City of Charleston
JOHN J. TECKLENBURG MAYOR
WEST ASHLEY REVITALIZATION COMMISSION
NOTICE OF MEETING
The regular meeting of the West Ashley Revitalization Commission will be held at 5:30 p.m, May 9, 2018 at Town & Country Inn and Suites, 2008 Savannah Highway, Charleston, SC 29407.
AGENDA
1. Welcome & Call to Order Chairman, Councilmember Peter Shahid
2. Approval of Minutes from March 14, 2018 Chairman Shahid and April 11, 2018
3. West Ashley Development Projects Map (update) City Staff
4. Recap of April 11th Meeting and Chairman Shahid Plan West Ashley Implementation (“Top 10”)
5. Plan West Ashley Workgroups (break-out session) Chairman Shahid a. Economic Development b. Green Infrastructure & Sustainability
6. Report from Workgroups Commission Members
7. Public Comment Period
8. Other Business
9. Adjournment Chairman Shahid
The next West Ashley Revitalization Commission meeting will be take place at 5:30 p.m., on Wednesday, June 13, 2017. The location will be announced at a later date.
In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, people who need alternative formats, ASL (American Sign Language) Interpretation or other accommodation please contact Janet Schumacher at (843) 577-1389 or email to [email protected] three business days prior to the meeting. P.O. Box 652, Charleston, South Carolina 29402 843-577-6970 Minutes from March 14, 2018 and April 11, 2018
WEST ASHLEY REVITALIZATION COMMISSION March 14, 2108
A meeting of the West Ashley Revitalization Commission was held this date at The Schoolhouse, 720 Magnolia Road. Notice of this meeting was sent to all local news media. PRESENT Councilmember Peter Shahid, Chair, Anne Frances Bleecker, Harry Gregorie, Diane Hamilton, Donna Jacobs, Michael Miller, Brantley Moody, Jimmy Palassis, Amy Riley, Charles Smith, Mayor John Tecklenburg, Councilmember Marvin Wagner and Jonathan Zucker. STAFF: Christopher Morgan, Planning Director. Chair Shahid noted City Council approved the implementation portion of the West Ashley Plan at the February 16 meeting unanimously. He sent an email last week to the Commission members including an implementation matrix. He distributed extra copies to the Commission members and the general public Approval of Minutes from January 10, 2018 Ms. Jacobs moved for approval of the minutes. Mr. Smith seconded the motion. The minutes were approved unanimously. Historic Charleston Foundation Award Chair Shahid said the West Ashley Revitalization Commission was cited by the Historic Charleston Foundation for their work and approval of the plan. The award was for recognition of the approval of the plan and the implementation of the plan, which recognized the historic significance of West Ashley. He said he would distribute the details when the Commission will be recognized in May. The City will be celebrating the 350th anniversary of the founding of Charlestowne in April, 2020. Part of the plan included protection of the historical nature of the community in the West Ashley area. Part of the reason they received the award because they have taken recognition of preserving the community and the historical nature and fabric of the community. Plan Implementation: Next Steps Chair Shahid said he mentioned earlier City Council approved the implementation portion, which was what the Commission approved in December, and was now part of the ordinance. He said they now needed to implement so he wanted to have an open discussion about what the Commission needed to do next and where they went from there. Ms. Jacobs thought about the other commissions of the city. Most of those commissions are responsive to the City’s needs and they don’t initiate actions. She questioned whether the Commission wait for the City to tell them what projects they were thinking about or would the Commission initiate things. Based upon the implementation matrix and the ordinance, she thought the Commission was more in the initiation process and proactive than reactive. Ms. Jacobs said there was a lot of discussion early on about forming subcommittees and many people signing up wanting to be involved. Logistically, she thought they would all run screaming to the hills in trying to put so many subcommittees in process because there was no public meeting space West Ashley, nobody wanted to go downtown to a public city office, and they had staff running around doing all they could publically to setup all these meetings. She didn’t think they had the resources for subcommittees. But there were many people who had been engaged in the whole process, attended meetings diligently, signed up for emails and were very involved with Plan West Ashley. The one subcommittee that was formed was the Communications Subcommittee. One thing that was said in every chapter of the plan was “the City and County should development community engagement strategies to improve communication, education, participation for residents around locally important community design and land use issues.” So she saw what the Commission can do was twofold. First, they could get all of those people involved by giving the Communications Subcommittee those persons’ names and start West Ashley Revitalization Commission March 14, 2018 Page 2
building what that strategy might be. They could meet, and start thinking about the engagement strategy while the Commission looked at the matrix. The Commission could then strategize how they were going to make it work and pull in resources from the Communications Subcommittee. Ms. Jacobs continued saying they had these five major headings and within those five headings was the matrix that spoke about immediate goals, long term goals, and near term goals. She felt they needed to jump on that right now, work out all of the logistics of those things and just do the low hanging fruit. They need to logisticize who was going to be in charge of that, like a small executive committee of the Commission who had the time to meet regularly, and insist that they would manage it in the beginning. Ms. Jacobs noted they also don’t really have a list of currently active projects in West Ashley. They have implementation of things to do but some of projects that were already moving along. She questioned how does the Commission dovetailed in those projects and how do they fit within the matrix. Mr. Moody said the issue he had was where do they begin, where does the Planning staff and BAR meeting take over. They weren’t city employees, they weren’t collectively elected and they weren’t in the business of picking the winners and losers. He thought that was illegal for the Commission to do. Nobody there was looking for a lot of meetings so the question was how and when do they meet. Ms. Jacobs suggested they had to have an executive committee that met regularly and pulled everybody in that was needed. But other than their advocacy in the community, he wanted to make sure they didn’t cross the line between the appointed Commission and the City employees. Chair Shahid thought the Commission was charged with taking ownership of the portion of the plan City Council approved. He thought they needed to identify for City Council what they wanted to do and make sure they could do that. There were certain parts of the plan that were “pie in the sky” ideas or long term planning on this. There were moving parts going on in the West Ashley area where some parts were in the jurisdiction of the County and not the City, and some parts of the school district over which the City might not have ultimate jurisdiction. He thought they needed to state their top priority was A, B, or C. Once they did this then they would be looking at the mechanics of what needed to happen with that like those things that might be simple and basic that they might or might not like. As an example, their number one priority was having trees trimmed uniformly along corridors and major highways. They work with the City department that have jurisdiction over forestry and get them to trim trees in a particular way. That wasn’t a long term plan and not an issue that needed a lot of muscle to get done. They would take that and go to the other extreme where they take the long term process of what they wanted to do with I-526 and come up with a recommendation. While they don’t have the authority to do that, if they took the affirmative stance for what they wanted to happen with I-526, they could come up with the recommendation that the extension of I-526 should like a parkway instead of an interstate. That’s not something they had control over but it was something they could make sure got to the forefront and made the state, county and city leaders push that plan a little harder. Chair Shahid felt these were the different categories they could find themselves into, whether category A, B, or C, one was a very a long term outside of their meetings but the other of how they trim trees was immediate and aesthetic, and doesn’t require that much funding. Mr. Zucker preferred to take action now. He thought the idea of finding something that they could all see and feel as immediate would be a great thing for West Ashley. He noted as he just came over the Cosgrove Bridge not only was the traffic horrendous, there was nothing welcoming you to City of Charleston or West Ashley. This was something they could do immediately and relatively inexpensively so that West Ashley residents associated themselves with City of Charleston or with West Ashley. He said this was something everybody should get behind and have that beautification begin but more importantly looking at immediate functional changes or things they could affect by becoming representatives of the West Ashley community on the various transportation discussions, the various review boards or many other things that represented the interest of the community and committees in some way. He mentioned the traffic earlier because he thought that was something they could work on sooner rather than later. He was searching for ways they could take action. He didn’t really know what they were allowed to do or should do, but at least they should be represented on these various committees. They needed to know what construction projects were going on now. He didn’t know what construction projects were occurring on half of the major thoroughfares. They needed to look for the low hanging fruit and take action immediately to show this had been an important and effective part of the city’s government. West Ashley Revitalization Commission March 14, 2018 Page 3
Mr. Smith also concurred with Mr. Zucker that it was time for some action. They had been at this for almost two years. It was time for them to agree upon and to start taking some action in the committee. There were things they needed more of and there were things they needed less of but if they didn’t know what the projects were how were they supposed to weigh in on them? There were four car washes in the works for West Ashley and he questioned the need four car washes as well as another car lot on the Forest’s property on Savannah Highway that was going to be demolished. He thought the Commission needed to know what was going on in this community and what was planned for this community because it was their obligation to provide that information to this community so everyone can weigh in on what they want and don’t want in the community. He noted that while they don’t have the power to say who can and can’t do things, they had the right to weigh in on these things. But if they weren’t getting the information and don’t know what these projects were that were well in the works, they couldn’t function. Ms. Jacobs commented she thought about the assessment of projects currently in motion and how does the Commission dovetailed into them reflecting what they decided on in the implementation matrix. She said they had in the plan to establish a joint city-county design board as an objective. The Commission couldn’t go around deciding what they could or couldn’t do because of private property rights. Ms. Jacobs said she attended a Design Review Board meeting in reference to an application about a car wash. She told them she didn’t have the rights of the Design Review Board or the purview to say you could or couldn’t be a carwash. You could have a carwash at the site, it was zoned for that, but she wanted it to be the best that it could be. One of the things they might get established or start working on was this joint sign review board because while they couldn’t stop the projects but they could make them look really nice in West Ashley. They could get those criteria from the local design review board and inform these persons that they don’t have guidelines. They could do the best that they could. Ms. Hamilton didn’t have clear picture of what the Commission’s role was during this implementation period as to what they could do or what they were allowed to do. While they wanted action and they wanted action now rather than later, did the Commission want to create another layer of bureaucracy for people to get clearance before they had something done? The role of staff was important as they were the Commission’s experts who were hired in these various areas. Was the Commission going to work with them because they didn’t want to interfere or slow the staff down in their work? She questioned what was the role of the staff to dealing with the Commission and their dealing with staff. Ms. Hamilton noted she heard a comment about the Commissioners going to different meetings and knowing about different projects but there were 17 members on the Commission. Will each of them go to the meeting and express their views? How do they do this as a body? She saw this as a big issue because they have multiple jurisdictions they needed to deal with and there should be some measure in place on how they were going to handle that. It seemed they needed to know that before they moved on. In reference to beautifying the gateway, Ms. Hamilton commented they had been discussing that going back to the 10,000 trees days and there was still nothing new about it. Approximately $200,000 had been allocated to beautify the gateways and it still looked the same way to her. She still wanted clarification from the City on the Commission’s duties as to what they could and could not do. Mr. Smith saw their role as being a sort of neighborhood association for West Ashley, at least for now. He didn’t feel it was cumbersome for someone who was proposing a new development in the neighborhood to speak to a group of people who are in that community. He felt the Commission could serve that purpose in West Ashley like the more organized neighborhoods downtown. The Commission could be the clearing house for discussing these projects and there was nothing that prevented them from having general design guidelines for certain areas in West Ashley. They were going to do that as well. He thought that would be going forward to the architects and people who are were working on projects to have some general guidelines and types of designs that were appropriate. The commercial corridors would be more frequent than the neighborhoods but he didn’t see why they wouldn’t be able to perform that function fairly quickly as well. Mr. Gregorie said now that they had the approval of City Council they wanted to see some early wins and some visible representation of that win. He thought they as a group could identify no more than 5 easy wins to get the ball rolling. He asked that they sit down and select those 3 to 5 areas that they could move on immediately. Councilmember Wagner said he wanted to call their attention back to almost three years when they along with Mayor Riley and Tim Keane met at West Ashley High School and talked about ways to make West Ashley better. It was in part due to an initiative by a couple of local businessmen, Mr. Baker and Mr. West Ashley Revitalization Commission March 14, 2018 Page 4
Palassis. Mayor Riley gave them a couple hundred thousand dollars. The one best that came out of that money was they hired Ms. Herring as that funded her position. Also a part of that was as a result of some of the Councilmembers talking about coming across the bridge into West Ashley and seeing 20 signs about various things. When you come across the bridge into West Ashley it didn’t look that good. This was the thing they were supposed to take care of 3 years ago but it had not totally happened yet. During that particular presentation, signage at the foot of Northbridge was part of the discussion that night. Councilmember Wagner noted driving down Bees Ferry Road coming from Highway 17 the one thing that stuck in his mind was before reaching Bolton Landing there was a “Welcome to City of Charleston – All American City” sign but it was lopsided. In reference to low hanging fruit, plants were relatively inexpensive and signs weren’t that expensive. In making sure the contractor is working with the County, at times the grass on the side of Bees Ferry Road was high and other days it was cut perfect. This was the stuff that was relatively simple and inexpensive and where the City and the County could work together to get this thing working. This was what he saw when he saw low hanging fruit – inexpensive and quick to do. Mr. Moody said he disagreed with Mr. Smith as that would be a great overreach of the Commission and was creating a level bureaucracy. Whether they liked it or not, the property was zoned and it was permitted. But for a developer to come before the Commission, go before the staff and whoever else, was way outside of their scope. Mr. Smith said it was done everywhere else downtown because they’re required to go those neighborhood associations meetings and get their approvals. They are required to do that in other parts of the City but we don’t have that structure here but now we do. He said they should use it for that. It benefitted other areas of the city, worked for other areas of the city and it should be across the board. Mr. Zucker said he couldn’t imagine anyone of the Commission and any handful of the Commission representing the entire community. He thought it should be their job to help refine the review process to meet the standard they expected if the community established meaningful guidelines for the design review board that developers could depend upon so one only needed to go before the board one time. The rules needed to be set and understanding where the balance between the City’s role in commanding where those specifications starts and setting the zoning, those were the controls they have. They have Design Review and Zoning. You can’t say you can’t be a carwash unless the zoning said you can’t be a carwash. Developers needed to know that in order to do business in West Ashley they needed to bring their A game. That meant there were standards where they needed to have certain requirements the designers, developers or architects could reference saying this was what they needed to do to design your building when you come to West Ashley. Mr. Smith thought it needed to be the forum for the community. Right now the projects were going straight to City Hall and nobody in West Ashley knew anything about it until it was announced what’s being done to them and West Ashley was tired of that. He would say technical review needed to occur before it comes before the Commission. But when it comes to the Commission its informational. He wasn’t talking about saying you could or couldn’t do something. It needed to be informational so the public knew what was going on in their community. The Commission could choose to be supportive or not supportive. But the Commission wasn’t condemning it to not being able to build it. The community deserved the first look at the stuff that was coming into their community, and not the second or third look after it had gone downtown and gone through a couple of processes. Mr. Zucker agreed the information needed to be there and maybe that would induce people to come to the Design Review Board or wherever there was an opportunity for public comment to come in to say they don’t want the carwash here. It was up to the local people to come and be part of that. Mr. Smith said the carwash would dump heavy chemicals into the headwaters of the creek. He didn’t think that was a good location for the carwash. Everyone knew that the headwaters of the creek were next to the lot. If it came to them first they would question how did they plan to keep the chemicals out of the creek. Mr. Miller felt that the Commission was stepping into waters where they haven’t quite figured out what their role was. They were so focused on the plan that now they are trying to figure out what was their next step. Should they have some impact or voice on what comes in, goes out and what it looked like? That’s for discussion. Should that discussion should be done by the 17 Commission members or should it be left to the residents of West Ashley then they determined to be voiced by the Commission? West Ashley Revitalization Commission March 14, 2018 Page 5
