A business owner claims Georgetown forced him to shut down. He claims it’s retaliation
A Georgetown business owner and former mayoral candidate claims Georgetown treated him unfairly, forcing him to close several businesses.
Jason Collins owns and operates the Collins Barber Cosmetology Nurse & CDL Truck College and a cotton candy and concessions business. Collins, who previously ran to become mayor of Georgetown, also operates The Graham Collins Adult Day Care at 622 Washington Street in Georgetown, which has been at the heart of a dispute between Collins and the city since 2022.
Beginning in 2015, Collins ran several businesses out of two buildings at 622 Washington Street in Georgetown. He operated a barber school, truck driver school, community center, nursing program, restaurant and adult day care at his Washington Street property. Collins added that the truck driver school was temporarily closed during the pandemic.
But in June 2022, Collins said the City of Georgetown sent him a letter stating he could only operate one company at his Washington Street buildings and had 15 days to shutter his other endeavors there.
The issue regarding Collins’ property was zoning. The area currently is zoned as an R4 District. According to the Georgetown Zoning Ordinance, R4 allows for high-density residential development but not for ‘general business activity.’
“They wouldn’t allow me to have no due process, and wouldn’t allow me to go to court and wouldn’t allow me to do nothing,” Collins added. “They just said, ‘This is the way it is.’”
The Sun News contacted Georgetown Mayor Carol Jayroe to request a comment. Jayroe did not return the request before publication.
Georgetown Public Information Officer Cindy Thompson said Collins’ property’s R4 zoning doesn’t permit multiple businesses to operate on one parcel like Collins did previously. Thompson, who also affirmed that Collins did file a claim with the Municipal Association of South Carolina that ultimately was denied, said The Sun News would have to file a FOIA request to receive documents related to the closing of Collins’ businesses.
Collins ultimately shuttered some of his businesses and moved his truck driving and cosmetology schools to Myrtle Beach. The barber school is currently online, while Collins plans to relocate his trucking school to Florence, S.C. The adult day care remains open at 622 Washington Street in Georgetown.
However, Collins said the 2022 letter was a reversal by the city, which he claims previously allowed him to have his companies there. Collins further claims the City of Georgetown knew about the several businesses he ran at the Washington Street location and had approved him to run his multiple operations there.
In an email to The Sun News, he provided a screenshot of a document he claimed showed that Georgetown knew about the number of businesses at the 622 Washington Street location in 2016.
The screenshot Collins provided also showed that the city told Collins he could operate his restaurant in concert with his other businesses at the Washington Street location if he obtained the proper permitting, submitted the correct documents, and passed all inspections.
Collins also shared a screenshot of a business license he claimed he received for his truck driver school in Georgetown and a copy of the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control’s report that acknowledged a permit issued for his restaurant, both for the 622 Washington Street location.
Collins filed a claim with the Municipal Association of South Carolina, alleging Georgetown mistreated him by forcing him to close his businesses. In an August 2024 letter from a lawyer for the law firm Richardson Plowden & Robinson, P.A., Lisa Thomas, retained by the Municipal Association of South Carolina to examine Collins’ case, concluded he wasn’t mistreated.
“After researching the records and consulting with various City officials of Georgetown, I have determined there is no liability on the part of the City of Georgetown,” Thomas wrote in her letter obtained by The Sun News. “My review indicates that you were treated in the same manner as any other business owner, business license applicant, or citizen seeking a permit.”
Now, Collins is considering taking legal action against the City of Georgetown regarding the letter forcing him to close some of his businesses at 622 Washington Street. It would not be his first legal tussle with the city, though.
Collins alleged the City of Georgetown has a pattern of targeting him and using unfair or intimidation tactics, dating back to an alleged incident in 2009. Collins claimed that in October 2009, a city official accused him of operating a child prostitution ring in a barbershop he owned, which resulted in police surrounding the building. A lawyer for Collins recounted the alleged incident in a 2010 lawsuit he filed against the City of Georgetown and the police department.
The lawsuit states that Collins was never fined or charged with a crime regarding the allegation, and in an interview with The Sun News, Collins denied running a prostitution ring at the barbershop. According to the Georgetown County Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Public Index, the case was settled in 2013.
Collins is also currently suing the Georgetown School District, according to the Georgetown County Fifteenth Judicial Circuit Public Index, alleging negligence on the part of the district. The lawsuit claims Collins’ child sustained a concussion and other injuries related to a 2022 fall at an elementary school playground.
Collins believes the previous litigation and his multiple attempts at running for Georgetown mayor have resulted in him being a target for harassment by officials.
“My thinking is it’s more of discrimination and retaliation and revenge,” he added.
