On Friday June 24 the City of Aiken posted 45 notices of a July 5th Design Review Board (DRB) hearing involving a proposal from the Aiken Municipal Development Association (AMDC) and RPM Development Partners, LLC to demolish the buildings on six properties in downtown Aiken, SC. 

On Wednesday June 29 each of the 45 notices were prominently covered with a sign stating “withdrawn.” 

Substantial confusion enveloped the issue, with the Aiken Standard  reporting the hearings have been “postponed.” In a Zoom meeting at noon today to discuss Project Pascalis, Standard reporter Matthew Christian repeated the assertion the meetings were postponed; saying a city spokesperson cited proximity to the holiday weekend and undefined COVID-19 concerns for the postponement. 

But according to DRB legal counsel Jim Holley, there are no pending applications, meaning the demolition requests are withdrawn—at least temporarily—and must be resubmitted for any hearing to take place. In an email addressing a related issue of possible ex-parte communications involving a Board member, Holley wrote: 

“Based on my understanding, there are currently no pending applications before the DRB on the downtown project.  Also, there are no work sessions currently scheduled on that subject.”

Mr. Holley served honorably as legal counsel for Aiken County Council for many years and presently is advising the Design Review Board during the most contentious downtown development plan of the century.