Mr. Miller believed he was the only person that served on this Commission that served on the Peninsula Taskforce that Mayor Riley and the Preservation Society had for the City of Charleston. They looked at similar issues and they determined whether they thought they were good or not. As he was listening to the Commission’s discussion, he thought he was hearing a disconnect between the City and County and the functions of what they’re doing, and whether or not they understood what was going on, and what should be the Commission’s role, if any, as those projects unfold. He felt they needed to figure out exactly what that looked like and who they were, not necessarily the Commission as they knew they were on the Commission, but who was the Commission. How could they best represent the citizens of West Ashley without creating an extra layer bureaucracy while at the same time doing things that would beautify the area in ways they hadn’t had in the past. He felt they had to figure who they were and what they wanted. He wasn’t sure if the 17 members on the Commission had ability or the authority to determine what West Ashley really wants. Ms. Bleecker wanted to know what authority the Commission had, if any, and have their purpose been served. She thought however they proceed they were private citizens, not elected or appointed to the Commission. But what was realistic, what was possible and what could they do to truly contribute to the implementation of this important plan. She said that would be her question for the City and city staff. Chair Shahid said they weren’t a governing board. Those on the Commission who were elected officials were private citizens appointed to the board to help push the plan forward. He suggested the Commission members look at the adoption by City Council and read some of it. They had to accept the vision of the overall plan and promote the creation of a city/county design review board for key commercial corridors. The discussions were wonderful and he encouraged it but to help them get more focused they needed to look at what was in the implementation matrix, take each of the chapters and break them down in short term and long term terminology. They needed to be thinking about which one do they want to wrestle with and identify as the low hanging fruit. They needed to identify which one they considered low hanging fruit so they can grab it, pass it on to City Council as a recommendation. Their focus was the matrix as their outline and identify which one they wanted to get done and how do they go about getting it done. The question becomes how do they prioritize these things in the plan. Ms. Jacobs concurred with Chair Shahid. She noted the ordinance creating the commission stated “Assist private businesses and improvements in conjunction with the West Ashley revitalization efforts” and “Assist the business community and the City to work together in the most cooperative and supportive manner possible.” She said they should take these two and go back to design review board. All of the discussion they had today was we use those things that were given our duties as appointed commissioners by the ordinance and they looked at some very unique top list of the immediate time frame. At the top was establish a joint city/county design review board. This might solve a lot of their problems because the developers needed a toolkit that would streamline the process or incentivize that process because that way they knew exactly what they’re going to do. The immediate time frame also stated “Pursue neighborhood preservation.” She said they get two birds with one stone. Mr. Smith had already taken charge of historic preservation. He could start sitting and learning from people, and set up a matrix to start giving information to the Commission on storytelling and start an initiating process. So while you get the community identity through them by just gathering information, the Commission could start the process of getting a joint design review board and pulling together that toolkit of what it means to have an aging West Ashley. If they set those standards right now they would have to solve some of those other problems that they’re talking about on those immediately what they could do. Ms. Jacobs said the other low hanging fruit they should really go after was approving the gateway at I-526 in front of Mr. Palassis’ new hotel. That was a huge corridor coming down I-526 into our area right into a whole complex of hotels and it looked you’re driving through a junkyard. She knew the accommodations tax money was there to improve gateways. Mayor Tecklenburg said when he went to work for the city in 1990’s he was the staff person for the Downtown Revitalization Commission that had been in business for 10 or 15 years when he came on board about 1995. They didn’t have the benefit of a comprehensive plan going forward. They didn’t have a blueprint but the Commission members would come forward with an idea or concern. They got a specific area of town they were going address and they jumped on that issue. Everyone would have input and ideas, and it might have involved going to various places to get funding. The Commission members literally, through their connections, would make things happen. Once you identified that project you worked on, and while not everyone wasn’t in on every project, everybody pitched in where they could and made things happen, and it took a little while. West Ashley Revitalization Commission March 14, 2018 Page 6
Mayor Tecklenburg noted there were 147 items on the implementation matrix. He suggested they take the top 34 in the immediate category, come up with a top 10 list and get to work on them. When they knock down the list down to a few, they could more until they get through all 34. Rather than trying to reinvent the wheel, just follow the plan and get some of this stuff done. Chair Shahid suggested they get a list of City, County, State or any other governmental agency projects either in the pipeline or in process right now. In reference to the Mayor’s suggestion, Mr. Gregorie questioned if they should take that as a charge and prior to the next meeting identify the top 10. Chair Shahid said he was going to suggest along those lines that they get the information and disseminate it before the next meeting to identify the top 5 or top 10 projects, break this down at the next meeting in a workshop project and look at the 34 near term items. He suggested they break the workshop into the three categories near term, intermediate and long terms. They would take those three categories and identify the top 10 of those 3. Mr. Smith asked if they could avoid a meeting by setting this up like a Doodle poll and asking people to rank order the 10, and compare them to see which ones came out. They could avoid having two hours of breakup sessions. Chair Shahid said the first thing he wanted them to have was what was in the pipeline. He thought that was a major component so everyone would know what’s out there. Mayor Tecklenburg said suggested if everyone voted on the top 10 and there was a commonality of 5 or 6, spend the next meeting picking the top 5 or 6, and working on who needed to do what. Chair Shahid said that was his goal that at the next workshop meeting identifying the top 10 or 5 out of each of the categories. Ms. Jacobs said given the fact that Ms. Herring was wearing two hats, she would offer her time to staff to cull those emails and help sort that so they have a productive meeting. She said she would be the “survey monkey” and help coordinate the data so that they would not be sitting there in this conversation loop. They just have the information and get it out way ahead to facilitate it. Mr. Smith said he would also help. Chair Shahid said if they had a consensus on the top 10 or 5, they could come to the next meeting ready to roll. Mr. Miller asked for a date to submit the information. Chair Shahid said he didn’t want the Commission members to get too far ahead of themselves. If the projects out there are important to the Commission to consider that they should get those first. After they get that information within a week, they would send out a reminder email to everyone look at the implementation matrix and read the portions that were adopted. Ms. Riley asked if the list of projects would include private development. Mr. Morgan said they could get them lists of types of developments that were approved and types of developments that had been submitted for certain things to TRC. Mr. Miller added that they should submit school district initiatives as well. He said he would make sure someone would email that list to Mr. Morgan. Chair Shahid said Mayor Tecklenburg set the deadline for March 31 for their top 10 lists. Councilmember Wagner and Mr. Zucker let the meeting at 6:40 p.m. Public Comment Period Sherry Irwin asked for a show of hands if anyone liked the buildings being built up to the road Savannah Highway or 4 or 5 story apartments also being built up to the road. She said her neighbors were upset when she told them we’ve been told there are plans for every square inch of West Ashley and they intended to build 10,000 apartments West Ashley. Ms. Irwin noted one of the things the Commission needed at the top of their lists was cleaning the drains. They wasted $2 million dollars of tax dollars doing a study and they told them the drains were clogged. She asked them when they left the meeting tonight to look across from Whole Foods at the entrance to the drains that were clogged with sand and dirt. She West Ashley Revitalization Commission March 14, 2018 Page 7
asked them to start cleaning the entrance to the drains. She said all she heard was they wanted to use her tax dollars to build a hotel, which she considered to be private sector stuff. Ms. Irwin said if they opposed this they could ask the President to overturn Executive Order 128581, the President’s Council on Sustainable Development, meaning its participated in Agenda 21, now called Agenda 2030. It came through the UN. It was a stealth way to destroy our culture, our private property rights and our system of government. The end game of that was to do away with elected officials. They wanted a regional council. She had contacted the governor’s office and called the attorney general. She said they got to get the people in Columbia involved if they wanted keep their private property rights. John Steinberger of Sandhurst said they can’t implement this plan because of how much it costs. He noted the Church Creek Drainage Basin Study where they came up with specific engineering upgrades and priced it at $44 million dollars. Recently the City of Charleston and Charleston County supported bicycle path projects that cost $4 million dollars per mile. He questioned how many miles of bicycle paths were in the plan. If there were 50 miles that meant they had to come up with $200 million dollars to implement. If you don’t know that, how could you implement the plan? He said we needed to price this out or we would have nothing to work with. Chair Shahid closed the public comment period. There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 6:48 p.m.
Marcia L. Grant Council Secretary WEST ASHLEY REVITALIZATION COMMISSION April 11, 2017
A meeting of the West Ashley Revitalization Commission was held this date at The Schoolhouse, 720 Magnolia Road. Notice of this meeting was sent to all local news media. PRESENT Councilmember Peter Shahid, Chair, Commissioner John deStephano, Justin Ferira, Harry Gregorie, Diane Hamilton, Donna Jacobs, Councilmember James Lewis, County Councilman Brantley Moody, John Osborne, Jimmy Palassis, Charles Smith, Mayor John Tecklenburg. STAFF: Christopher Morgan, Planning Director. Chair Shahid noted at the previous meeting the Commission discussed a couple of important projects to get them up and running. A survey was sent out to the Commission and they received 12 or 13 results. A sheet showing the results of the survey was distributed to the Commission members along with the implementation matrix, the projects in West Ashley and a letter from Historic Charleston. Chair Shahid said if there was anything they wanted to add to the results they could do that now or they could go through the responses. Plan West Ashley Implementation: Review Commission Survey Results and Next Steps Chair Shahid said they could go through the top 3, 4, or 5 for each category, discuss those and how they wanted to implement them. Ms. Jacobs asked if there was some way to tell if the responses to #5, for example, was a consensus of all 10 persons responding. Chair Shahid responded that got 90% of the 10 responding. On the page behind the bar chart in the survey, Mayor Tecklenburg checked his responses before they got the survey out. He started with the highest number of the responses. Chair Shahid felt it was a good representation of where everyone stood with all of this. He said he could read through them and they could discuss them if they wanted. This was the low hanging fruit they had discussed. They needed to decide how to implement it. Mr. Ferira said it was difficult to digest the bar charts lined up with the matrix and productively go one by one saying here’s the most and how do we do it. He suggested they read out the top five and say what they are as he felt he was in the position to opine anything until the next meeting. He said to get out of discussing the quantitative and implementation was highly premature. Chair Shahid said he would read the top 3 or 4, and they could have discussion about those. The first question was to apply corresponding number to initiatives outlined from the matrix from the Immediate (first 2 years) session. The list below shows the responses beginning with what received the most responses: 1. #5 – Community Design and Land Use – Establish a West Ashley Community Brand & Identity Committee: organize private cleanup efforts (Keep Charleston Beautiful) 2. #29 – Economic Development – Develop specific goals for targeting industries and business activities for growth in West Ashley, and refine strategies for achieving these goals. 3. #37 – Economic Development – Ensure zoning in outer West Ashley requires/incentivizes location of community shopping centers or commercial buildings new hew housing. 4. #36 – Economic Development – As appropriate, allow flexible conversion or redevelopment of retail and other commercial properties to other uses. Chair Shahid noted it seemed like in reference to implementation, economic development was a huge priority for the Commission and some of the things that were low hanging fruit. The zoning would help in areas making sure it was done appropriately to provide incentives, encourage business to open and West Ashley Revitalization Commission April 11, 2018 Page 2
prosper, and to draft the parking structures with us was a different one altogether. He asked if the Commission members wanted to discuss these four items now or did they want to go to the next category. He suggested that since Mr. Ferira, for example, had been pushing the economic development part of it, they could breakdown into smaller committees to discuss and work on that so everyone had the opportunity to engage in the top three economic issues and come up with a plan on how to implement that. Ms. Jacobs suggested they look at all of them because when she tried to prioritize them some of the short term and near term seemed to be similar and they were ranked similarly. 5. #20 – Housing – With public input, elected officials should explore changes to state enabling law and city ordinances to allow for incentivized affordable housing programs. Develop local voluntary incentive programs that encourage developments to incorporate affordable and workforce housing. Explore potential for incentives such as real estate tax abatement, density bonuses, height bonuses or other mechanisms that incentivize developers to voluntarily include levels of affordable housing. Chair Shahid said the housing component on this seemed to tie in with providing workforce housing. When he met with the Chamber of Commerce members in West Ashley, they encouraged him to change the word “affordable” to “attainable” housing. They were thinking about ways to incentivize housing that was in West Ashley so that it tied in with the workforce. He said if you took the workforce housing that could cut down on commuters. The number of businesses and people not commuting from West Ashley was 16%. The housing component tied into economic development and could work in time with that. 6. #6 – Community Design and Land Use – Pursue neighborhood preservation. 7. #4 – Community Design and Land Use – Establish a joint City/County Design Review Board for key commercial corridors. 8. #30 – Economic Development – Promote West Ashley’s specific strengths through the region’s economic development promotional materials and networks. Chair Shahid commented this was similar to the other projects regarding the feasibility of insuring zoning in outer West Ashley providing community shopping centers. 9. #15 – Green Infrastructure and Sustainability – Raise community awareness of sensitive environmental concerns, green infrastructure, and open space preservation. 10. #7 – All - The City and County should develop community engagement strategies to improve communication, education, and participation for residents around locally important community design and land use, transportation, green infrastructure and sustainability, housing, and economic development issues. In reference to housing, Councilman Moody said he learned about a project in the DuWap area in Councilmember Waring’s district in the City. He received some calls about an old burned out trailer park and he found out it was in the City. Some homes were being cleared of asbestos and will be cleared away. He felt the Commission might have a real life example to work of and was something coming soon that they could sink their teeth into and watch, advise and counsel. Mr. Morgan said it was a tax credit project for affordable housing where an entity gets a tax credit from the state to build affordable housing. 11. #26 – Housing – Explore the potential to offer expedited review of townhome and multifamily housing projects in locations where such housing is allowed by right, particularly targeted to infill locations that already have the infrastructure to support additional housing. 12. #22 – Housing – Expand application of Mixed-Use Workforce Housing zoning districts, and pursue modifications to increase the program’s effectiveness. Chair Shahid said the housing came in closely related with the incentives with these projects. He concluded housing and economic development were the top two priorities and seemed to be interrelated. If they could create businesses and workforce housing they would have a huge impact on transit and West Ashley Revitalization Commission April 11, 2018 Page 3
