GENERAL
How do I stay informed on what is happening on Johns Island?
Who are my elected officials?
What is the Urban Growth Boundary?
Who do I contact if I have an issue but it does not rise to the level of calling 911?
ROADS
Who do I contact to request maintenance on a road?
ANIMALS
Who can I contact if I found an injured or nuisance animal?
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.
4. The public can submit written comments to Council as follows:
5. Council
* 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.
4. The public can submit written comments to Councilmembers.
5. Council
* 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?
Who can I contact if I am interested in conserving my land for future generations?
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.
Why don't those who live in the City of Charleston on Johns Island just secede?
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.
Johns Island Advocate