FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – Florence City Council approved the first reading of an ordinance that would ultimately allow the city to demolish abandoned properties more quickly and help business owners handle all permits in one location.
Council members gave the first ok on an ordinance to establish the new department of building safety, keeping some codes from the county, but working to replace outdated ones. City leaders say having its own department of building safety will support works to revitalize downtown in a more efficient manner.
“The county did a very good job of new construction inspections,” says Florence City Manager Drew Griffin. “That was never at an issue. But the city has a number of initiatives that were a little problematic.”
Griffin says the city wants to focus on making neighborhoods look better. One priority is tearing down abandoned houses.
“The abandoned buildings and the vacant properties are things that have to be dealt with and the only way to do that is the application of certain regulatory codes,” explains Griffin.
While the city has not finalized the codes, Griffins says most of them will be the same as Florence County.
Gedine Smiley says he’d like the two abandoned homes near his house to be torn down.
“It needs to be torn down,” argues Smiley. “It takes away the value of other properties. A house like this causes people from the streets to stay in there. Rodents and different things like that—it downgrades other properties.”
The city also wants to help builders. Right now, they have to get some permits from the county building, and get electricity at the Florence City Center. The new building department will allow them to get everything inside the city building.
“Now what they can do, all that at one place and they can write one check,” says Griffin. “In some ways it will be simpler for the builders. Who are building inside the city.”
The City of Florence hopes to have eight positions filled for the new department by April 3, at which time the city can begin building permit operations.
Florence County Administrator Rusty Smith says since the city brings in about half of the county’s building permits, they’ll have to review the number of employees at the county building and planning office.