The council members voted to put the variance request for the property at Fourth Street and Polk Avenue on file for public inspection for two weeks so the council can have a better idea of which way they want to vote.

After the Board of Zoning and Planning approved and recommended the new plan 5-0, members of the council, including Mayor Jon Inyart, weren’t so quick to agree.

Chad and Hadley Phillips, who are co-owners of the property at 407 and 403 Polk Ave, requested the variance.

Their variance included 22 two-bedroom apartments and 12 one-bedroom apartments, but in order for the variance to be passed, the owners must meet three requirements according to city code, City Attorney Brian Bower said.

Council members Jeff Lahr, Larry Rennels, Tim Newell and Inyart agreed from the evidence presented to them Tuesday, the three requirements were not met.

Inyart spoke against the variance.

“I think this is less about neighborhoods and making the neighborhoods safe and more about maximizing profits,” Inyart said. “Just because you can build something, doesn’t mean you have to build something.”

Inyart said he appreciated all the family has done for the city and the amount of taxes they bring, and he has no problem with the apartment building going up.

“I just don’t see why we have to stack them as high as they will go,” Inyart said.

One of the requirements the council doesn’t see met, is the requirement for economic hardship.

“I appreciate that (they) tear down some of the worst buildings in the community and replace them with new and safe properties, but I don’t see any evidence, that I reviewed from the zoning board hearing that there was any financial information presented that would illustrate how this qualifies as a financial hardship,” Inyart said.

Reggie Phillips, father of the owners of the property and a landlord himself, spoke about the variance requested after the action items were completed.

He noted there are three and four bedroom apartments sitting empty, and the one and two bedrooms apartments are full.

“I don’t know how you can get a bigger hardship than that,” Reggie Phillips said.

All things considered, Jim Dunn and Newell said they liked the idea of the smaller amount of bedrooms per unit, especially since there will be the same amount of residents with either plan.

“Whether it’s 23 of them or 17 of them, it’s still the same amount of people and same amount of cars. I just feel it’s a more controllable situation with the single bedroom apartments,” Dunn said.

The council will have until the next meeting on Aug. 4 to reexamine the zoning board hearing minutes and tape to look for more evidence that the three requirements are met.

In other business, the council approved to co-sign with the Carnegie Public Library for a $400,000 loan with a six month line of credit.

This will allow the library to pay off all of their renovations to the facility.

The loan will be for 20 years with a balloon every three years where interest rates may be renegotiated, said library president Eric Huddlestun.

A bid award was granted by the council to the lowest bidder, Herritage Builders of Effingham, to complete the renovations of Firehouse number one.

The bid has been accepted at $215,000 for the renovations, which include a new roof, floor coatings and new over-head garage doors.

The council also approved a loan for the City Fleet Plan to purchase a 2009 Ford F-150 for city use. This purchase has already been budgeted Mayor Inyart said.

Finally, the city approved a resolution for a street closing from the intersection of Douglas Drive and McComb Street to Lovers Lane and Cortland Drive on Sept. 26.

This will be for the Charleston Parks and Recreation Department Charleston Challenge-Duathlon.

The Charleston Challenge includes a two-mile run, a 20-mile bike ride, and a final 2-mile run.

“As I always state, the streets really don’t get closed, they are just closed when the runners are in the path of the vehicles, other than that, the streets will remain open,” Inyart said.

Kayeigh Zyskowski can be reached at 581-7943 or at