Comprehensive Plan

(Note: This is archived material from my term in office.)

Dorchester County’s Comprehensive Plan:  The plan outlines a vision for Dorchester County through the year 2030. As a long-range policy document, it contains specific strategies for achieving that vision.  I was honored to serve on the Dorchester County Comprehensive Plan Task Force, and I am committed to carrying out the guidelines the plan calls for.

Task Force: The Plan was prepared by the Dorchester County Comprehensive Plan Task Force, comprised of three County Councilmen and the Dorchester County Planning Commission. Planners from the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments facilitated seven public meetings, and assisted in preparing the Plan.

A Focus On Citizen Participation:  The plan was formulated by seeking citizen participation in the areas of community goal-setting and policy formation. Many Dorchester County citizens, including residents from all six municipalities within the county, attended public workshops.  Through extensive input from the citizens of Dorchester County, a vision for the future of the county was developed.  Much of that input was received through public meetings hosted by Dorchester County, and discussions with various citizens’ groups active in the county, as well as businesses and organizations.  (Many residents also attended workshops held by MeadWestvaco in its planning effort for East Edisto. The input gathered at these meetings, which occurred during the County’s comprehensive planning process, was also valuable in the preparation of the plan. )

Guiding Principles: Residents and landowners provided a broad range of feedback on the future of Dorchester County. “Where and how do we grow,” emerged as the primary issue of the planning process.  Working together, the Task Force established the following long-range planning principles for Dorchester County: 

• To preserve and protect the rural communities and natural resources of Dorchester County for current residents and future generations.

• To plan for growth in appropriate areas, and to ensure infrastructure concurrency in planned growth areas.

Solution-Driven Foundations: Community participation shaped not just the overall vision, but also the specific policy formulations in the Comprehensive Plan.  Citizens urged planners to address seven recurrent themes threatening the prosperity and quality of life in Dorchester County.  The Task Force adopted the following themes as foundations of the planning process , and developed solutions around each theme.  The seven foundations of the solution-driven plan are:  Future Land Use, Infrastructure Concurrency, Transportation, Economic Development, Housing, Priority Investment Areas, and Community Design.

School Infrastructure: An important feature of the Comprehensive Plan is the authority it gives school districts in their own planning process.  This control is essential as they face the challenges of providing quality education while keeping pace with population growth.  It provides school districts with a voice in their own operations that they did not previously have.

Access more information about specific provisions of Comprehensive plan: www.bcdcog.com/DorCoCompPlan.htm