City of Sumter to hold open house about update to development ordinance July 24

The City of Sumter will hold an open house for residents of the city Wednesday, July 24, to show a presentation and answer any questions regarding an update to its Unified Development Ordinance.

The meeting, which will be held at the Meeting House at Memorial Park from 5:45 to 7:45 p.m., will allow Sumter residents to ask questions, voice concerns and hear comments about the current ordinance and share what they would like to see in the future ordinance.

According to the event flier, the ordinance, or City's Zoning and Development Standards, is "a planning document that implements the community vision for Sumter's built environment and incorporates modern best practices."

The meeting will address land uses, building heights, walkability, building frontages, street types and other regulations in the City of Sumter.

At a Sumter City Council meeting Tuesday, July 16, Planning Director Helen Roodman said that late last year city council approved a procurement resolution that allowed for the development of the new Unified Development Ordinance. She said the contracts have been executed and they will be moving forward with the ordinance.

The open house will be led by consultants who will speak to the community and walk residents through the process of their timeline as well as what they will be doing. The official presentation will begin at 6 p.m.

Before the open house, the Sumter City-Council Planning Commission will hold a meeting on the fourth floor of City-Council Chambers at 3 p.m. that will feature a presentation by Kimley-Horn and Associates consulting team to introduce the new project alongside its schedule.

The Meeting House is just off the parking lot at 112 N. Salem Ave.

For further information, contact the City-County Planning Department at (803) 774-1660 or planningdepartment@sumtersc.gov.