A majority of those speaking at a public hearing last week expressed the view that Gloucester’s Highway Corridor Overlay District (HCOD) should be retained, but undergo some major changes to make regulations less burdensome on businesses trying to locate in the county.

Last Thursday’s public hearing before the Gloucester Planning Commission and the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors at the T.C. Walker Education Center was held for the commission make recommendations to the supervisors on whether to keep or repeal the HCOD.

In the end, the ordinance was not repealed, but both boards pledged to work together on necessary changes to the ordinance to make the county more business friendly.

Gloucester Point district resident John Phillips, who is also president of Phillips Energy, Inc., at Hayes, said the planning commission needs to come up with ways to make the HCOD less onerous on businesses. “A total repeal of the (HCOD) would be a mistake,” Phillips said....