T&D Government Writer Tucker Lyon can be reached by e-mail at tlyon@timesanddemocrat.com or by phone at 803-533-5545. Discuss this and other stories at TheTandD.com.

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