The Johns Island Advocate

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The Johns Island Advocate

The Johns Island Advocate The Johns Island Advocate The Johns Island Advocate
  • Home
  • About Us
  • FAQ
  • Subscribe
  • Urban Growth Boundary
  • Contacts and Resources
  • Essential Reading
  • History and Culture
  • Agriculture
  • Infrastructure
  • Data, Maps, etc
  • Stay Informed
  • Archived Newsletters
  • Contact Us

General

GENERAL


How do I stay informed on what is happening on Johns Island?  

  • Subscribe to the Johns Island Advocate


Who are my elected officials?  

  • Click here to find out.


What is the Urban Growth Boundary?

  • Click here to find out.


Who do I contact if I have an issue but it does not rise to the level of calling 911?

  • File a report online at 911helpme.com
  • Call the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office Duty Officer at 843- 308-7333


ROADS


Who do I contact to request maintenance on a road?


  • First you need to determine if it is a state or local road.  Click here.


  • For a STATE road fill out an SCDOT Maintenance Request Form.


  • For a COUNTY road fill out a Charleston County Work Order Request Form.


  • For a CITY road contact the city at the Citizens Support Desk at 843-724-7311, online at the Citizens Support Desk, email them at citizenservices@charleston-sc.gov, or text the CITIBOT at 833-990-2427.  You can also use the "City of Charleston" app that you can download from your app store.


  • Click here to request a road be repaved.


ANIMALS


Who can I contact if I found an injured or nuisance animal?


  • Alligators:  DNR,  843-953-9856 


  • Birds of prey and shore birds:  Center for Birds of Prey,  843-971-7474 


  • Mammals:  Keeper of the Wild, 843-636-1659


LAND USE:  REZONINGS


If the Planning Commission rejects a rezoning application, is that the end of it?


No.  Planning Commissions only make recommendations.  It is up to Council to approve or disapprove a rezoning application.


What is the normal sequence of events for COUNTY rezoning requests?


1. The application is reviewed by Staff.  Staff makes recommendation to approve, approve with conditions, or disapprove applications submitted by members of the public.


2. The public can submit written comments to the Planning Commission at  CCPC@charlestoncounty.org 


3. The Planning Commission hears the case.  

  • The public can speak before the Planning Commission.  There is no limit on the number of speakers but speakers are limited to two minutes each.  
  • The Commission recommends approval, approval with conditions, or disapproval.


4. The public can submit written comments to Council as follows:

  • Email your county councilperson.
  • Make sure you cc the following:   public-comments@charlestoncounty.org and CCPC@charlestoncounty.org.
  • Note that even if you summitted an email to the Planning Commission it is a good idea to also email Council after the Planning Commission has made their recommendation.


5. Council

  • There is a Public Hearing before Council at which the public can speak.  There is no limit on the number of speakers but each speaker is limited to two minutes.
  • Planning and Public Works Committee.  Normally there is no public input before the Committee but there are times when public input is requested by them
  • Council 1st reading. This meeting sometimes occurs on the same day as the Planning and Public Works Committee meeting. *
  • Council 2nd reading. *
  • Council 3rd reading. *


* The public can sign up to speak during the Public Comment Period which occurs prior to Council Meetings.   There is a limit of 15 speakers and each speaker is limited to two minutes.


Note that all meetings are normally held at 4045 Bridge View Drive, North Charleston.


What is the normal sequence of events for CITY rezoning requests?


1. The application is reviewed by Staff.  Staff makes recommendation to approve, approve with conditions, or disapprove based on the comprehensive plan and any area or neighborhood plans that may exist.


2. The public can submit written comments at the city’s portal https://innovate.charleston-sc.gov/comments


3. The Planning Commission hears the case.  

  • The public can speak before the Planning Commission.  There is no limit on the number of speakers but each speaker is often limited to two minutes.  
  • The Commission recommends approval, approval with conditions, or disapproval.


4. The public can submit written comments to Councilmembers.


5.  Council

  • There is a Public Hearing before Council at which the public can speak.  There is no limit on the number of speakers but each speaker is often limited to two minutes.  This is followed by a Council meeting and 1st reading. *
  • At the next meeting of Council there is both 2nd and 3rd readings. *


* The public can sign up to speak during the Citizens’ Participation Period which occurs prior to Council Meetings.  This is limited to the first 30 speakers and speakers are often limited to two minutes each.   Speakers residing in or maintaining a business license with the city of Charleston get to speak first.


Note that the Planning Commission Meetings are normally held in the Public Meeting Room, First Floor, 2 George Street, Charleston, and Council meetings are normally held at City Hall, 80 Broad Street, Charleston.


