State law requires municipal governments in South Carolina to maintain comprehensive plans to guide their growth. In Charleston, the 2021 City Plan is meant to guide land use planning, policy, and investment in the city through 2030. The Plan sets forth recommendations to aid decision-makers in managing change in nine key elements: Population, Natural Resources, Cultural Resources, Economic Development, Transportation, Priority Investment, Housing, Land Use, and Resilience & Equity.
The Preservation Society engaged as an active stakeholder throughout the City Plan drafting process, hosting a virtual community engagement session with our partners at the Coastal Conservation League, and providing detailed feedback to City Planning Staff. Our input played a key role in shaping enhanced recommendations on issues of underrepresented heritage, housing affordability, growth management, and the tourism industry.
As the Plan is integrated into day-to-day decision-making in Charleston, the PSC is committed to partnering with the City to advance innovative planning initiatives to ensure meaningful protections for threatened cultural resources and promote resilient, urban design. Given the City Plan only provides overarching recommendations, the PSC remains vigilant as key areas are targeted for new development, including Union Pier and the Cainhoy peninsula. These areas, while poised for growth, must be planned with an articulated vision consistent with Charleston’s distinct character and with respect for the natural environment.
Resources
City of Charleston Planning Commission
South Carolina Local Government Comprehensive Planning Enabling Act of 1994
Preservation Society of Charleston Feedback on City Plan draft, April 30, 2021
Shape the Future: Comprehensive Plan Virtual Engagement Session (Preservation Society of Charleston and the Coastal Conservation League)
PSC Blog: Union Pier Omitted as Council Considers City Plan
PSC Blog: City Plan Adopted, Sets Priorities For Charleston’s Next Decade
The City Plan recognizes at least 56 historic, African American settlement communities and neighborhoods, which are now included on Future Land Use Maps in the Land Use element of the Plan. This week, Charleston City Council formally adopted the City Plan, Charleston’s new 10-year Comprehensive Plan. The Preservation Society has been an active stakeholder throughout the […]
Tuesday, July 20, 2021 at 5:00 PM Public Hearing (in-person and via Zoom/conference call) Gaillard Center, 95 Calhoun Street On Tuesday City Council will vote on the City Plan, Charleston’s 10-year Comprehensive Plan update. By and large City Staff has been highly responsive to PSC input on the draft. But there is a clear, glaring exception: the continued […]
Planning Commission Special Meeting Wednesday, June 9 at 5:00 PM Via Zoom This Wednesday, the Planning Commission will hold an important public hearing on the City Plan. This is the community’s chance to review and respond to the draft City Plan, which is Charleston’s updated Comprehensive Plan that will guide land use planning, policy, and investment in the city through 2030. […]
The City of Charleston has announced a robust schedule of community engagement events focused on the Comprehensive Plan update, known as the City Plan, both in-person and online. Over the next month, a series of feedback sessions, pop-ups, and open houses will provide residents multiple opportunities to share their vision for Charleston’s future and discuss key […]
Since early spring, the PSC has closely monitored and kept our membership informed on the 2020 rewrite of the City of Charleston Comprehensive Plan, our city’s most important long-range planning document. This year is residents’ opportunity to frame a better vision for Charleston’s next decade of growth, and with the state-mandated February, 2021 deadline for completion of the plan update fast-approaching, […]