commuters going into the peninsula or other locations. He said it would have a huge impact on transportation as well. Mr. Smith thought it was nice to see those come together in a survey form because that was exactly the thinking they were being taught during this whole process - housing, transportation and employment were all part of the same thing. While he wanted to see the Commission explore what the priorities were here, he hoped they reengaged the public on the idea of how to begin working on those priorities so that rather than it just being the Commissioners there would be more of the community input they had during the process where people were interested in being a part of it. In reference to the West Ashley active development projects, Chair Shahid asked Mr. Morgan if anything on the spreadsheet jumped out at him that would fit any of the housing incentives, workforce or economic development. Mr. Morgan said other than what Councilman Moody mentioned they had not heard from those developers in a while who were on the TRC list for a number of months so they didn’t make the spreadsheet but they should be on there, especially if there was activity on the site. There was rehab housing on the St. Andrews Garden apartments of 300 of 400 units, which most had been done. Other than that, he was not aware of other projects that fitted those categories. Mr. Ferira said one of the most interesting and encouraging theme of the top five was they were free. One was brand identity where you form your identity, be proud of where you live and take care of it. Target industries you go after and improve the private sector, and do that by the initiation of the municipalities. Items 3,4 and 5 were enable zoning through conversion of dead retail, which he regarded as a zoning and paperwork thing and not a spending thing. Similar to that was zoning through incentives on commercial buildings and shopping centers in West Ashley; revive housing through voluntary incentive programs to encourage higher density through voluntarily incorporated housing. He thought there was a theme for all five and the good news was that they were unfunded mandated. Councilman Moody said someone mentioned economic development as job creators. He wanted to know, not at this time, Mr. Palassis, Mr. Ferira and Mr. Osborne’s thoughts on what the tax incentives look like and what do those things look like that would impel Mr. Palassis to build another hotel and Mr. Ferira to open another store. He wanted them to give that some thought. Mayor Tecklenburg thought they had some real themes they could group, pick their focus areas they were most capable in and most interested in, and work on them. He saw economic development and housing being one. He noted numbers 5 and 7, branding and community engagement, seemed to have a common thread. The community awareness of environmental concerns, green infrastructure and open space meant to him the needed to assess their parks and recreation. He saw four categories: (1) branding, marketing and quality community communication, (2) economic development, (3) housing and (4) green infrastructure, parks and recreation. While he knew there were two more categories to review, he felt a good end product tonight would be to identify those common threads and rather than pick any one of them apart as how they were going to move forward with one project, decide who wanted to focus on economic development, or who wanted to focus on housing. He thought to divide and conquer would be a sensible approach. He asked to be put down for economic development and green infrastructure, including drainage. Ms. Hamilton commented another common element she saw in the top five was the need to work across the various jurisdictions. She felt if they were going to be successful in shaping any of those goals they were going to have to come up with a plan or design to work across the various jurisdictions. Chair Shahid concurred saying economic development and housing maybe crossing those jurisdictional boundaries. He asked if the Commission wanted to look at the Near Term as he thought those tied into where they were right now and could be a consequence for them as well. The Commission members concurred. Near Term Implementation 1. #89 – Economic Development – Consider opportunities to locate City offices/facilities within the new “town center” West Ashley Revitalization Commission April 11, 2018 Page 4
2. #39 – Community Design and Land Use – Draft and adopt mixed-use regulatory standards and incentives to replace and modernize existing zoning, to guide new development on commercial corridors, entryways, and other focused priority progress areas. 3. #87 – Economic Development – Pursue the creation of a business incubator targeted to tech start-ups and small businesses Mayor Tecklenburg mentioned the Flagship incubator the city operated for years were rental properties and the city is being kicked out because someone bought the property. The City will be looking for replacement quarters for the Flagship Incubator 4. #83 – Economic Development – Establish a new incentivized redevelopment zone designation to encourage the revitalization of underutilized sites. 5. #52 – Green Infrastructure and Sustainability – Increase budget for inspection, operation, and maintenance of drainage infrastructure. 6. #42 – Community Design and Land Use – Improve/beautify West Ashley gateways with appropriate signage and landscaping. 7. #44 – Transportation – Complete a Regional Transit Feasibility Study and Regional Transit Framework Plan. Chair Shahid believed they already have something in line with the City part of that with the spine from North Charleston to the Peninsula. They were talking about using the Piggly Wiggly site for a park and ride. 8. #71 – Housing – Inventory all land currently owned by a public agency, determine if any properties could be used for housing in the future, and prioritize these sites for subsidized income-restricted housing development. 9. #41- Community Design and Land Use – West Ashley Community Brand & Identity Committee: implement entry signage, lighting, beautification efforts. This was similar to #5 West Ashley Community Brand & Identity Committee: organize private cleanup efforts (Keep West Ashley Beautiful) 10. #76 – Housing – Identify and preserve historic community assets and character in West Ashley. Chair Shahid noted that sounded more immediate rather than long term. This was something they could do right now, specifically in the Ashleyville/Maryville area. 11. #40 – Community Design and Land Use – West Ashley Community Brand & Identity Committee: work to improve West Ashley’s image and community perception, celebrate history and culture. Chair Shahid said numbers 40, 41 and 42 seemed to tie in together. Mayor Tecklenburg noted they still ended up with the same basic four categories with the addition of Transportation – Housing, Economic Development, some relation to Green Infrastructure, and branding and communications. Mr. Smith said the one thing he wasn’t hearing was drainage. There was a little there but it didn’t seem urgent. He had a hard time reconciling that with what the public told them. Mayor Tecklenburg indicated it was in item #52. Chair Shahid read the top mentioned items under Long Term Long Term Implementation 1. #116 – Economic Development – Direct proceeds of the West Ashley Redevelopment Project Area and TIF District to construct supportive public improvements within the Citadel Mall area. Chair Shahid said City Council had approved the TIF but this was directing the proceeds of the TIF to construct supportive public improvements. 2. #115 – Economic Development – Explore the introduction of a business license fee reduction as an incentive for investment in West Ashley. Chair Shahid said he heard a lot of comments from the Chamber of Commerce about this issue. West Ashley Revitalization Commission April 11, 2018 Page 5
3. #118 – Economic Development – Examine potential to establish additional TIF districts at mixed- use nodes and offer growth locations identified in Plan West Ashley. 4. #111 – Housing – Complete detailed assessments of key issues, affordability needs, unique demographic and physical characteristics and appropriate housing options of individual neighborhoods. 5. #103 – Green Infrastructure and Sustainability – Incorporate resiliency, sea level rise considerations, and adaptive design strategies into long-range infrastructure/transportation planning and policy. 6. #114 – Economic Development – Map business assets and infrastructure in west Ashley to identify areas better positioned for private investment versus areas requiring upgrades. 7. #110 – Housing – Enhance capacity to grow income-restricted subsidized affordable housing by increasing public land purchases and pursuing development / land banking via the Community Land Trust and collaboration with third-party non-profit affordable housing developers. 8. #101- Transportation – Complete a District-wide Management Study. Chair Shahid said this tied in with what Ms. Hamilton mentioned earlier working with other jurisdictions to tie into that as well. Mr. Smith suggested if the listed projects were mapped they could see how they lined up with the map Dover Kohl did for them on where they needed to be focusing on moving and developing businesses so they could see whether these things were moving in that direction or not. Chair Shahid asked Mr. Morgan if that was doable. Mr. Morgan responded it was doable. Chair Shahid said they will do the last category. Physical Improvements 1. #124 – Transportation – Install crosswalks where they are missing at all signalized intersection. Chair Shahid said this shouldn’t be that long of a project to do but it did require locating some financial resources to it. 2. #130 – Green Infrastructure and Sustainability – Perform a storm drainage system inventory (including condition assessment) and maintenance schedule with cooperation between the City, County and SCDOT. Cross train City staff to recognize and report blocked drains or other drainage issues requiring maintenance. 3. #122 – Transportation – Provide enhanced high visibility pedestrian and bicycle crossing on St. Andrews Boulevard for the West Ashley Bikeway. This was similar to #124 about installing crosswalks. 4. #127 – Transportation – Optimize traffic signal timing, update on annual or biannual intervals. 5. #131 – Green Infrastructure and Sustainability – Plant trees. 6. #119 – Transportation – Install bus stop improvements: benches, signage, shelters. 7. #128 – Green Infrastructure and Sustainability – Integrate neighborhood scale flood control with traditional stormwater management improvements as well as Lowcountry appropriate green infrastructure practices and undergrounding of utilities into upcoming infrastructure investments. Chair Shahid said transportation, economic development and housing were still the highlights of all four categories. Councilmember Lewis felt the top 3 priorities should be economic development, housing and infrastructure. They should have the economic development in place so people would be able to work and be able to afford the housing. Once that was in place they should work on the housing part. They knew they had to work on the drainage. (Mayor Tecklenburg left at 6:15 p.m.) West Ashley Revitalization Commission April 11, 2018 Page 6
Chair Shahid suggested if they wanted to divide themselves into economic development, branding, housing, green infrastructure and transportation, then they could take those five categories and take each one of the four question areas they had done – immediate, near term and long term, they could do that. Mr. Ferira said coming up with groups and committees made sense. He thought that the same groups should work across – immediate, near term and long term – so that there’s not a handoff and style those along that. He also felt they should prioritize each of them along with what the budget was, whether it was nothing to something, and whether it required an outside party or City staff with regards to zoning, or if it required working with the Chamber of Commerce and County Council. The easiest things were going to be the free ones that required no outside third party and hardest were going to require money and outside third parties. He said they come up with the groups and prioritize across the matrix. Mr. Smith added they should ask themselves if there were decisions they could make about multiple issues that would benefit all of them. Could they get some synergy out of it so that rather than just looking at housing issues or transportation issues, going into meetings and coming out and reporting, they ask each other if there was anything they are doing here that would benefit here or cut a cost here or would get people off the road here. He thought these were the kinds of questions they needed to look at after they met and flesh this out more. Ms. Jacobs said if they found things that were long term and expensive that were also very important to all of the other things they should start them now because that way you would have them coming to fruition quicker. 47:32 Councilmember Lewis noted the one thing they all needed to be mindful of was they have a great plan and a long term plan but not a budget. They know as far as the infrastructure was concerned, the TIF district would take care of the infrastructure but the other issues would need some sort of funding to get some of the projects started. Chair Shahid said they might have a long term project but if they don’t start the going to the city, county or state for grants for them, you had to put that in the pipeline now. The long term project would take time to fund and break ground with it, but they had to start working on it now. They have created a budget committee for the City. Those things that require funding can be brought to the City for budget considerations and look at other sources in the county, the state and the Department of Transportation for additional funding. Mr. Ferira’s point was if they were going to do economic development, it would be economic development across all four categories – immediate, short term, near term and long term. It would also be the same for housing, transportation and infrastructure. Councilman Moody said Economic Development was one of his “hot buttons”. He suggested Steve Dykes, who ran the County’s Economic Development Group, be included in those meetings. In reference to the list of active development projects, Ms. Jacobs said there were somethings, even though they were priorities, we should not let them start on a blank slate. They had to start at the very beginning with these things. A few of them were far along in the process such as the City has installed signage on the Charleston signs that say West Ashley and all the descriptions that pertain to the greenway and bikeway. Harry Lesesne’s group, Charleston Parks Conservancy, were among the names that might be important to bring that to the public to be a part of an agenda where they can almost check the box off those… 51:41 In reference to Citadel Mall, Ms. Jacobs said Richard Davis owns it. He’s got investors now and had some plans for that. She said maybe it was time to sit down and say with any of the priorities the Commission had identified, if there was something he could do that they could facilitate. Five years ago Citadel Mall was going bankrupt and it was essentially a blank slate. It wasn’t a blank slate anymore so there are things the Commission could do to facilitate this program and work with him on something that they could be involved in as one of the Commission’s duties was to assist the business community. Chair Shahid commented as they volunteer for these various categories they had to tie in their stakeholders, City staff, County and City, and the school district on some of these issues, and bring other people as well. There was a long list of citizens and non-stakeholders who wanted to get involved in this process and they might want tap into those people as well. He didn’t think they wanted to make these things too large that it becomes complicated and hard to do. Another issue was once they did this they West Ashley Revitalization Commission April 11, 2018 Page 7
need space to meet, set up times to meet and advertise to do this because the Commission was still a public entity and the public was invited to observe. Chair Shahid said the Revitalization meetings are set. As they go through the public notice part of that, he wanted to have sense of what the Commission wanted to do. For example, if three Commission members wanted to meet on economic development or transportation, they would meet as a subgroup. The next meeting was May 9 at Town and Country Inn. On that date, they would meet as a Commission and then the subgroups, along with City staff and stakeholders, would meet as a breakout session in another room. Mr. Ferira said breaking out made sense but he was wanted to work on both of the examples Chair Shahid cited. He didn’t think Chair Shahid wanted to make them mutually exclusive and overlapping the same way they had a hop around of stations where you went and prioritized to spend your time. It might be equally useful if he felt economic development was important and spent all of his time there, people could go and watch to see how it’s going. But he didn’t think you would want to preclude yourself from being able to leapfrog. The next meeting might have two focuses. If you are on either of them, you come. If you are on both of them, you allocate your time accordingly. Chair Shahid suggested they divide them up to avoid the overlap. Councilman Moody added to Mr. Smith’s point they give the public the opportunity to sit at the table. Ms. Jacobs suggested they meet by month. If they were going to choose to breakout in groups by the chapter they claimed. They were already grouped for them. They could take those chapter headings to accommodate their subcommittee groups and they don’t necessarily have all of them meeting every time. It looked like economic development and transportation might be important for you to hold meetings but then you get into physical improvements, which was another can of worms. She said to just have two of them and have a progress report, and then two other groups and two other groups because it seemed like it might be a lot to set that up for all of them. Chair Shahid said there were five chapters: community design and land use, transportation, green infrastructure, housing and economic development. You could almost take the take community design and land use and green infrastructure as one. He didn’t think that would be too much of stretch in doing that. He could keep economic development, housing and transportation as stand-alone subcommittees because they were such big projects. He questioned do they look at paring economic development and housing together, or do they separate those two so at the main night meeting they do them separately. Mr. Palassis suggested they be separated. Ms. Jacobs said they might want to separate them and keep them the way they are. If something comes naturally come together then it naturally comes together. Chair Shahid wanted to break this down, assign themselves and they can go out and find out those people in the community to expressed some interest. Mr. Morgan could assist in deciding which staff person would be needed from the City and the County to participate in them. The assignments were: Community Design and Land Use Charlie Smith Donna Jacobs Justin Ferira
