URBAN GROWTH BOUNDARY (UGB)

The Urban Growth Boundary is the single most important zoning tool that Johns Islanders have to manage growth and development on our Island.

What is an Urban Growth Boundary?

An Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) is a tool that local governments can use to minimize urban sprawl.  The UGB is basically a line on a map agreed to by local governments.  Development inside the boundary (closer to the urban center of a city) is zoned for urban and suburban uses.  Development outside the boundary (less densely populated areas) is zoned for rural uses. 

This approach protects the rural character of the land outside the boundary for future generations.  Even more importantly for the Lowcountry, the areas outside the UGB provide a natural protection barrier to resist the impact of hurricanes and flooding.  While a UGB can help guide local zoning and land use patterns, UGB’s must be combined with additional ‘tools’ to effectively conserve natural habitats and protect the rural character of Johns Island. 

You can read more about UGBs here and here.

What is the history of the UGB in Charleston County?

In the Charleston County 1999 Comprehensive Plan, a Suburban/Rural Area Edge was established as a tool to delineate the Rural Area from the Urban/Suburban Area.  Over the years, the Suburban/Rural Area Edge came to be thought of as an Urban Growth Boundary (UGB), recognized by the public, the municipalities in the County, and other service providers.  The 2008 Comprehensive Plan Update reflected this change in thinking, identifying the delineating line as the Urban Growth Boundary. 

Why is the UGB important for Johns Island?

The UGB restricts urban/suburban development to inside the UGB.  This area consists of about 20% of the island.  The area outside the UGB, about 80% of the island, is restricted to rural development.   The graphic below clearly shows the impact of the UGB on constraining development on Johns Island.  The red and purple dots indicating development are, with only a few historical exceptions, constrained to inside the UGB.

The benefits for keeping this 80% rural include:

• Infrastructure:  The UGB restricts urban/suburban sprawl that would overwhelm the transportation infrastructure 

• Community:  The UGB protects the rural character of the land outside the boundary for future generations

• Environment:  The area outside the UGB provides a natural protection barrier to resist the impact of hurricanes and flooding

What is the Zoning outside the UGB on Johns Island?

The vast majority of the land outside the UGB is zoned at a density of no more than 1 house per acre.  The graphic below shows this zoning, where:

• AGR:  1 house per acre
• RR:   1 house per 3 acres
• AG-8:  1 house per 8 acres
• PD:  Planned Development

Note that if clustering is used where 50% of the land is conserved (this is called a Conservation Subdivision) or if a Planned Development is used then RR can have 1 house per acre and AG-8 can have 1 house per 4 acres.

 Go to the Charleston County Graphical Information System (GIS) website for details.

Where is the UGB on Johns Island?  Do I live inside or outside the UGB?

The diagrams below show the UGB on Johns Island.  

On the upper part of Johns Island the UGB roughly follows a path from the Stono River to along Brownswood Road, Angel Oak Road, Bohicket Road, and Walter Drive then proceeds between Cane Slash and Plow Ground Roads to River Road and then south on River Road back to the Stono River just south of the Johns Island Airport (JZI)

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The area inside the UGB is much smaller on the lower part of Johns Island.  From Bohicket Creek the UGB proceeds along Haulover Creek, up Betsy Kerrison Parkway then circles around Kiawah River Estates and the Kiawah RIver development before going into the Kiawah River.

If you want further details or to find out where you live relative to the UGB, go to the Charleston County Graphical Information System (GIS) website.  Select the layers icon (looks like a stack of paper) to add in the UGB and Municipal Boundaries to the maps.

So if I live in the CIty of Charleston I reside inside the UGB?

Not necessarily.  Most of the City jurisdiction on Johns Island is within the UGB, but there are portions of the City that lie outside the UGB.  These include Grimball Gates at Chisolm and Main Roads, the area around Angel Oak Elementary School and St John's High School, and several large parcels west of JZI.  See the diagram below.

Likewise, if you live inside the UGB you may not live in the City due to all the "donut holes" of unincorporated parcels.

Has the location of the Urban Growth Boundary on Johns Island ever been changed?

According to the Charleston County Zoning and Planning Department, since the UGB was established in 1999 there have been three changes to the location of the UGB on Johns Island. 

The first change was in 2003.  The UGB was extended north beyond Brownswood Road.  Fortunately, in 2004 County Council saw the errors of their ways and reversed this change.  This was a case study of the impact of changing the UGB.  It was during this short period that the Saint John’s Lakes development on Frickling Hill Road was approved.  This resulted in an increase in allowed density from 1 house per 3 acres (RR) to 4 houses per acre (R-4).  A 12-fold increase!  Just imagine the impact on our Island if this were done elsewhere outside the UGB.

