Tensions mount as Clemson City Council moves closer to six-month development moratorium

Zoe Nicholson | The Greenville News

A moratorium was initially approved by Clemson City Council Monday night, laying the groundwork for a six-month pause on multi-family housing developments.

The moratorium – or legal suspension – would only affect housing projects with more than 200 beds.

The vote came two weeks after citizen action group Build a Better Clemson presented a petition with 2,000 signatures that asked council to put a pause on developments.

The motion passed 5-2 with some amendments, like extending the moratorium from 120 days to 180 days.

Mayor J.C. Cook and Mayor Pro Tem John Ducworth voted against the ordinance.

The vote was the first reading and could require up to two more votes.

The next vote will take place Jan. 6, 2020.

Ducworth said a vote was too early because local business owners should be notified if their business would be affected by a cease in construction. He added that council only saw the ordinance draft last Thursday and needed more time to discuss it.

Some residents disagreed.

"Being caught off guard by this is disingenuous, at best," Catherine Watt told council.

"This is not a sudden thing. Y'all have been hearing about this for years," Derek Hodgin said.

Two years ago, a group of residents asked for a moratorium on student housing developments.

It was denied.

Multiple housing developers attended the meeting to plead their cases, since only developments with "vested rights" will be exempt from the moratorium.

City code states projects have incurred vested rights when they receive final approval from a City of Clemson board and have paid all city fees.

Representatives from the Cambridge Creek and the 405 College Ave. apartments, two projects approved by the city but not yet constructed, were assured by city council and employees that they would be exempt.

It was unclear whether Dockside, the 640-bed mixed-use development proposed on Tiger Blvd., will qualify for exemption since the project has not received final Board of Architectural Review approval.

City council will vote on which projects have "vested rights" at their Jan. 6 meeting, according to Director of Planning and Codes Todd Steadman.

Affordable housing, senior living developments and planned developments are also exempt.

It also called for three additional action items for council to take:

Hire a third-party consultant to offer an unbiased assessment of the city's codes as it relates to traffic and housing density

Create a Community Master Plan that would provide a vision for developing the city

Form a steering committee of city officials, employees and residents for the duration of the master plan's creation

Council member to developers: 'I don't care about you'

Amidst resident pleas to council to pass the ordinance, developers and local stakeholders used the time to try and assure residents Clemson would benefit from their projects.

Gilbane Development, the company behind the 400-bed apartments at 405 College Ave., assured the packed city council chambers that the company wasn't going to abandon the property as soon as it is built.

"We're family-owned," Gilbane Senior Vice President Russell Broderick repeated throughout his speech. Gilbane was worth $5.8 billion at the end of last year, according to Forbes.

Brent Little, Dockside developer, said Clemson student apartments built in the last five years are at 98% capacity, which illustrates a need for more beds.

Many residents did not condemn student developments altogether, but rather asked for a pause.

"To the developers: can you take a step back and let us, as a community, catch our breath?" Tanya Hyatt of Build a Better Clemson said.

Towards the end of the meeting, McGuire told the businessmen: "Not to hurt your feelings, developers: I don't care about you."

Not all Clemson residents spoke in favor of the moratorium.

Tim Fowler, former city council member, said council's decision to vote on the moratorium was based off the small percentage, 12%, of Clemson's population who signed the BABC petition.

"You are completely discounting a whole group of people," he said.

The petition was signed by 16% of registered voters and 31% of households in Clemson, according to BABC.

One of the most contested pieces of the ordinance centered on the three developers in the room and whether they would be exempt from the moratorium.

McGuire was in favor of allowing existing projects to go through, but underscored the gravity of council's vote on the moratorium after about two hours of public comment.

"This is not about developers. This is about Clemson."

Zoe covers Clemson for The Greenville News and Independent Mail. Reach her at znicholson@gannett.com or Twitter @zoenicholson_