Transportation Charlie Smith Harry Gregorie
Green Infrastructure John deStephano, Mayor Tecklenburg
Housing Diane Hamilton, Harry Gregorie West Ashley Revitalization Commission April 11, 2018 Page 8
Councilmember James Lewis
Economic Development John deStephano Jimmy Palassis Justin Ferira Mayor Tecklenburg Ms. Jacobs said since there was already such a citywide mandate they didn’t have to do that anything right now. They as a group could make sure that anything that comes up suits the plan since the City was already far along in the development. Chair Shahid said there would be two breakouts at the May 9 meeting. He asked which two chapters should they begin with or did they want to do three breakouts. He felt Economic Development should be one of the breakouts. Ms. Jacobs said Mr. Ferira felt Economic Development had the highest count than all of the others, so they should do it by that. Chair Shahid said the two breakouts would be Economic Development and Green Infrastructure. The Commission members suggested to only do these two at this time. Chair Shahid said he would get with staff to see who else should be invited to participate and some citizens who signed up. He asked Mr. Morgan if he wanted to summarize the spreadsheet of active development projects and they could map those for the next meeting. Mr. Morgan said he could provide the map at the next meeting. Referring to the Active Development Projects spreadsheet, he noted the first heading, Existing Commercial Centers, were 7 new buildings or remodeling projects that were all in the City’s jurisdiction. Citadel Mall was listed twice because the mall itself was begin redeveloped and the MUSC project in the old JC Penny. The largest category, New Commercial, Retail, Service and Hotels, had a lot automobile uses in the Auto Mile. There were some hotels, storage facilities, restaurants and Whole Foods. The Office category had 8 office projects including one in the County in Truluck Building on St. Andrews Boulevard. Mr. Smith asked what was being built. Councilman Moody said it was office space and it wasn’t the whole site. It was a phased project. Mr. Smith concluded there was still room in the back to transition down to something that worked for the neighborhood. Councilman Moody said yes. Mr. Morgan said there were some exciting things in the Institutional / Civic uses in West Ashley. A new West Ashley library on Sanders Road near West Ashley High School. Fire Station #11, adjacent to the Charleston 9 memorial, was in final design review. Fire Station #14 in Carolina Bay was just completed by the City. Ashley Hall Fire Station #16 was being renovated. There will be a 20,000 square foot forensic facility on Bees Ferry Road next to Fire Station #19, which will employ about 20 to 30 persons in the facility. The Louis P. Waring Senior Center on Henry Tecklenburg Boulevard was under construction and Macedonia AME Church was working on a new facility on Savage Road. Ms. Jacobs asked if they decided to do underground wiring for Fire Station #11. Mr. Morgan said they were working towards that but that side of the street wasn’t under SCE&G jurisdiction. They had to deal with all of the utility providers. In reference to Multifamily projects, Mr. Morgan noted that the country was seeing a multifamily boom. He said Councilman Moody mentioned affordable housing was missing and they would be added. The Single-family projects were 10 or more lots. A few were in the County such as Hunt Club. They left out a listing for Ashley Hall Plantation, which was a preliminary plat with 47 units. Mr. Morgan said it would be added on the list. There was also some stuff they talked about before in Ashleyville/Maryville and Carolina Bay West Ashley Revitalization Commission April 11, 2018 Page 9
In reference to the single-family projects, Ms. Hamilton asked if Avenue of Oaks would be the name of the community. Mr. Morgan said he didn’t know. That was what the staff had at the present. They don’t regulate what the names of developments were. That was the name they had on some of their applications. Ms. Hamilton stated in earlier discussions with them they were concerned about a separate community being created within the Ashleyville/Maryville community. She said they were assured that wouldn’t be case and that was the reason for her question. Major Roadway Improvements included many projects that were under study as well as projects upgrading existing facilities such as the bridge replacement at Ashley Hall Plantation Road up to the completion of Mark Clark Expressway/I-526 and roadway improvements in the area. Mr. Morgan said they also separated out Pedestrian/Bicycle improvements and some sidewalks the City and County were working on at Carriage Lane, Markfield Drive, Orleans Road and Savage Road. At the St. Andrews Boulevard/West Ashley Bikeway Crossing they were working with SCDOT (South Carolina Department of Transportation) to create crossing for pedestrians where they could activate a signal to cross St. Andrews Boulevard safely. Parks, Playgrounds and Athletic Fields were a combination of City and County park facilities. Many of it was ongoing projects but there were some new park properties the City just acquired like Bender Street Park and the Station Park at the old WPAL on Wappoo Road. There were also continuing improvements for facilities. There were very exciting new developments under Schools such as the conceptual planning for Carolina Bay Elementary, would be built on the C.E. Williams site. C. E. Williams is being rebuilt adjacent to West Ashley High School off of West Wildcat Boulevard and Sanders Road. Porter Gaud is building a new upper school. Stono Park Elementary School was in the process of being rebuilt. West Ashley Center for Advanced Studies was on the West Ashley High School campus and construction was to begin in 2019. Under Stormwater Projects, the Church Creek Drainage Basin recommendations and studies would be finished up as would the Dupont Wappoo Drainage Basin Study as well. The FEMA Buy-Out Program in the Church Creek Drainage Basin was in process. The Forest Acres Drainage Improvement Project was under construction. Chair Shahid noted the buildings in the FEMA Buy-Out program would be demolished and the City use could the property as a water runoff or green space. It would become with some sort of public use. Mr. Morgan said yes and it would also help with the drainage situation. Chair Shahid said the Old Towne Creek County Park under Parks, Playgrounds and Athletic Fields was still under plan review. The County Parks Commission was building the park and they were making some progress. It had been held up earlier due to neighborhoods’ concern about some of the projects in the area. Mr. Morgan said the park was in the City’s jurisdiction so they submitted to Planning for some passive park areas with trails, parking areas, restaurant facilities, gardens, a closed shelter and marsh over looks. They’re expected to begin construction in 2019. Mr. Smith said the active development projects spread sheet was a useful tool and would be helpful to the public as well. He said we have had some issues in the past year where large segments of neighborhoods didn’t receive notification. They might have been notified but there was a receipt component of that as well. If you didn’t receive the notification the notice wasn’t useful. He wanted the Commission to take a hard look at ways to improve public notification. With projects and zoning changes, any of these activities that require public notice, he felt it was incumbent on the City to use “snail” mail as the County does as there were many residents in the older neighborhoods who were 60+ and didn’t have access to the internet. Virtually everything they were doing for notification of the City, in terms of the new types of notification, was going towards more digital notification. The people who were 60+ needed to be properly notified and “snail” mail was the best way until they found a better way. He thought it was worth the conversation, particularly in light what happened with Ashleyville/Maryville last year. West Ashley Revitalization Commission April 11, 2018 Page 10
Ms. Jacobs noted on the it was #7 on the priority list. She said they have a Communications Subcommittee and at the last meeting she said maybe that should come under Communication. Many people signed up on the subcommittee to get involved and they can be involved. She said even with the neighborhood association, “snail’ mail and hand delivered to every house in the neighborhood, people still told her they didn’t know about it. Chair Shahid said they would get that comment to the Communication Subcommittee. He added the City had some responsibility to publicize this. Mr. Morgan said he wasn’t sure the project list was on the website but they will post it. Chair Shahid said the Commission was going to receive the Robert N.S. and Patty F. Whitelaw Founders Award from the Historic Charleston Foundation. The Commission was invited to the ceremony to be held at 6:00 p.m., Tuesday, May 1 at First Baptist Church. He said if anyone wanted to attend to send him an email. This was a recognition of the Commission’s preservation and protection of important buildings and places in the role of preservation advocacy. Public Comment Ann Jenkins of Northbridge Terrace said she was interested in housing and green space. She said when the Commission thought about housing to also think about drainage because they went together. She wanted some sort of board of architectural review for West Ashley. She said they could piggy back on what was in the City’s BAR but they since they were talking about West Ashley being such a specific genre of housing and people who lived here, maybe if there was some sort of architectural review and working between the City and County and making that happen. She thought for raising funds, it might be low level funding but she would sponsor a bench or tree or bus shelter. She wanted to have some clarity on the $1.4 million bike path. Chair Shahid said the path over the bridge might have been a $4 million project but they didn’t get the grant. Ms. Jenkins said the Northbridge needs to be made safer. Sherry Irwin asked if all of these new neighborhoods being built are private sector or tax payer. Mr. Morgan said the neighborhoods were all private sector but the overall project are public sector roadways and parks. Ms. Irwin said thought they shouldn’t be taking $60 million rent to build a hotel that’s private sector. The reasoning for it was control and they were using tax dollars for things they shouldn’t be using. She added that open spaces being shown were actually people’s homes that were going to be taken. Massive storage units were being built because they were building these things versus taking ground owner’s rights, so people have to move in these small apartments and need someplace to store their property. She asked if anyone knew why they were building these massive storage units and if they were private sector. Mr. deStephano said it was market demand and they were private sector. Ms. Irwin noted they were starting to zone houses commercial on Magnolia Road. Magnolia Road was a quiet residential street. She knew that houses were zoned commercial on busy streets like Highways 17 and 61. When they started going into a quiet neighborhoods and forcing people out, that was wrong and unconstitutional. That will bring in traffic. Ms. Irwin also stated increased density increased crime. She said they didn’t want high rise apartments. Although she lived in an apartment but it was off the road and it wasn’t tax payer funded. They didn’t want any more built. Workforce housing was disturbing to her because you were told where you have to live because that was where you were working. She said we don’t want this. Barry Whalen wanted to make sure they could get copies of the various materials that were discussed tonight, the list of the priorities and the projects, so there would be volunteer work developed involved with these efforts. They would like to see how they were fitting into the present package. He said some new employees in his office were interested in volunteering on some of the committees. They were looking forward to help that way to continue to keep that assistance to the Commission to keep this going. West Ashley Revitalization Commission April 11, 2018 Page 11
There being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned at 7:00 p.m.
Marcia L. Grant Council Secretary
Review of West Ashley Development Plans Public Comment Period Other Business Adjournment
West Ashley Development Projects Map (update)
WEST ASHLEY - ACTIVE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS PROJECTS IN PLAN REVIEW, UNDER CONSTRUCTION, OR RECENTLY COMPLETED (5/3/2018 DRAFT)
Map # Type Location (street) # units Jurisdiction Status Notes Existing Commercial Centers (new bldgs or substantial mod.) Charleston Stage, Bicycle Shoppe, new 1 Ashley Landing Shopping Center 1401 Sam Rittenberg Blvd City Plan review & construction restaurant. 2 Ashley Landing Shopping Outparcel Building 1401 Sam Rittenberg Blvd City Under construction Navy Federal, Wingstop, Famous Toastery
New restaurant (spring 2018) and new 3 Ashley Oaks Plaza 1119 Wappoo Rd & Ashley River Rd City Plan review & construction fitness center (summer 2018) Mall owner is working on redevelopment 4 Citadel Mall 2070 Sam Rittenberg Blvd City Conceptual planning phase plans. No submittals. MUSC to locate 126,000 SF outpatient 5 Citadel Mall - MUSC 2070 Sam Rittenberg Blvd City Conceptual planning phase facility in form JC Penney store. $32.9M renovation. Harris Teeter and other new retail shops. 6 Westwood Plaza (Harris Teeter) 1812 Sam Rittenberg Blvd City Under construction Recently opened.
7 Westwood Plaza Outparcel Building 1812 Sam Rittenberg Blvd City Plan review New commercial building.
New Commercial, Retail, Service & Hotels
8 AAA Go Clean Car Wash 1109 Savannah Hwy City Plan review
9 Ashley River Self Storage 1861 Ashley River Rd City Plan review
10 Baker Motor Sprinter Van 1511 Savannah Hwy City Plan review
11 Baker Porsche 1515 Savannah Hwy City Plan review 2-story car showroom. 2060 Bees Ferry Rd & Shadowmoss 12 Bees Ferry Retail Center City Plan review Multi-tenant neighborhood retail center. Pkwy 13 Blue Water Gas Station 2493 Savannah Hwy City Plan review Gas station
14 Cambria Hotel Ripley Point Dr City Under construction Hotel with 126 rooms
Page 1 Map # Type Location (street) # units Jurisdiction Status Notes
15 Courtyard by Marriott 711 Orleans Rd County Plan review Hotel with 112 rooms
16 Dairy Queen 828 Saint Andrews Blvd City Plan review New building.
17 Hendrick BMW of Charleston 1518 Savannah Hwy City Plan review New showroom and parking. Demolition of old Volvo building and new 18 Hendrick Automotive Group 1508 Savannah Hwy City Plan review parking lot with landscaping. 19 Home 2 Suites 1963 Savannah Hwy City Under construction Hotel with 150 rooms No redevelopment plans submitted to- 20 IHOP 1521 Savannah Hwy City Recently demolished date. 21 Lincoln Dealership 1627 Savannah Hwy City Plan review Demolition and new construction.
22 Liquid Highway II 2160 Savannah Hwy City Plan review Car wash
23 Pack Rat Self Storage Bees Ferry Rd County Plan review 4 bldgs, 49,000 SF Building demolition to start 2018. No 24 Piggly Wiggly (Northbridge) Sumar St City Demolition redevelopment plans yet but being studied. 25 Sonic Drive-In 1710 Sam Rittenberg Blvd City Recently complete
26 Time to Shine Car Wash 1114 Sam Rittenberg Blvd City Plan review Car wash
27 Time to Shine Car Wash 2209 Savannah Hwy City Plan review Car wash
28 TownPlace Hotel 805 Orleans Rd County Recently complete Hotel with 112 rooms
29 V-Go Savannah Hwy 1406 Savannah Hwy City Under construction Gas station West Ashley Circle Shopping Center (Harris West Ashley Circle & Grand Oaks 30 City Under construction Harris Teeter & commercial buildings Teeter) Blvd Whole Foods (80,000 SF), Zoe's Kitchen. 31 Whole Foods & West Ashley Station 1127 Savannah Hwy City Under construction Completion expected late spring/early summer 2018.
32 Woodsprings Hotel 3025 Ashley Town Center Dr City Under construction Hotel with 120 rooms
Office
33 Ashley River Road Office/Warehouse Building 2469 Ashley River Rd City Plan review New office/warehouse building.
Page 2 Map # Type Location (street) # units Jurisdiction Status Notes
34 Charles Towne Family & Cosmetic Dentistry 1677 Savannah Hwy City Plan review New dental office building.
35 CSG Office Building 1022 Physicians Dr City Plan review New medical office building. Henry Tecklenburg Drive Medical Office 36 Henry Tecklenburg Dr City Plan review New medical office building. Building 37 Jenkins Road Office/Warehouse Building 1065 Jenkins Rd City Plan review New office/warehouse building.
38 Savannah Hwy Office Building 519 Savannah Hwy City Plan review New office building.
39 Shelby Ray Court Office Building 3509 Shelby Ray Ct City Plan review 2-story office building. 3 bldgs (one existing), 26,000-35,000+ SF 40 Truluck Office Building 1014 Saint Andrews Blvd County Under Construction each
Institutional/Civic
41 Bees Ferry West Ashley Library 3035 Sanders Rd County Plan review 1901 Savannah Hwy (adjacent to 42 Fire Station #11 City Plan review New fire station Charleston 9 Memorial) 43 Fire Station #14 Carolina Bay 3005 Memorial Dr City Recently completed New fire station
44 Fire Station #16 Ashley Hall 81 Ashley Hall Plantation Rd City Plan review Fire station renovation 1985 Bees Ferry Rd (with Fire 45 Forensics Operations City Plan review Station #196) 46 Louis P. Waring Senior Center 2001 Henry Tecklenburg Blvd City Under construction West Ashley Senior Center
47 Macedonia Church 725 Savage Rd City Plan review New church
Multi-family (apartments & condos)
48 17 South Apts Savannah Hwy/Marginal Rd 220 City Under construction
49 Bees Ferry Apts Bees Ferry Rd & Floyd Dr 300 City Plan review
50 Benton House of West Ashley Bluewater Way 96 City Recently complete
51 Floyd Drive Apts Floyd Drive/Bees Ferry 195 City Plan review 52 Gateway Apts (Satori West Ashley) Savannah Hwy 297 City Plan review
53 Middleborough Villas 100 Deerfield Dr 30 City Plan review
Page 3 Map # Type Location (street) # units Jurisdiction Status Notes
54 Overture West Ashley Coburg Rd 198 City Plan review Phase 1 recently complete, Phase 2 under 55 Sawgrass Apts at Bolton's Landing Phase 1 Bluewater Way 350 City Recently complete construction.