LAND USE:  DOWNZONING

Is downzoning legal?  Yes.  There is a common misconception that downzoning (e.g. reducing the number of houses allowed per acre) is a "taking" by the government without just compensation and is illegal.  That is incorrect. 


As long as the downzoning leaves the property with a reasonable economic use, downzoning is legal.  It is not a taking.  This was decided in 1978 in the United States Supreme Court's Penn Central Transportation Co. v. New York City decision.


As an example, reducing the residential density from two houses per acre to one house per acre still leaves the property with an economic use and would be legal.  Note that the legality is not based upon a simple reduction in economic value, but rather the loss of all reasonable economic value.


On the flip side, rezoning a commercial property to only allow parks could leave the property without a reasonable economic use and would most likely be illegal.


There is a caveat to this.  Once a developer has an approved site specific development plan (i.e. a site plan), they have a "vested right" (see SC Code of Laws Section 6-29-1510 and Charleston County ordinance  #1393).  At that point, the property cannot be legally downzoned without the property owner's consent.


Downzoning is a political issue, not a legal issue.  Remember that the next time someone tells you that "downzoning is a taking".  Politely explain to them why they are wrong.


ZONING:  CONCURRENCY ORDINANCES


Is there a way to match development with infrastructure improvements?  Yes.  This can be done through concurrently ordinances (also known as adequate public facilities ordinances).


It would be difficult to find someone in Charleston County who doesn't feel that development has far outstripped our infrastructure.  This is likely also true in other fast growing South Carolina counties such as Beaufort (Hilton Head) and Horry (Myrtle Beach).


Other states, including Florida, Maryland, and Washington, have addressed this issue through concurrency ordinances, which are also known as adequate public facilities ordinances.


These ordinances tie development approvals to public facilities (infrastructure).  They are designed to match the pace of development in an area with adequate service levels that are in place or reasonably assured. 


What are "public facilities"?  They can include roads, schools, sanitary sewer, solid waste, drainage, potable water, and parks.


What are "adequate service levels"?  They are the minimum acceptable level of service for a public facility.  As an example, for roads it might be that during the peak commute periods they must have a level of service (LOS) of D or better. 


Note that the intersections at US-17 and Main Rd, Maybank Hwy and Main/Bohicket Rds, and Maybank Hwy and River Rd all have a LOS of F.


In plain English, if the roads are too congested, if the school classrooms are too crowded, if the water system cannot provide enough water, if the sewer pipes or treatment plants are full, or if there aren't enough playing fields for recreational use, then development cannot be approved until the issue is corrected.


The rate of development in Charleston County continues to far outstrip the rate of implementing public facilities.  We encourage the Charleston County legislative delegation to work with their colleagues in Columbia to pass concurrency laws for South Carolina.  Charleston County residents need your help now!
 

CONSERVING LAND


What is a conservation easement?

  • See here and here.


Who can I contact if I am interested in conserving my land for future generations?


  • For all of Johns Island contact the Lowcountry Land Trust:  Natalie Olson at nolson@lowcountrylandtrust.org


  • For Johns Island along Betsy Kerrison Parkway you can also contact the Kiawah Conservancy:  Collie Farah at collie@kiawahconservancy.org


TOWN OF JOHNS ISLAND


Why don't we incorporate Johns Island as a town?


Requirements to incorporate as a municipality are given in Section 5-1-30 of the South Carolina Code of Laws.  There are several things greatly impeding the ability of Johns Island outside the current City of Charleston portion of the Island to become its own municipality.


  • Contiguous, Sec 5-1-30 (A)(3):  The area of a proposed municipality must be contiguous.  The City of Charleston has split Johns Island in two by annexing a contiguous line of properties from the Stono River to Bohicket/Church Creeks.  Hence the only way to meet the contiguous requirement would be to also include parcels from Wadmalaw Island as part of the Town of Johns Island.  This is EXTREAMLY unlikely to occur.  That means we would have to incorporate into two sperate municipalities, i.e. "The Town of North Johns Island" and "The Town of South Johns Island".


  • Nearby Municipality, Sec 5-1-30 (A)(2) and (B)(1):  No part of a proposed municipality can be located within 5 miles of the boundary of another municipality except when (a) the area seeking incorporation has petitioned the nearest incorporated municipality to be annexed into that municipality and has been refused annexation by the municipality for 6 months or (b) the population of the area seeking incorporation exceeds 7,000 persons.  If we took the exception (a) route, the City of Charleston would most likely annex us.  That is exactly what we don't want to happen.  With regards to exception (b), neither "The Town of North Johns Island" nor "The Town of South Johns Island" would have a population of 7,000.  Note that the 2020 census showed that all of Johns Island had a population of 22,854 of which 11,884 lived in the city.  That number of city residents does not include the residents who live in "donut holes" that are surrounded by the city.


