Growth Management and Land Use Planning

Job Creation & Economic Development | Growth Management & Land Use Planning
Transportation | Business Journal Interview

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

Since my election in 2006, I have worked consistently to address your number one concern of overcrowded schools and roads. We have adopted an impressive Comprehensive Land Use Plan with strong provisions to guide us as we continue to grow.

I worked hard to make sure language remained in this plan that demands infrastructure concurrency. This language provides opportunities for School District Two to stop new residential development in the County to prevent further overcrowding. It also limits the ability to approve new residential development if adequate transportation and other facilities are unavailable.

Along with the Comprehensive Plan, we enacted the Historic Overlay District to protect the historic areas along Highway 61. This culturally significant Ashley River area is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, and contains properties such as Drayton Hall and Middleton Place. The following articles from Charleston’s Post and Courier describe aspects of the issues we faced, and actions taken by County Council in the areas of growth management and land use planning.

Welcome Growth-Control Shift
Published on 04/19/07 in The Post and Courier

Dorchester County Council is undertaking a welcome re-examination of a proposal to curb development if public schools and infrastructure aren’t sufficient to provide for it. It’s a welcome response to the county’s rapid rate of growth and to council’s constituents demand for a comparable response.

The adequate facilities ordinance, drafted by Councilman Jamie Feltner, was stalled last month when council split 3-3 on the idea and Councilman Willie Davis abstained. Councilman Davis brought the measure back to council this week following a flood of phone calls and e-mails.

“This is a real issue here,” Councilman Davis said.

Indeed, it is. Dorchester County is the fastest growing county in South Carolina, with most of the development taking place around Summerville. Dorchester 2 schools are overcrowded, and Superintendent Joe Pye said last week that new elementary, middle and high schools are needed to accommodate the growth. “Now, the train is off the track,” was how Mr. Pye described the situation.

Councilman Davis was joined by Council Chairman Larry Hargett, who initially opposed the proposal, in the vote to return the matter to committee. It is to be hoped that any legal difficulties suggested by the two remaining council opponents, Chris Murphy and Mike Murphree, can be resolved there.

Councilman Feltner tells us that he consulted with the county attorney, the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments and the S.C. Association of Counties in his preparation of the ordinance. So maybe the potential problems cited by its opponents aren’t as great as they envision.

Council also should review the experience of other jurisdictions that are using similar controls to growth, and should consult with Summerville Town Council, which recently agreed to study an adequate facilities ordinance, as well. A comparable growth management rule is being successfully used in Maryland, according to Hamilton Davis of the Coastal Conservation League.

While the proposed Dorchester ordinance restricts development absent adequate schools and infrastructure, it makes provision for developers to assist with needed improvements, thereby clearing the way for development.

Based on Mr. Davis’ remarks, it is clear that county residents were key to getting the proposal back on council’s agenda. Dorchester citizens have made their voices heard throughout the long debate over growth controls, and were instrumental in getting council to finally endorse a plan to preserve the Ashley River historic district.

Residents should continue to let council know how they rate the importance of restraining rampant development. The relentless pressure on public schools and the worsening problem of traffic congestion say that Dorchester County needs stronger growth management tools.

Respond to Dorchester Growth
Published on 08/11/07 in The Post and Courier

Growth-control ordinances proposed for Dorchester County and Summerville are not without controversy, but the latest Census figures show why they are needed. The county’s population grew a staggering 5.5 percent in 2006 from the previous year.

Most of the growth has been in the Summerville area, within the boundaries of Dorchester School District 2. Summerville and Dorchester County are considering ordinances to require that development be limited, based on the availability of infrastructure and schools.

Dorchester County Council Chairman Larry Hargett argued against passage of the Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance in a column on our Commentary page this week. Mr. Hargett wants a more measured response, with completion of a Clemson growth study for the county and an update of its comprehensive plan.

Much of rural Dorchester County doesn’t have zoning, a shortcoming that the revised comprehensive plan is expected to address. The Clemson study is expected to assist that effort.

But a majority of County Council recently voted to pull the ordinance out of the finance committee, where it has languished for three months following its initial approval. Council has now given the ordinance a second reading.

County Councilman Jamie Feltner made the motion to move the ordinance out of the finance committee, saying, “I felt it was being held up intentionally.” Previously, council had to force action on a growth management proposal for the historic district around the Ashley River Road after months of inaction by council’s planning committee.

Mr. Feltner insists that there will be ample opportunity to debate the ordinance and for the public to comment on it. He says the county attorney, the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments and the S.C. Association of Counties were consulted about the ordinance as it was being written. Mr. Hargett contends that procedure rules were broken when the ordinance was pulled from committee predicts and a multitude of dire consequences would result if it is adopted as written. Clearly his concerns should be addressed, but this matter needs to stay on the front burner.

The recent population figures reflect the continued attraction that Dorchester County has for new residents. They also help explain why so many residents – and their representatives on council – support stricter growth limits.

Left unchecked, rampant growth will diminish the county’s quality of life and increase the taxpayers burden of paying for growth, with schools, roads, water and sewerage and other services.

Since 2000, Dorchester County has been the fastest growing county in South Carolina, and the latest figures show more of the same. Meanwhile, Dorchester 2 schools can barely keep pace. “The train is off the track,” Superintendent Joe Pye said earlier this year after growth projections showed that new schools would be needed at every level, despite an ongoing building program.

The problem is evident, and while some refinement of the growth control ordinances may be needed, both the county and town are justified in attempting to slow residential development before each jurisdiction is changed beyond recognition, and at great public expense.

An article on land use planning and preservation:

Remain Judicious on Historic District
Published on 06/21/07 in The Post and Courier

Dorchester County Council showed that it is serious about the county’s historic district this week, as a bare majority beat back an ill-considered plan to remove thousands of acres from the protected area.

Some revisions are to be expected, based on discussions prior to approval of the district. But the proposal before council went beyond the exceptions planned for small landowners. Cutting the district by more than a third while the ink was barely dry would have precipitately weakened the plan that had been sought by hundreds of residents over a campaign of many months.

The historic district primarily is designed to protect the character of the area around the Ashley River Road, including Middleton Place, Magnolia Plantation, Drayton Hall, and the scenic highway itself. It would limit development to one acre per four acres of high ground.

Revisions sought by a group of mostly small landowners along County Line Road would allow zoning of one unit per one acre.

But the cuts recommended to council could have allowed for higher densities under a provision for planned unit developments. Also recommended was the removal of a nearly 4,000-acre tract owned by MeadWestvaco from district boundaries. Meanwhile, a company spokesman said the rezoning hadn’t been sought.

Councilman Jamie Feltner insisted that the plan to cut more than 12,000 acres from the historic district should be halted while council more carefully considers the requests of individual landowners, as originally planned. Fortunately, his arguments prevailed on a 4-3 vote.

Dorchester County’s historic overlay district was nearly three years in the making, as hundreds of local residents urged council to advance the plan. Public scrutiny of future recommendations for this nationally important district clearly is warranted.