56 South Point II Hatchet Bay Dr (off Savannah Hwy) 260 City Under construction
57 The Palisades Main Rd 204 City Plan review
Single-family (10+ lots)
58 Avenue of Oaks 5th Ave 41 City Plan review
59 Hunt Club Bees Ferry Rd County Completing buildout Completing buildout
60 Carolina Bay Savannah Hwy City Completing buildout Completing buildout
61 Essex Farms Glenn McConnell Pkwy City Completing buildout Completing buildout
62 Grand Oaks Bees Ferry City Completing buildout Completing buildout
63 Greenway Preserve Mutual Dr 18 City Plan review
64 Harmony Shelby Ray Ct & Pinehurst Ave 215 City Plan review Previously approved townhouses in 65 Marshview Commons McLernon Trace 165 City Completing buildout County & City but were on hold several years. 66 Sanders Road Townhouses Sanders Rd 107 City Under construction
67 The Colony at Bees Ferry Bees Ferry Rd 33 City Plan review Phase 1 under construction, phase 2 in 68 The Pointe at Rhodes Crossing (Phases 1 & 2) Bees Ferry Rd & Sanders Rd 136 City Under construction plan review.
Major Roadway Improvements Ashley Hall Plantation Road Bridge 69 Ashley Hall Plantation Road City/County Future project. Funding source CTC. Replacement Submitted TIGER Grant application for to help fund separate bike/ped bridge. Grant 70 Ashley River Bridge Crossing (Bike/Ped) Ashley River Bridge City/County TBD request was not funded. Will seek other opportunities.
Page 4 Map # Type Location (street) # units Jurisdiction Status Notes 2016 Half Cent Sales Tax project. Study in 71 Glenn McConnell Pkwy Widening Glenn McConnell Pkwy City/County Future project. progress. Timeline TBD. Grand Oaks Blvd & West Ashley 72 Grand Oaks/West Ashley Circle Connector City/County Future project. Funding source CTC. Circle City/County/ 73 Mark Clark Expressway/I-526 Completion Mark Clark Expressway/I-526 Future project. On hold. Funding needed. State Sam Rittenberg Blvd & Ashley River Rd Sam Rittenberg Blvd & Ashley River 74 City/County Recently completed First Half Cent Sales Tax project. Intersection Rd Intersection Sam Rittenberg Blvd & Old Towne Rd Sam Rittenberg Blvd & Old Towne 75 City/County Future project. Study in progress. Funding source TST. Intersection Study Rd 2016 Half Cent Sales Tax project. Funding Savannah Hwy/Ashley River Bridges/Crosstown 76 Savannah Hwy City/County Future project. source TST. Study in progress. Timeline Congestion Study TBD. Savannah Hwy Capacity & Intersection 2016 Half Cent Sales Tax project. Study in 77 Savannah Hwy City/County Study in progress. Improvements Study progress. Timeline TBD. Savannah Hwy at Sam Rittenberg Blvd Turn Savannah Hwy at Sam Rittenberg 78 City/County Future project. Study in progress. Funding source TST. Lane Extension Blvd
Savannah Hwy & Savage Road Intersection 79 Savannah Hwy & Savage Rd County Future project. Funding source TST. Improvements
Wappoo Road Turn Lane Extension at Ashley 80 Wappoo Rd & Ashley River Rd City/County Future project. Study in progress. Funding source TST. River Road
Pedestrian/Bicycle Sidewalk Improvements
81 Carriage Lane Sidewalk Carriage Ln City/County Future project. Funding source TST.
82 Markfield Drive Sidewalk Markfield Dr City/County Under construction 2018. Funding source TST.
83 Orleans Road Sidewalk Orleans Rd City/County Future project. Funding source TST.
84 Savage Road Sidewalk Savage Rd City/County Future project. Funding source CTC. St. Andrews Blvd West Ashley Bikeway 85 St. Andrews Boulevard City/SCDOT Conceptual planning phase Submitting to SCDOT to review. Crossing 86 Stinson Drive Sidewalk Stinson Dr City/County Under construction 2018. Funding source CTC.
Parks, Playgrounds & Athletic Fields
Page 5 Map # Type Location (street) # units Jurisdiction Status Notes Ongoing maintenance, new courts, new 87 33 City Parks (on going maintenance) Multiple locations City Ongoing maintenance playground equipment, etc. 88 Bear Swamp Park Bear Swamp Rd (off Bees Ferry Rd) City Future project. No plans to date. Funding needed.
89 Bender Street Park (Ashleyville) Bender St City Conceptual planning phase Passive, waterfront park. Master planning effort to begin within 5 90 Bulow County Park Bear Swamp Rd (off Bees Ferry Rd) CCPRC Conceptual planning phase years. Funding uncertain at this time. Passive park with trails, parking, 1400 Old Towne Rd (adjacent to restrooms, gardens, marsh overlooks & an 91 Old Towne Creek County Park CCPRC Plan review Charles Towne Landing) enclosed shelter. Construction expected to commence mid-2019. Funded. Passive park with parking, restrooms, McLeod Mill Rd (near Limehouse trails/boardwalk to Stono River, and 92 Stono River County Park CCPRC Plan review Bridge) trailhead for WA Greenway. Construction expected to commence mid/late-2018. 93 The Station Park (WPAL) Wappoo Rd City Future project. No plans to date. Funding needed. Paving improvements from Parkdale Dr to Croghan Landing Dr 2017. Paving Under construction & plan 94 West Ashley Greenway Paving West Ashley Greenway City improvements from Stinson Dr to Parkdale review Dr early 2018. Improvements should be completed within 6-8 months. West Ashley Greenway & West Ashley Bikeway Planning will commence spring/summer 95 West Ashley Greenway and Bikeway CPC & City Conceptual planning phase Master Plan and Design Guidelines 2018.
Schools
96 Carolina Bay Elementary 640 Butte St (CE Williams Campus) CCSD Conceptual planning phase 2021 project.
West Wildcat Blvd/Sanders Rd Construction to commence mid/late-2018. 97 CE Williams Middle School (6th-8th) (adjacent to West Ashley High CCSD Plan review 135,000 SF. Approx. 900 students. School)
98 Porter Gaud (new upper school) 300 Albemarle Rd Porter Gaud Under construction
Page 6 Map # Type Location (street) # units Jurisdiction Status Notes
Original buildings demolished and preliminary site grading complete. 99 Stono Park Elementary School (K-5th) 1699 Garden St CCSD Plan review Construction to commence mid-2018. 75,000 SF. Approx. 300+ students.
West Wildcat Blvd/Sanders Rd Construction to commence mid-2019. 100 West Ashley Center for Advanced Studies (adjacent to West Ashley High CCSD Plan review 100,000 SF. Approx. 600 students. School School) will have a career and technology focus.
Stormwater Projects
Review stormwater analysis of the basin and make recommendations for additional 101 Church Creek Drainage Basin Church Creek Drainage Basin City Study in progress drainage standards, policies, and infrastructure improvements. Report anticipated spring 2018.
Joint City/County project. Review stormwater analysis of the basin and make recommendations for additional drainage 102 Dupont Wappoo drainage basin study Dupont Rd/Wappoo Rd area City/County Study in progress standards, policies, and infrastructure improvements. Report anticipated mid- 2018.
Church Creek Drainage 103 FEMA Buy-out Program City/FEMA In progress Basin/Shadowmoss Improved gravity system instead of pump. New stormwater channels and box 104 Forest Acres Drainage Improvement Project 5th Avenue to Playground Rd area City Under construction culverts and West Ashley Bikeway improvements.
DRAFT information prepared by:
Department of Planning, Preservation & Sustainability
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MINOTT ST BROWNSWOOD RD SAINT JAMES DR LAKESHORE DR
Date: 5/3/2018 Parcels Drainage/Stormwater Study Area Existing Commercial Centers Parks, Playgrounds & Athletic Fields Important Disclaimer Notice The City of Charleston makes no warranty, representation, or guaranty as City of Charleston ° City Of Charleston Boundary Major Roadway Improvement Institutional/Civic Schools to the content, sequence, accuracy, timeliness, or completeness of any Dept. of Planning, Preservation & Sustainability WEST ASHLEY - ACTIVE DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS Parks Parks, Playgrounds & Athletic Fields Multi-family Single-family information provided herein or derived from the mapping data for any Planning Division 0 0.25 0.5 1 1.5 reason. The City of Charleston explicitly disclaims any representations and 2 George St, Third Floor Miles Water Pedestrian/Bicycle Sidewalk Improvements New Commercial, Retail, Service & Hotels Stormwater Projects warranties, including, without limitation, the implied warranties of Charleston, SC 29401 Projects in Plan Review, Under Construction, or Recently Completed (5/3/2018) merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. The user knowingly www.charleston-sc.gov Office 0 600 1,200 2,400 3,600 4,800 6,000 7,200 waives any and all claims for damages against any and all of the entities Feet © Copyright 2018 City of Charleston comprising the City of Charleston that may arise from the mapping data. All Rights Reserved Plan West Ashley Implementation (WARC “Top 10”)
PLAN WEST ASHLEY IMPLEMENTATION* Community Design & Land Use (WARC "Top 10")
Recommended Actions: Policies / Studies Matrix # Plan Chapter Description Time frame
4 COMM DESIGN & Establish a joint City/County Design Review Board for key commercial corridors Immediate LAND USE 5 COMM DESIGN & Establish a West Ashley Community Brand & Identity Committee: organize private clean up efforts (keep Immediate LAND USE West Ashley beautiful)
6 COMM DESIGN & Pursue neighborhood preservation Immediate LAND USE 7 The City and County should develop community engagement strategies to Immediate improve communication, education, and participation for residents around locally important community ALL design & land use, transportation, green infrastructure & sustainability, housing, and economic development issues 39 COMM DESIGN & Draft and adopt mixed-use regulatory standards and incentives to replace and modernize existing zoning, to Near-Term LAND USE guide new development on commercial corridors, entryways, and other focused priority progress areas (2 – 5 years)
40 COMM DESIGN & West Ashley Community Brand & Identity Committee: work to improve West Ashley’s image and community Near-Term LAND USE perception, celebrate history and culture
41 COMM DESIGN & West Ashley Community Brand & Identity Committee: implement entry signage, lighting, beautification Near-Term LAND USE efforts
42 COMM DESIGN & Improve/beautify West Ashley gateways with appropriate signage and landscaping Near-Term LAND USE
Recommended Actions: Physical Improvements / Projects Matrix # Plan Chapter Description Time frame
132 COMM DESIGN & Enhance and beautify West Ashley gateways with appropriate signage and Near-Term LAND USE landscaping. Gateway entries are along Savannah Hwy, Ashley River Rd, Sam Rittenberg Blvd, Old Towne (2 – 5 years) Rd, St. Andrews Blvd, and Folly Rd Blvd. 155 COMM DESIGN & Add streetscaping (landscaping, appropriately scaled lighting, sidewalks, curb and gutter, mast arms, etc.) Longer-Term LAND USE along key commercial corridors such as Savannah Hwy, Sam Rittenberg Blvd, Folly Rd, Old Towne Rd, St. (5 yrs– Andrews Blvd, Ashley River Rd. ongoing)
* For complete implementation matrix see Plan West Ashley full report.
1 PLAN WEST ASHLEY IMPLEMENTATION* Transportation (WARC "Top 10")
Recommended Actions: Policies / Studies Matrix # Plan Chapter Description Time frame
7 The City and County should develop community engagement strategies to Immediate improve communication, education, and participation for residents around locally important community ALL design & land use, transportation, green infrastructure & sustainability, housing, and economic development issues 44 TRANSPORTATION Complete a Regional Transit Feasibility Study and Regional Transit Framework Plan. Near-Term (2 – 5 years) 101 TRANSPORTATION Complete a District-wide Traffic Management Study Longer-Term
Recommended Actions: Physical Improvements / Projects Plan Chapter Description Time frame
119 TRANSPORTATION Install bus stop improvements: benches, signage, shelters Immediate (first 2 years)
120 TRANSPORTATION Implement St. Andrews Blvd. shuttle circulator service Immediate
121 Conduct a data driven feasibility study to determine the viability of a private water taxi service to connect Immediate TRANSPORTATION West Ashley to the Charleston peninsula. If warranted, initiate an RFP process for the water taxi provider. 122 TRANSPORTATION Provide enhanced high visibility pedestrian and bicycle crossings on St. Andrews Blvd for the West Ashley Immediate Bikeway 124 TRANSPORTATION Install crosswalks where they are missing at all signalized intersections Immediate
126 Reduce speed limits and provide traffic calming on streets with a demonstrated Immediate TRANSPORTATION safety problems. (Prioritize Savannah Highway, Sam Rittenberg Blvd, Old Towne, and St Andrews Blvd.)
127 TRANSPORTATION Optimize traffic signal timing, update on annual or biannual intervals Immediate 133 TRANSPORTATION Support the installation of sidewalks and/or shared use paths throughout West Ashley along streets where Near-Term sidewalks currently do not exist 134 TRANSPORTATION Implement Charleston County 1/2 cent sales tax transportation projects Near-Term 139 TRANSPORTATION Connect West Ashley Greenway to West Ashley Bikeway at Wappoo Rd Near-Term
142 Implement express bus service to Boeing/Airport/Leeds Avenue Near-Term TRANSPORTATION
145 TRANSPORTATION Install adaptive controls for real-time adjustments to traffic signal timing Near-Term 146 TRANSPORTATION Reconfigure intersection of 5th Avenue at St Andrews Blvd Near-Term
156 TRANSPORTATION I-526 Completion Longer-Term
158 TRANSPORTATION Glenn McConnell Parkway Widening + Shared Use Path Longer-Term TRANSPORTATION Intersection improvements at Sam Rittenberg Boulevard/Ashley River Road, Savannah Highway/Carolina Bay Drive, and Ashley River Road/St. Andrews 159 Boulevard and Old Towne Road to resolve vehicle operational and safety issues while enhancing the ability of Longer-Term the intersections to accommodate pedestrians and cyclists 160 TRANSPORTATION Support the installation of sidewalks and/or shared use paths throughout West Ashley along streets where Longer-Term sidewalks currently do not exist
* For complete implementation matrix see Plan West Ashley full report.