  • Services, Sec 5-1-30 (A)(4) and (5):  A proposed municipality must provide a police force and at least two of the following: fire protection, trash collection, water, sewage, stormwater, code enforcement, planning and zoning, parks, or street lighting.  This would require raising property taxes.  Since the area outside the city is primarily residential, there is not the tax base to provide these services without significant property tax increases.  One could reasonably assume there would be widespread opposition to raising property taxes and hence to incorporation.


  • Population Density, Sec 5-1-30 (A)(1):   A proposed municipality must have a population density of at least 300 persons a square mile (or 1 person per 2.13 acres) according to the latest United States census.  The census data would have to be analyzed to determined if either  "The Town of North Johns Island" or "The Town of South Johns Island" meets this requirement.



Why don't those who live in the City of Charleston on Johns Island just secede?


  • Sec 5-3-280 of the South Carolina Code of Law states a request for the reduction of corporate limits must be signed by a majority of the resident freeholders of the municipality.


  • Sec 5-3-240 defines "freeholders"  as "any person 18 years of age, or older, and any firm or corporation, who or which owns legal title to a present possessory interest in real estate equal to a life estate or greater (expressly excluding leaseholds, easements, equitable interests, inchoate rights, dower rights, and future interests) and who owns, at the date of the petition or of the referendum, at least an undivided one-tenth interest in a single tract and whose name appears on the county tax records as an owner of real estate."


The probability of getting 50% of freeholders in the City of Charleston to agree that Johns Island be de-annexed is zero.


BEACHWALKER PARK


Who owns Beachwalker Park?


Beachwalker Park on Kiawah Island is run by the Charleston County Parks Commission (CCPC), but the land on which it is located is leased by Charleston County from its owners, Kiawah Partners.  The lease was signed in 1976 and has a 99 year term .... the current lease will expire in 2075.  


One of the key lease conditions is that the park can have no more than 150 parking spaces.


You can read more about it here and here.  


WETLANDS


What does it take to fill in wetlands?


The federal government has a no net loss of wetlands policy.  To achieve this, when a developer wants to fill in wetlands, they are first required to obtain permits for the project from the United States Army Corps of Engineers and the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC).  During the permit review process, the agencies require the developer to demonstrate they have avoided and minimized impacts before a permit can be issued.

Once a developer obtains the necessary permits, which includes the cost of doing the necessary engineering work, they usually buy wetland mitigation credits from a mitigation bank to offset the filling in of the wetlands. 

How are mitigation credits generated?  Entities called mitigation banks generate mitigation credits by preserving, enhancing, or restoring existing wetlands.  For preserving, they obtain about 1 credit per acre.  For enhancing, they obtain 2 to 3 credits per acre.  For a full-blown restoration, they obtain 4 to 5 credits per acre.

How many mitigation credits are need for each acre of wetland to be filled in?  About 10.  That means if a developer wants to fill in an acre of wetlands, the mitigation bank will have to preserve, enhance, or restore anywhere from 2 to 10 acres of wetlands.  At least half of the credits they purchase are required to be enhancement or restoration credits.

What does a freshwater mitigation credit cost?  That number varies, but freshwater credits are about $8,500 each in the Charleston area.  That means filling in an acre of freshwater wetlands will cost about $85,000 in mitigation credits.

What about saltwater mitigation?  In almost all cases, developers are not allowed to fill salt marsh.  This is usually only allowed for public works (infrastructure) projects.  Note that mitigation is not typically required for bridge or dock piling, only for dredging or filling of wetlands.

What does a saltwater mitigation credit cost?  It's a significantly higher cost for filling in saltwater wetlands.  This is mainly due to the higher cost of waterfront property.  The cost of a saltwater mitigation credit is about $60,000 to $80,000.  That means filling in an acre of saltwater wetlands will cost about $600,000 to $800,000 in mitigation credits.

What happens to the mitigation bank land?  All mitigation projects are covered by conservation easements or deed restrictions that permanently protect the land from development.

You can learn more here and here. 

  • About Us
  • FAQ
  • Subscribe
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  • Contacts and Resources
  • Essential Reading
  • History and Culture
  • Agriculture
  • Infrastructure
  • Data, Maps, etc
  • Stay Informed
  • Archived Newsletters
  • Contact Us

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