The second change occurred around 2009 at Kiawah River Plantation on Betsy Kerrison Parkway.  The UGB was changed to go around Jacks Island.  There were no changes in uses or net increases in allowed density.

The third set of changes occurred around 2014/2015 and were minor administrative changes.  When the UGB was adopted in 1999 the County did not have a graphical information system (GIS).  At that time the UGB was simply drawn on a map.  As a result the UGB crossed property lines and did not follow geographical features.  The administrative changes corrected these issues.

Unfortunately, developers keep trying to change the UGB to their benefit and residents must keep fighting to protect it.   Fortunately, the City and County have sided with the community to prevent changes.

Should the UGB be formalized? 

Yes.  There is no interjurisdictional agreement that sets the location of the UGB in stone.  Despite the protections put in place since 1999, Johns Island continues to feel pressure to expand the urban footprint.  

An interjurisdictional  agreement among the City of Charleston, Charleston County, and the he towns of Kiawah Island and Seabrook Island that would require all parties to agree to a change in the UGB would go a long way to ensuring the future of the UGB.

What else is preventing high density developments outside the UGB?

An agreement between the Charleston Water System and the St John's Water Company also helps to stop intensive development outside the UGB.  The agreement restricts access to sewer to much of the area outside the UGB.  You can view the agreement here and the map of the service area here.

What else is needed?

It is imperative for us as a community to seek additional ‘tools’ to enhance the protections that the UGB provides for our island.  The tools to enhance the protection of our rural lands on the island include:

• CONSERVATION EASEMENTS:  Conservation easements allow private landowners and a land trust or other qualified easement holder to enter into an agreement to limit future development.  Conservation easements can serve to reinforce the protections intended by the placement of the UGB.  Tax incentives and, occasionally, partial payment for the value of conservation easements through mechanisms like Charleston County’s Greenbelt Program and the South Carolina Conservation Bank can be useful in encouraging landowners to act.  The Lowcountry Land Trust has protected over 142,000 acres since 1985, including over 2,000 acres on Johns Island.  You can read more about conservation easements here and here.

• WETLAND MITIGATION:  There are several infrastructure projects in the works on Johns Island (i.e., Santee Cooper secondary electric line, SCDOT and Charleston County road projects) that will result in negative impacts to freshwater and saltwater wetlands during their installation.  Federal legislation mandates that these wetland impacts are offset by protection and restoration of similar wetland types (i.e., mitigation).  As part of the mitigation process, wetland impacts on Johns Island should be mitigated on Johns Island. 

• TRANSFER OF DEVELOPMENT RIGHTS (TDR):  TDR is a tool that local governments can use to protect land from intensive development by shifting development potential from one part of their jurisdiction to another (e.g. from rural to urban).  This is accomplished by essentially creating a ‘market’ for development rights which allows developers to build at greater densities in one area by purchasing development rights from another.  Once the development rights on a property have been sold, the land cannot be developed and is preserved for open space or agriculture. 

• ZONING OVERLAYS:  The County continues to explore ways of creating overlay districts to promote agricultural businesses and protect rural lands. The County’s comprehensive plan suggestions items such as: Expanding agriculture and agricultural uses in districts; allowing niche farming, agri-tourism, and agri-tainment uses such as hay rides and corn mazes; and creating a rural industrial district to provide services and employment opportunities for rural residents. 

What can I do?

• INTERJURISDICTIONAL AGREEMENT:  Talk with your City and/or County councilperson to stress to them that the UGB is not only needed to address uncontrolled growth, but also to mitigate flooding and the effects of hurricanes.  Tell them that the UGB needs to be “set in stone" through an Interjurisdictional agreement between Charleston County, the City of Charleston, the Town of Kiawah Island, and the Town of Seabrook Island that requires all parties to agree to any change in the location of the UGB.

• SUPPORT CONSERVATION GROUPS:  Support local organizations like the Center for Heirs’ Property Preservation, Coastal Conservation League, Lowcountry Land Trust, and Open Space Institute which strive to protect the rural character of places like Johns Island.

• SUPPORT FARMERS:  Help make owning property on Johns Island (and Wadmalaw) profitable for our farmers.  Support your nearest farmer’s market and/or enroll in a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) program hosted by your local farmer.   You can find a list here.

• ACTIVELY ENGAGE:  Stay in-the-know of City and County zoning change requests and, even more importantly, show up at the hearings.  A large and respectful crowd helps tremendously. 

If you live inside the UGB be respectful of your rural neighbors.  They hunt, they perform prescribed burns on their timberlands to prevent larger fires, and they have chickens that crow at four in the morning.  That’s a small price to pay for the beauty of the island we call home.