2 PLAN WEST ASHLEY IMPLEMENTATION* Green Infrastructures & Sustainability (WARC "Top 10")
Recommended Actions: Policies / Studies Plan Chapter Description Time frame
7 ALL The City and County should develop community engagement strategies to Immediate improve communication, education, and participation for residents around locally important community design & land use, transportation, green infrastructure & sustainability, housing, and economic development issues 15 GREEN INFRA & Raise community awareness of sensitive environmental concerns, green infrastructure, and open space Immediate SUSTAINABILITY preservation
52 GREEN INFRA & Increase budget for inspection, operation, and maintenance of drainage infrastructure Near-Term SUSTAINABILITY 103 GREEN INFRA & Incorporate resiliency, sea level rise considerations, and adaptive design Longer-Term SUSTAINABILITY strategies into long-range infrastructure/transportation planning and policy 109 GREEN INFRA & Enhance connections between the West Ashley Greenway, Bikeway, and adjacent neighborhoods - including Longer-Term SUSTAINABILITY the Peninsula and Johns Island
Recommended Actions: Physical Improvements / Projects Plan Chapter Description Time frame
128 GREEN INFRA & Integrate neighborhood scale flood control with traditional stormwater management improvements as well as Immediate SUSTAINABILITY Lowcountry appropriate green infrastructure practices and undergrounding of utilities into upcoming infrastructure investments
130 GREEN INFRA & Perform a storm drainage system inventory (including condition assessment) and maintenance schedule with Immediate SUSTAINABILITY cooperation between the City, County and SCDOT. Cross train City staff to recognize and report blocked drains or other drainage issues requiring maintenance
131 GREEN INFRA & Plant trees Immediate SUSTAINABILITY 148 GREEN INFRA & Implement flood control and drainage improvements with traditional stormwater management techniques Near-Term SUSTAINABILITY coupled with green infrastructure practices 151 GREEN INFRA & Increase wetland preservation/restoration and floodplain management as part of West Ashley Circle Near-Term SUSTAINABILITY development 152 GREEN INFRA & Implement the findings of the Church Creek and Du/Wap Drainage Studies Near-Term SUSTAINABILITY 161 GREEN INFRA & Partner with the Citadel Mall to construct pilot depaving, wetlands enhancement, and floodplain Longer-Term SUSTAINABILITY improvements
162 GREEN INFRA & Fund undergrounding of overhead utilities as part of redevelopment and streetscape improvements Longer-Term SUSTAINABILITY
163 GREEN INFRA & Build a "Water Smart Park" with green infrastructure as part of Circle neighborhood development Longer-Term SUSTAINABILITY
164 GREEN INFRA & Pursue the "Tiger Swamp Canal Walk" as part of neighborhood scale Citadel Mall, Sam Rittenberg, and I-526 Longer-Term SUSTAINABILITY extension transportation planning and drainage infrastructure improvements
* For complete implementation matrix see Plan West Ashley full report.
3 PLAN WEST ASHLEY IMPLEMENTATION* Housing (WARC "Top 10")
Recommended Actions: Policies / Studies Matrix Plan Chapter Description Time frame # 7 ALL The City and County should develop community engagement strategies to Immediate improve communication, education, and participation for residents around locally important community design & land use, transportation, green infrastructure & sustainability, housing, and economic development issues. 20-a HOUSING With public input, elected officials should explore changes to state enabling Immediate law and city ordinances to allow for incentivized affordable housing programs. Develop local voluntary incentive programs that encourage developments to incorporate affordable and workforce housing. Explore potential for incentives such as real estate tax abatement, density bonuses, height bonuses or other mechanisms that incentivize developers to voluntarily include levels of affordable housing.
20-b HOUSING Adjust zoning and land development regulations to further support development of affordable housing, Immediate including prioritizing and incentivizing affordable housing, streamlining and expediting the review and approval process for affordable housing, and enabling staff level approvals for affordable housing.
20 HOUSING With public input, elected officials should explore changes to state enabling Immediate law and city ordinances to allow for incentivized affordable housing programs. Develop local voluntary incentive programs that encourage developments to incorporate affordable and workforce housing. Explore potential for incentives such as real estate tax abatement, density bonuses, height bonuses or other mechanisms that incentivize developers to voluntarily include levels of affordable housing.
22 HOUSING Expand application of Mixed-Use Workforce Housing zoning districts, and pursue modifications to increase Immediate the program’s effectiveness 26 HOUSING Explore the potential to offer expedited review of townhome and multifamily Immediate housing projects in locations where such housing is allowed by right, particularly targeted to infill locations that already have the infrastructure to support additional housing 71 HOUSING Inventory all land currently owned by a public agency, determine if any Near-Term properties could be used for housing in the future, and prioritize these sites for subsidized income-restricted housing development.
76 HOUSING Identify and preserve historic community assets and character in West Ashley Near-Term
110 HOUSING Enhance capacity to grow income-restricted subsidized affordable housing by increasing public land Longer-Term purchases and pursuing development/land banking via the Community Land Trust and collaboration with (5 third-party non-profit affordable housing developers yrs–ongoing)
111 HOUSING Complete detailed assessments of key issues, affordability needs, unique demographic and physical Longer-Term characteristics and appropriate housing options of individual neighborhoods
112 HOUSING Target development and retention of mixed-income and affordable housing to locations in close proximity to Longer-Term community amenities and transportation
Recommended Actions: Physical Improvements / Projects Matrix # Plan Chapter Description Time frame
* For complete implementation matrix see Plan West Ashley full report.
4 PLAN WEST ASHLEY IMPLEMENTATION* Economic Development (WARC "Top 10")
Recommended Actions: Policies / Studies Plan Chapter Description Time frame
7 ALL The City and County should develop community engagement strategies to Immediate improve communication, education, and participation for residents around locally important community design & land use, transportation, green infrastructure & sustainability, housing, and economic development issues.
29 ECONOMIC Develop specific goals for targeting industries and business activities for growth in West Ashley, and refine Immediate DEVELOPMENT strategies for achieving these goals. 30 ECONOMIC Promote West Ashley’s specific strengths through the region’s economic development promotional materials Immediate DEVELOPMENT and networks (first 2 years) 36 ECONOMIC As appropriate, allow flexible conversion or redevelopment of retail and other commercial properties to other Immediate DEVELOPMENT uses 37 ECONOMIC Ensure zoning in outer West Ashley requires/incentivizes location of community shopping centers or Immediate DEVELOPMENT commercial buildings near new housing
83 ECONOMIC Establish a new incentivized redevelopment zone designation to encourage the revitalization of underutilized Near-Term DEVELOPMENT sites. 87 ECONOMIC Pursue the creation of a business incubator targeted to tech start-ups and small businesses Near-Term DEVELOPMENT 89 ECONOMIC Consider opportunities to locate City offices/facilities within the new “town center” Near-Term DEVELOPMENT 114 ECONOMIC Map business assets and infrastructure in West Ashley to identify areas better positioned for private Longer-Term DEVELOPMENT investment versus areas requiring upgrades. 115 ECONOMIC Explore the introduction of a business license fee reduction as an incentive for investment in West Ashley Longer-Term DEVELOPMENT
116 ECONOMIC Direct proceeds of the West Ashley Redevelopment Project Area and TIF District to construct supportive Longer-Term DEVELOPMENT public improvements within the Citadel Mall area 118 ECONOMIC Examine potential to establish additional TIF districts at mixed-use nodes and office growth locations Longer-Term DEVELOPMENT identified in Plan West Ashley
Recommended Actions: Physical Improvements / Projects
Plan Chapter Description Time frame
166 ECONOMIC Provide convenient pedestrian, bicycle, and automobile access between housing and shopping opportunities Longer-Term DEVELOPMENT in outer West Ashley
* For complete implementation matrix see Plan West Ashley full report.
5 PLAN WEST ASHLEY IMPLEMENTATION MATRIX* WARC "Top 10" in yellow highlight * For complete implementation matrix see Plan West Ashley full report.
Recommended Actions: Policies / Studies Plan Chapter Description Time frame Responsible Party Cost Potential Funding Source (approx)
1 COMM DESIGN & LAND Formally adopt the Plan West Ashley vision Immediate City of Charleston NA USE (first 2 years) 2 COMM DESIGN & LAND Coordinate implementation activities with Charleston County, Regional and State planning bodies Immediate City, Charleston County, BCDCOG, SCDOT, St NA USE Andrews PSD 3 COMM DESIGN & LAND Develop a set of urban design principles for key sites and corridors. This should include the Plan Focus Areas (identified on page 2.22- Immediate City of Charleston NA USE 2.23) and additional key nodes of Avondale and Sycamore/St. Andrews Blvd.
4 COMM DESIGN & LAND Establish a joint City/County Design Review Board for key commercial corridors Immediate City, Charleston County NA USE 5 COMM DESIGN & LAND Establish a West Ashley Community Brand & Identity Committee: organize private clean up efforts (keep West Ashley beautiful) Immediate City of Charleston $ City of Charleston USE 6 COMM DESIGN & LAND Pursue neighborhood preservation Immediate City, Charleston County, advocacy groups, NA USE neighborhood org, community 7 The City and County should develop community engagement strategies to Immediate City of Charleston, Charleston County NA improve communication, education, and participation for residents around locally important community design & land use, ALL transportation, green infrastructure & sustainability, housing, and economic development issues 8 Develop Design Guidelines for West Ashley Greenway + Bikeway Immediate City, Charleston County Parks $ City of Charleston, Charleston County Parks and TRANSPORTATION and Recreation, Charleston Parks Conservancy Recreation, Charleston Parks Conservancy, Private Sector 9 TRANSPORTATION Prepare a feasibility study for potential federal grant projects, such as TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Immediate City, Charleston County, BCDCOG $$ City of Charleston, Charleston County, SCDOT Recovery) grants 10 TRANSPORTATION Evaluate access management strategies Immediate City, Charleston County, SCDOT $$ City of Charleston 11 GREEN INFRA & Pursue mechanisms and funding to purchase property for the purpose of reversion to wetlands and addition of floodplain Immediate City, Charleston County $ City, Charleston County, land trusts advocacy groups, SUSTAINABILITY Greenbelt Program, impact fees, sales tax
12 GREEN INFRA & Seek authorization from the General Assembly to allow local real estate transaction surcharge to seed open space acquisition Immediate City, Charleston County NA SUSTAINABILITY 13 GREEN INFRA & Strengthen tree protection and tree planting requirements for new development and redevelopment Immediate City, Charleston County NA SUSTAINABILITY 14 GREEN INFRA & Advocate for the Greenbelt program to borrow money against future revenues on the half penny sales tax in order to provide Immediate City, Charleston County, NA SUSTAINABILITY immediate funding land trusts, advocacy groups, community
15 GREEN INFRA & Raise community awareness of sensitive environmental concerns, green infrastructure, and open space preservation Immediate City, Charleston County, $ City of Charleston SUSTAINABILITY land trusts, advocacy groups, community
16 GREEN INFRA & Develop a West Ashley Recreational Needs Assessment Immediate City, Charleston County, St $ City, Charleston County, St Andrews Parks & SUSTAINABILITY Andrews Parks & Playgrounds Playgrounds 17 GREEN INFRA & Develop a West Ashley Open Space, Parks, and Recreation Master Plan Immediate City, Charleston County $$ City, Charleston County SUSTAINABILITY
1 18 HOUSING Pursue passage of a citywide housing bond, and use resulting funds to expand subsidized income-restricted housing in West Ashley Immediate City of Charleston $ City of Charleston
19 With public input, elected officials should explore passage of an inclusionary housing enabling law at the state level Immediate City of Charleston, Charleston County, $ City of Charleston, Charleston County, BCDCOG, (first 2 years) BCDCOG, Chamber of Chamber of Commerce, SC HOUSING Commerce, SC Community Loan Fund, Community Loan Fund, advocacy groups advocacy groups HOUSING With public input, elected officials should explore changes to state enabling City of Charleston, Charleston County, City of Charleston, Charleston County, BCDCOG, law and city ordinances to allow for incentivized affordable housing programs. BCDCOG, Charleston Chamber of Commerce, Charleston Chamber of Develop local voluntary incentive programs that encourage developments to SC Commerce, SC Community Loan Fund, advocacy 20- incorporate affordable and workforce housing. Explore potential for incentives such as real estate tax abatement, density bonuses, Immediate Community Loan Fund, advocacy groups $ groups a height bonuses or other mechanisms that incentivize developers to voluntarily include levels of affordable housing.
20- Adjust zoning and land development regulations to further support development of affordable housing, including prioritizing Immediate City of Charleston, Charleston County N/A b and incentivizing affordable housing, streamlining and expediting the review and approval process for affordable housing, and HOUSING enabling staff level approvals for affordable housing.
