After two heated public hearings, the Planning & Zoning Committee (PZC) voted 4-1 to deny a proposed six-month moratorium on the Town Center South Plan on March 2.

PZC Chair Richard Meier, who proposed the moratorium, cast the only vote in favor and said he was displeased with the outcome.

“My concern was that [if] there is an upcoming application on the near horizon and there will not be an opportunity for an in depth study to be done to decide what is really in the best interests of the town,” he said.

Other members of the committee voted against, siting concerns over the possible economic implications of a six-month freeze on a small parcel of land.

If it had been approved, the moratorium would have impacted a segment of the Town Center South Plan called the C-2M zone, which includes the Mooring Restaurant, two residential parcels, and Oceanco LLC’s property—the former Stone House Restaurant.

Read more on this story in the Guilford Courier on Thursday, March 10.