Madison County Board of Supervisors voted down the proposed moratorium on convenience stores, liquor stores and storage units in the Gluckstadt area.
The issue was originally presented by Gluckstadt residents to the Board of Supervisors in April.
The proposal was first presented to the board as a moratorium on all commercial property until incorporation of Gluckstadt is complete.
Board attorney Katie Bryant Snell said they could not tie a moratorium to any of the demands, such as incorporation, because a moratorium has to have specific boundaries and incorporations do not have set deadlines.
“Moratoriums are meant to be short term,” Snell said. “They are supposed to be short in time, so you cannot tie it to something with undetermined amount of time.”
District 1 Supervisor Sheila Jones and District 2 Supervisor Trey Baxter both voted to approve the request. District 3 Supervisor Gerald Steen and District 4 Supervisor David Bishop voted against it. District 5 Supervisor Paul Griffin was absent. Steen later recused himself from voting on the issue, as he had personal stake in the issue.
Since the issue could not move forward as it was requested, Bishop made a motion to adopt a 120-day moratorium on convenience stores, liquor stores and storage units in the Gluckstadt area, since these types of businesses were the main concern of residents.
“Typically, 120-days is the max time (for a moratorium),” Snell said. “It is typically considered a reasonable time period.”
Jerry Mills, Gluckstadt attorney, said he did not agree with their request for the moratorium as commercial development brings more money into the area and aids the incorporation efforts.
“That’s why my opinion differed, because I really do believe continued development benefits the incorporation,” Mills said.
When the issue was first brought before the board, the trial for Gluckstadt’s incorporation was set to begin in August.
The trial has since been pushed to the first week of February 2019, which speaks to why the board was unable to tie a moratorium to incorporation, as the process has no set end date.
Residents of Gluckstadt are particularly concerned with the number of gas stations in the area and the issue this presents for traffic and appearance.