21 Pursue changes to state criteria that negatively impact the ability of income- restricted affordable housing developers to obtain Immediate City of Charleston, Charleston County, $ City of Charleston, Charleston County, BCDCOG, adequate LIHTC funding allocations BCDCOG, Chamber of Chamber of Commerce, SC HOUSING Commerce, SC Community Loan Fund, Community Loan Fund, advocacy groups advocacy groups 22 HOUSING Expand application of Mixed-Use Workforce Housing zoning districts, and pursue modifications to increase the program’s Immediate City of Charleston $ City of Charleston effectiveness 23 HOUSING Maintain and expand homeowner rehabilitation assistance programs and funding Immediate City of Charleston $$+ City of Charleston, CDBG, HOME 24 Explore the potential to offer expedited review of income-restricted affordable or mixed-income housing development projects Immediate City of Charleston, Charleston County $ City of Charleston, Charleston County, HOUSING Chamber of Commerce, private developers
25 Provide assistance to residents through the Center for Heirs Property Immediate City, Charleston County, Center for Heirs $ City of Charleston, Charleston County, Chamber of HOUSING Preservation, and pursue modifications to state heirs property laws that harm the ability of families to maintain control of properties Property Preservation, advocacy groups Commerce,
26 Explore the potential to offer expedited review of townhome and multifamily Immediate City of Charleston $ City of Charleston, private developers housing projects in locations where such housing is allowed by right, particularly targeted to infill locations that already have the HOUSING infrastructure to support additional housing 27 Prioritize expansion of senior housing options for households of all incomes Immediate City, Charleston County, Housing Authority, SC $ City of Charleston, Charleston County Community Loan HOUSING Fund, Housing advocacy groups and non-profits, private developers 28 HOUSING Adjust zoning and land use regulations to allow and support development of “affordable by design” housing products Immediate City, Charleston County $ City of Charleston, Charleston County
29 ECONOMIC Develop specific goals for targeting industries and business activities for growth in West Ashley, and refine strategies for achieving City of Charleston, Charleston County, City of Charleston, Charleston County, Charleston DEVELOPMENT these goals. Charleston Regional Regional Development Development Alliance, BCDCOG, West Ashley Alliance, BCDCOG, West Ashley James Immediate James Island $ Island Business Association, Chamber of Commerce Business Association, Chamber of Commerce, Charleston County Economic Development
ECONOMIC Promote West Ashley’s specific strengths through the region’s economic development promotional materials and networks Immediate City, Charleston County, City of Charleston, Charleston County, Charleston DEVELOPMENT (first 2 years) Charleston Regional Development Alliance, Regional Development BCDCOG, West Ashley Alliance, BCDCOG, West Ashley James Island James Island Business Association, Chamber of Business Association, Chamber of Commerce, 30 Commerce, Charleston County Economic $ Charleston County Development, Economic Development, Charleston Area Convention Charleston Area Convention and Visitors and Visitors Bureau Bureau
2 ECONOMIC Ensure zoning and design regulations promote the town center vision for Citadel Mall Immediate City, Charleston County $ City of Charleston, Charleston County 31 DEVELOPMENT ECONOMIC Better integrate West Ashley within the efforts of the Charleston Digital Corridor initiative Immediate City, Charleston Digital Corridor, and other $ City, private business partners, 32 DEVELOPMENT stakeholders as Charleston Digital Corridor funders appropriate ECONOMIC Prepare informational materials highlighting West Ashley’s locational advantages for small businesses City, West Ashley James Island DEVELOPMENT Business Association, Chamber of Commerce, 33 Immediate Lowcountry Local First, Avondale Point $ City of Charleston Business District, advocacy groups 34 ECONOMIC Promote existing community activities and facilities, and work with community members to create new community activities Immediate City, community partners, $ City of Charleston, community partners, neighborhood DEVELOPMENT neighborhood groups, Charleston County, St groups, Charleston Andrews PSD, local County, St Andrews PSD event partners 35 ECONOMIC Identify ways to link West Ashley to existing cultural events in Charleston Immediate City, local event partners $ City of Charleston, community partners, event DEVELOPMENT partners, neighborhood groups 36 ECONOMIC As appropriate, allow flexible conversion or redevelopment of retail and other commercial properties to other uses Immediate City, Charleston County $ City of Charleston, Charleston County DEVELOPMENT 37 ECONOMIC Ensure zoning in outer West Ashley requires/incentivizes location of community shopping centers or commercial buildings near new Immediate City, Charleston County $ City of Charleston, Charleston County DEVELOPMENT housing 38 ECONOMIC Evaluate the feasibility of adding a parking structure to Avondale. Immediate City of Charleston $ City of Charleston DEVELOPMENT 39 COMM DESIGN & LAND Draft and adopt mixed-use regulatory standards and incentives to replace and modernize existing zoning, to guide new development Near-Term City of Charleston $$ City of Charleston USE on commercial corridors, entryways, and other focused priority progress areas (2 – 5 years)
40 COMM DESIGN & LAND West Ashley Community Brand & Identity Committee: work to improve West Ashley’s image and community perception, celebrate Near-Term City, CVB, Chamber of Commerce, community $ City, Chamber of Commerce, the Convention and USE history and culture members, Charleston County, St Andrews PSD Visitors Bureau, and other regional agencies
41 COMM DESIGN & LAND West Ashley Community Brand & Identity Committee: implement entry signage, lighting, beautification efforts Near-Term City of Charleston $ City, Chamber of Commerce, the Convention and USE Visitors Bureau, and other regional agencies
42 COMM DESIGN & LAND Improve/beautify West Ashley gateways with appropriate signage and landscaping Near-Term City of Charleston $$ City of Charleston USE 43 TRANSPORTATION Gather commuter data / analysis – regional and local Near-Term City, Charleston County, BCDCOG $ City, Charleston County, BCDCOG 44 TRANSPORTATION Complete a Regional Transit Feasibility Study and Regional Transit Framework Plan. Near-Term BCDCOG, CARTA $$ CARTA, BCDCOG, (2 – 5 years) 45 TRANSPORTATION Evaluate potential for dedicated transit, carpool, and bus and/or bike lanes Near-Term City, Charleston County, SCDOT, BCDCOG, $$ City, Charleston County, SCDOT, BCDCOG, CARTA CARTA 46 TRANSPORTATION Develop and adopt land use and zoning code modifications that allow for mixed- use/intensification of land uses along critical transit Near-Term BCDCOG, CARTA, City, Charleston County, $ CARTA, City, Charleston County, Private developers streets/corridors SCDOT 47 TRANSPORTATION Develop and adopt design guidelines for livable developments Near-Term BCDCOG, CARTA, City, Charleston County $ City, Charleston County
48 TRANSPORTATION Develop and adopt parking regulations Near-Term CARTA, City, Charleston County, SCDOT $ City, Charleston County
49 TRANSPORTATION Develop and adopt a Vision Zero policy Near-Term BCDCOG, CARTA, City of $ City of Charleston Charleston, SCDOT 50 GREEN INFRA & Pursue mechanisms for transfer of development rights (TDR) Near-Term City, Charleston County $ City, Charleston County Greenbelt Program, land SUSTAINABILITY trusts, development community
51 GREEN INFRA & Pursue mechanisms for purchase of development rights (PDR) Near-Term City, Charleston County $ City, Charleston County Greenbelt Program, land SUSTAINABILITY trusts, development community
52 GREEN INFRA & Increase budget for inspection, operation, and maintenance of drainage infrastructure Near-Term City, Charleston County, SCDOT $$$ City, Charleston County, SCDOT SUSTAINABILITY
3 53 GREEN INFRA & Pursue green infrastructure maintenance workforce training programs Near-Term City, Charleston County $$ City, Charleston County, green economy bond SUSTAINABILITY 54 GREEN INFRA & Strengthen local wetlands regulations & jurisdiction Near-Term City, Charleston County, ACOE, OCRM $ City, Charleston County SUSTAINABILITY 55 GREEN INFRA & Prohibit the fill of any wetlands or disturbance of any upland area within a fixed distance of a designated wetland area. Near-Term City, Charleston County $ City, Charleston County SUSTAINABILITY 56 GREEN INFRA & Prohibit the discharge of stormwater to areas inside of a 100-foot protective buffer. Near-Term City, Charleston County $ City, Charleston County SUSTAINABILITY 57 GREEN INFRA & Promulgate restoration requirements for properties where the protective buffer is already disturbed. Near-Term City, Charleston County $ City, Charleston County SUSTAINABILITY 58 GREEN INFRA & Implement flexible wetland protection measures for redevelopment opportunities that can create a “net improvement.” Near-Term City, Charleston County, ACOE, OCRM $ City, Charleston County SUSTAINABILITY 59 GREEN INFRA & Include green infrastructure requirements/ guidelines reflecting the Master Plan vision for West Ashley in the updated City Near-Term City, Charleston County $ City, Charleston County SUSTAINABILITY stormwater management standards 60 GREEN INFRA & Increase the requirements for matching pre-development and post-development discharge rates to the 100-year storm frequency Near-Term City, Charleston County $ City, Charleston County SUSTAINABILITY 61 GREEN INFRA & Increase the design storm frequency for pipes, culverts, and other features in areas where doing so would alleviate flood pressure. Near-Term City, Charleston County $ City, Charleston County SUSTAINABILITY 62 GREEN INFRA & Incorporate requirements for retention of small storm volumes where this Near-Term City, Charleston County $ City, Charleston County SUSTAINABILITY would be beneficial for mitigating downstream flooding or in areas identified for protection in this plan
63 GREEN INFRA & Include requirements for downstream analyses in flood prone areas Near-Term City, Charleston County $ City, Charleston County SUSTAINABILITY (2 – 5 years) 64 GREEN INFRA & Increase freeboard requirement for residential and non-residential development from one foot to two feet Near-Term City of Charleston NA City of Charleston SUSTAINABILITY 65 GREEN INFRA & Provide a more detailed description of the type of analyses and measures that will be required to determine there will be no increase in Near-Term City, Charleston County $ City, Charleston County SUSTAINABILITY impacts from a development proposal
66 GREEN INFRA & Apply select standards from areas of special flood hazard to the 100-year flood plain Near-Term City, Charleston County $ City, Charleston County SUSTAINABILITY 67 GREEN INFRA & Explore ways to assist coordination efforts from federal programs such as FEMA and SBA to assist homeowners within flood plain Near-Term City NA City of Charleston SUSTAINABILITY impacted by recurring flooding. 68 HOUSING Explore adoption of pre-approved housing designs/plans – compatible with the existing character of targeted areas – to reduce Near-Term City of Charleston $ City of Charleston development costs and time 69 HOUSING Ensure housing is well-served by multimodal transportation options that allow residents to reduce their travel costs Near-Term City, BCDCOG, CARTA, SCDOT, $ City of Charleston, BCDCOG, CARTA, SCDOT, Charleston County Charleston County 70 Target use of affordable housing in-lieu fees collected in West Ashley to support development and retention of income-restricted Near-Term City of Charleston $$$ City of Charleston, private developers HOUSING affordable housing in West Ashley 71 Inventory all land currently owned by a public agency, determine if any Near-Term City, Charleston County, City of Charleston $$ City of Charleston, Charleston County, City of properties could be used for housing in the future, and prioritize these sites for subsidized income-restricted housing development. Housing Authority, Charleston County Housing Charleston Housing Authority, Charleston County HOUSING Authority Housing Authority
72 Study potential adoption of additional tools deployed by other communities to address affordable housing needs. Near-Term City, Charleston County, SC $ City of Charleston Community Loan Fund, advocacy groups, HOUSING Chamber of Commerce, private developers 73 Reach out to and work with individual neighborhood councils to provide resident outreach and education to better understand and Near-Term City, neighborhood groups, $ City of Charleston HOUSING address concerns, and to community members, Charleston County, St explore ways to accommodate newer housing types Andrews PSD 74 Align zoning, design review, and land use control regulations and processes to Near-Term City of Charleston $ City of Charleston ensure new housing development can proceed while also respecting the character and design of existing neighborhoods, including HOUSING possible adoption of some version of a form-based code
4 75 HOUSING Explore other tools for supporting housing affordability in West Ashley as noted on page 5.21 Near-Term City, Charleston County, local $$ City, Charleston County institutions/employers 76 Identify and preserve historic community assets and character in West Ashley Near-Term City, Charleston County, advocacy groups, $ City of Charleston, Charleston County HOUSING neighborhood org, community 77 HOUSING Promote “green” energy-efficient homes that are less costly to maintain and operate Near-Term City, Charleston County $ City of Charleston, Charleston County
78 Based on the Community Design and Land Use recommendations, revise zoning to allow/encourage a diverse set of housing product Near-Term City, Charleston County $ City of Charleston, Charleston County HOUSING types in appropriate locations 79 HOUSING Provide and ensure access to effective, low cost transportation options, including public transit and safe, comfortable walking and Near-Term City, BCDCOG, CARTA, SCDOT, $ City of Charleston, BCDCOG, CARTA, SCDOT, biking infrastructure (2 – 5 years) Charleston County Charleston County 80 HOUSING Fund and implement infrastructure to address flooding issues in Church Creek and Tiger Swamp areas to support existing housing Near-Term City, Charleston County $$$$ City, Charleston County enable housing growth 81 Explore creation of a “Staying-Put Initiative” when new developments occur Near-Term City, Private Developers $$ City, Private Developers HOUSING within vulnerable communities to assist in finding ways for long-term residents to remain as property values and taxes increase.
82 ECONOMIC Review all land use and design regulations and permitting processes applicable to property development in West Ashley, and modify Near-Term City, Charleston County $$ City of Charleston, Charleston County DEVELOPMENT to ensure clarity, consistency, and certainty while meeting community standards
83 ECONOMIC Establish a new incentivized redevelopment zone designation to encourage the revitalization of underutilized sites. Near-Term City, Charleston County $ City, Charleston County DEVELOPMENT 84 ECONOMIC Work across all City departments to create a clear and coordinated message regarding equitable economic development priorities and Near-Term City of Charleston $ City of Charleston DEVELOPMENT efforts in the West Ashley area
ECONOMIC Facilitate better connections between economic development, workforce development, and K-12 education City, Charleston County, City of Charleston, Charleston County, Charleston DEVELOPMENT Charleston Regional Development Alliance, Regional Development BCDCOG, community Alliance, BCDCOG, community and 85 Near-Term and technical colleges, Charleston County $ technical colleges, Charleston County School District, School District, private private schools schools 86 ECONOMIC Determine whether to pursue construction of a facility that could support regional or national athletic tournaments in the area Near-Term City, Charleston County Economic $ City, Charleston County Economic Development, State DEVELOPMENT Development, State PRT, private developers, St PRT, private developers, St Andrews Parks & Andrews Parks & Playgrounds, area colleges Playgrounds, area colleges 87 ECONOMIC Pursue the creation of a business incubator targeted to tech start-ups and small businesses Near-Term City, Charleston Digital Corridor, Lowcountry $$ City of Charleston, private business partners, DEVELOPMENT Local First, Harbor Accelerator, other Charleston Digital Corridor funders technology incubators 88 ECONOMIC Create a small business assistance program targeted to West Ashley, based on existing resources Near-Term City, Charleston County, Lowcountry Local $$$ City of Charleston, Charleston County DEVELOPMENT First 89 ECONOMIC Consider opportunities to locate City offices/facilities within the new “town center” Near-Term City of Charleston $ City of Charleston DEVELOPMENT 90 ECONOMIC Coordinate services such as emergency response, garbage pick-up, drainage Near-Term City, Charleston County, St Andrews PSD, and $ City, Charleston County, St Andrews PSD, and SCDOT DEVELOPMENT maintenance, street maintenance, lighting, etc between City, County, St Andrews PSD, and SCDOT to increase efficiency and decrease SCDOT duplicity. 91 ECONOMIC Provide grants or tax abatements for façade rehabilitation and other visual site improvements Near-Term City, Charleston County $$$ City of Charleston, Charleston County DEVELOPMENT 92 ECONOMIC Align County and City design expectations for all unincorporated commercial areas within West Ashley Near-Term City, Charleston County $ City of Charleston, Charleston County DEVELOPMENT 93 ECONOMIC Create and attract more Class A office product. Near-Term City, Charleston County Economic $ City, Charleston County Economic Development, DEVELOPMENT Development, Charleston Regional Charleston Regional Development Alliance, Chamber Development Alliance, Chamber of Commerce of Commerce
5 94 ECONOMIC Encourage the redevelopment of under-used land areas. Near-Term City, Charleston County Economic $ City, Charleston County Economic DEVELOPMENT (2 – 5 years) Development, Chamber of Development, Chamber of Commerce Commerce 95 ECONOMIC Work with property owners and help provide digital infrastructure needed to attract tech businesses. Near-Term City, Charleston Regional $ City, Charleston Regional Development Alliance, DEVELOPMENT Development Alliance, Chamber of Commerce Chamber of Commerce
96 ECONOMIC Utilize vacant shopping center space for back office projects such as call centers, which can have high employment. Near-Term City, Charleston County Economic $ City, Charleston County Economic Development DEVELOPMENT Development 97 ECONOMIC Work with local hospitals to explore the possibility new offices and medical facilities in West Ashley. Near-Term City, Charleston County Economic $ City, Charleston County Economic Development, local DEVELOPMENT Development, local hospitals hospitals 98 ECONOMIC Complete a comprehensive review of the potential existing funding sources that could be best deployed for a variety of capital projects Near-Term City of Charleston $ City of Charleston DEVELOPMENT and services (including expanded transit service) in West Ashley 99 ECONOMIC Investigate any funding/financing mechanisms not currently allowed by state law for which legislative changes might provide better Near-Term City of Charleston $ City of Charleston DEVELOPMENT opportunities for West Ashley 100 COMM DESIGN & LAND Evaluate implementation progress at regular intervals Longer-Term (5 City of Charleston NA USE yrs–ongoing) 101 TRANSPORTATION Complete a District-wide Traffic Management Study Longer-Term City, Charleston County, BCDCOG $$ City of Charleston, Charleston County 102 TRANSPORTATION Complete a District-wide School Accessibility + Circulation Study Longer-Term City, Charleston County, BCDCOG, Charleston $$ City of Charleston, BCDCOG, Charleston County County School District School District 103 GREEN INFRA & Incorporate resiliency, sea level rise considerations, and adaptive design Longer-Term City, Charleston County, BCDCOG, SCDOT $ City, BCDCOG, SCDOT, FEMA SUSTAINABILITY strategies into long-range infrastructure/transportation planning and policy 104 GREEN INFRA & Investigate incentive programs offering tax abatements for open space preservation Longer-Term City, Charleston County $ City, Charleston County, Charleston SUSTAINABILITY Parks Conservancy, private developers, community members, St Andrews PSD 105 GREEN INFRA & Set a specific goal for open space preservation of remaining developable land Longer-Term City, Charleston County Greenbelt Advisory $ City, Charleston County, Charleston SUSTAINABILITY Board Parks Conservancy, private developers, community members, St Andrews PSD 106 GREEN INFRA & Identify and protect existing cultural and landscape assets for preservation Longer-Term City, Charleston County, $ City, Charleston County, Charleston SUSTAINABILITY Charleston Parks Conservancy Parks Conservancy, private developers, community members, St Andrews PSD 107 GREEN INFRA & Create new neighborhood parks in underserved areas - to be determined by the Open Space, Parks, and Recreation Master Plan Longer-Term City, Charleston County, $$$ City, Charleston County, Charleston SUSTAINABILITY Charleston Parks Conservancy, St Andrews Parks Conservancy, private developers, community Parks & Playgrounds members, St Andrews PSD 108 GREEN INFRA & Support evolution and implementation of the West Ashley Greenway Master Plan Longer-Term City, Charleston County, $$$ City, Charleston County, Charleston SUSTAINABILITY Charleston Parks Conservancy Parks Conservancy, private developers, community members, St Andrews PSD 109 GREEN INFRA & Enhance connections between the West Ashley Greenway, Bikeway, and adjacent neighborhoods - including the Peninsula and Johns Longer-Term City, Charleston County $$$$ City, Charleston County, Charleston SUSTAINABILITY Island Parks Conservancy, private developers, community members, St Andrews PSD 110 Enhance capacity to grow income-restricted subsidized affordable housing by Longer-Term (5 City of Charleston, Charleston County, $$$ City of Charleston, Charleston County, Charleston increasing public land purchases and pursuing development/land banking via the Community Land Trust and collaboration with yrs–ongoing) Charleston affordable housing community land community land trust, HOUSING third-party non-profit affordable housing developers trust affordable housing developers, outside private funders
111 Complete detailed assessments of key issues, affordability needs, unique Longer-Term City, Charleston County $$ City of Charleston, Charleston County HOUSING demographic and physical characteristics and appropriate housing options of individual neighborhoods
112 HOUSING Target development and retention of mixed-income and affordable housing to locations in close proximity to community amenities Longer-Term City of Charleston, Charleston County $ City of Charleston, Charleston County and transportation 113 Implement land use and transportation recommendations of this report to ensure all neighborhoods enjoy equitable access to parks Longer-Term City of Charleston, Charleston County $ City of Charleston, Charleston County, HOUSING and public/private amenities Charleston County Parks and Recreation, Charleston and services Parks Conservancy
6 114 ECONOMIC Map business assets and infrastructure in West Ashley to identify areas better positioned for private investment versus areas requiring Longer-Term City, Charleston Regional $ City, CRDA, Charleston County Economic DEVELOPMENT upgrades. Development Alliance (CRDA), Chas County Development, Chamber of Commerce Economic Dev., Chamber of Commerce 115 ECONOMIC Explore the introduction of a business license fee reduction as an incentive for investment in West Ashley Longer-Term City of Charleston $ City of Charleston DEVELOPMENT 116 ECONOMIC Direct proceeds of the West Ashley Redevelopment Project Area and TIF District to construct supportive public improvements within Longer-Term City of Charleston $$$$ City of Charleston, private developers, grants DEVELOPMENT the Citadel Mall area 117 ECONOMIC Target future capital improvement programs to the creation of additional parks and facilities Longer-Term City of Charleston, Charleston County $$$$ City of Charleston, Charleston County DEVELOPMENT 118 ECONOMIC Examine potential to establish additional TIF districts at mixed-use nodes and office growth locations identified in Plan West Ashley Longer-Term City of Charleston $$ City of Charleston, future TIF districts DEVELOPMENT
Recommended Actions: Policies / Studies Plan Chapter Description Time frame Responsible Party Cost Potential Funding Source (approx)
119 TRANSPORTATION Install bus stop improvements: benches, signage, shelters Immediate CARTA, City of Charleston, private developers $ City of Charleston, CARTA, private sector, community (first 2 years) partners, grants
120 TRANSPORTATION Implement St. Andrews Blvd. shuttle circulator service Immediate CARTA, City of Charleston, private developers $$ City of Charleston, CARTA, private developers
121 Conduct a data driven feasibility study to determine the viability of a private water taxi service to connect West Ashley to the Immediate City, Charleston County, local marinas $$ City, CARTA, major employers on peninsula, grants, TRANSPORTATION Charleston peninsula. If private sector warranted, initiate an RFP process for the water taxi provider. 122 TRANSPORTATION Provide enhanced high visibility pedestrian and bicycle crossings on St. Andrews Blvd for the West Ashley Bikeway Immediate City, Charleston County, SCDOT $$ City, Charleston County, TST, CTC, TAP, SCDOT, grants 123 TRANSPORTATION Provide enhanced high visibility pedestrian and bicycle crossings on Folly Road for the West Ashley Greenway Immediate City, Charleston County, SCDOT $$ City, Charleston County, TST, CTC, TAP, SCDOT, grants 124 TRANSPORTATION Install crosswalks where they are missing at all signalized intersections Immediate City, Charleston County, SCDOT, community, $$ City, Charleston County, TST, CTC, TAP, SCDOT, advocacy groups grants 125 TRANSPORTATION Evaluate the need for mid-block pedestrian crossings Immediate City, Charleston County, SCDOT $$ City, Charleston County, TST, CTC, TAP, SCDOT, grants 126 Reduce speed limits and provide traffic calming on streets with a demonstrated Immediate City, Charleston County, SCDOT $ City, Charleston County, SCDOT TRANSPORTATION safety problems. (Prioritize Savannah Highway, Sam Rittenberg Blvd, Old Towne, and St Andrews Blvd.)
127 TRANSPORTATION Optimize traffic signal timing, update on annual or biannual intervals Immediate City, Charleston County, SCDOT $ City, Charleston County, SCDOT 128 GREEN INFRA & Integrate neighborhood scale flood control with traditional stormwater management improvements as well as Lowcountry appropriate Immediate City, Charleston County $$ City, Charleston County SUSTAINABILITY green infrastructure practices and undergrounding of utilities into upcoming infrastructure investments
129 GREEN INFRA & Include green infrastructure and local neighborhood drainage improvements as part of the Fire Station and Memorial design Immediate City of Charleston $$ City of Charleston SUSTAINABILITY 130 GREEN INFRA & Perform a storm drainage system inventory (including condition assessment) and maintenance schedule with cooperation between the Immediate City, Charleston County, SCDOT, St Andrews $ City, Charleston County, SCDOT SUSTAINABILITY City, County and SCDOT. PSD Cross train City staff to recognize and report blocked drains or other drainage issues requiring maintenance
GREEN INFRA & City, Charleston County, City, sales tax, County Tree Fund, grants, grand tree SUSTAINABILITY private developers, community, neighborhood mitigation fund, street tree 131 Plant trees Immediate org $$ fund, private developers, community partners, advocacy groups, neighborhood org, St Andrews PSD
7 132 COMM DESIGN & LAND Enhance and beautify West Ashley gateways with appropriate signage and Near-Term City, TIF, community partnerships, street tree $$+ City, TIF, community partnerships, street tree fund USE landscaping. Gateway entries are along Savannah Hwy, Ashley River Rd, Sam Rittenberg Blvd, Old Towne Rd, St. Andrews Blvd, and (2 – 5 years) fund Folly Rd Blvd. 133 TRANSPORTATION Support the installation of sidewalks and/or shared use paths throughout West Ashley along streets where sidewalks currently do not Near-Term City, Charleston County, SCDOT $$+ City, Charleston County, SCDOT, grants exist 134 TRANSPORTATION Implement Charleston County 1/2 cent sales tax transportation projects Near-Term City, Charleston County, SCDOT $$+ Sales tax 135 TRANSPORTATION Pedestrian/Bike Crossing: West Ashley Greenway at Ashley River (Bridge - Adjacent, cantilevered, or standalone) Near-Term City, Charleston County, SCDOT $$+ City, Charleston County, TST, CTC, TAP, SCDOT, (2 – 5 years) grants, TIGER grant, advocacy groups
136 TRANSPORTATION Sam Rittenberg Blvd at Old Towne Road Intersection Improvements Near-Term City, Charleston County, SCDOT $$$ Sales tax, TAP, CIP, private developers, West Ashley TIF 137 TRANSPORTATION Reduce headways on CARTA routes Near-Term CARTA $$ CARTA 138 Install Shared Use Paths on major roadways (including US 17, Sam Rittenberg, Old Towne, St Andrews Blvd, Ashley River Rd, Glenn Near-Term City, Charleston County, SCDOT $$$ City, Charleston County, TST, CTC, TRANSPORTATION McConnell Pkwy, and Bees Ferry Rd) TAP, SCDOT, grants, TIF, CIP, sales tax, private developers 139 TRANSPORTATION Connect West Ashley Greenway to West Ashley Bikeway at Wappoo Rd Near-Term City of Charleston, private developers $$ City, Charleston County, TST, CTC, TAP, SCDOT, grants 140 Citadel Mall Transit Improvements/Mobility Hub Near-Term CARTA, City of Charleston, private developers $$ CARTA, City of Charleston, private TRANSPORTATION developers, TIF, grants, partnerships with major employers 141 West Ashley Circle Transit Improvements/Mobility Hub Near-Term CARTA, City of Charleston, private developers $$ CARTA, City of Charleston, private TRANSPORTATION developers, TIF, grants, partnerships with major employers 142 Implement express bus service to Boeing/Airport/Leeds Avenue Near-Term CARTA, City of Charleston, private developers $$ CARTA, City of Charleston, private TRANSPORTATION developers, TIF, grants, partnerships with major employers 143 TRANSPORTATION Implement a pedestrian/bike scale destination based wayfinding system Near-Term City, Charleston County $$ City, Charleston County, TST, CTC, TAP, BCDCOG, grants 144 TRANSPORTATION Implement Access Management strategies/close excess curb cuts and install landscape medians Near-Term City, Charleston County, SCDOT $$ City of Charleston, Charleston County, SCDOT, private developers 145 TRANSPORTATION Install adaptive controls for real-time adjustments to traffic signal timing Near-Term City, Charleston County, SCDOT $$ Charleston County, SCDOT 146 TRANSPORTATION Reconfigure intersection of 5th Avenue at St Andrews Blvd Near-Term City, Charleston County, SCDOT $$ City, Charleston County, TST, CTC, TAP, BCDCOG, grants 147 TRANSPORTATION Provide Canal Walk Pedestrian/Bike Crossover of Tiger Swamp Near-Term City, Charleston County, private developers $$ City, Charleston County, grants, private developers
148 GREEN INFRA & Implement flood control and drainage improvements with traditional stormwater management techniques coupled with green Near-Term City, Charleston County, SCDOT, private $$$+ City, Charleston County. private developers SUSTAINABILITY infrastructure practices developers 149 GREEN INFRA & Partner with the Citadel Mall to construct pilot Green Infrastructure improvements Near-Term City, private developers $$ City, private developers, TIF, grants, CTC, TST, SUSTAINABILITY drainage funds 150 GREEN INFRA & Incorporate “Water Smart Park” concepts into the next park construction or retrofit as a pilot Near-Term City, private developers, advocacy non-profits $$ City, private developers, sales tax SUSTAINABILITY 151 GREEN INFRA & Increase wetland preservation/restoration and floodplain management as part of West Ashley Circle development Near-Term City, Charleston County, private developers, $$$ City, Charleston County, BCDCOG, SUSTAINABILITY land trusts private developers, sales tax, land trusts 152 GREEN INFRA & Implement the findings of the Church Creek and Du/Wap Drainage Studies Near-Term City, Charleston County, SCDOT, community $$$ City, Charleston County, SCDOT, community, private SUSTAINABILITY developers 153 GREEN INFRA & Implement a green infrastructure retrofit into an existing West Ashley street Near-Term City of Charleston $$$ City, sales tax SUSTAINABILITY GREEN INFRA & Near-Term City, sales tax, BCDCOG, County Tree SUSTAINABILITY (2 – 5 years) Fund, grants, grand tree mitigation fund, street tree 154 Plant more trees City, BCDCOG, private developers $$ fund, private developers, community partners, advocacy groups, neighborhood org, St Andrews PSD
8 155 COMM DESIGN & LAND Add streetscaping (landscaping, appropriately scaled lighting, sidewalks, curb and gutter, mast arms, etc.) along key commercial Longer-Term (5 City, Charleston County, SCDOT $$$+ SCDOT, Charleston County, sales tax USE corridors such as Savannah Hwy, Sam Rittenberg Blvd, Folly Rd, Old Towne Rd, St. Andrews Blvd, Ashley River Rd. yrs–ongoing)
156 TRANSPORTATION I-526 Completion Longer-Term City, Charleston County, SCDOT, State $$$$S SCDOT, Charleston County, sales tax, State Infrastructure Bank Infrastructure Bank 157 TRANSPORTATION Glenn McConnell Parkway Extension Longer-Term City, Charleston County, private developers SSSS SCDOT, Charleston County, sales tax
158 TRANSPORTATION Glenn McConnell Parkway Widening + Shared Use Path Longer-Term City, Charleston County, SCDOT SSSS SCDOT, Charleston County, sales tax TRANSPORTATION Intersection improvements at Sam Rittenberg Boulevard/Ashley River Road, Savannah Highway/Carolina Bay Drive, and Ashley City, Charleston County, SCDOT, TST, CTC, TAP, sales River Road/St. Andrews tax, grants, TIF 159 Boulevard and Old Towne Road to resolve vehicle operational and safety issues while enhancing the ability of the intersections to Longer-Term City, Charleston County, SCDOT $$$$+ accommodate pedestrians and cyclists
160 TRANSPORTATION Support the installation of sidewalks and/or shared use paths throughout West Ashley along streets where sidewalks currently do not Longer-Term City, Charleston County, SCDOT $$+ City, Charleston County, SCDOT, grants exist 161 GREEN INFRA & Partner with the Citadel Mall to construct pilot depaving, wetlands enhancement, and floodplain improvements Longer-Term City, private developers, advocacy non-profits $$$ City, private developers, TIF, grants SUSTAINABILITY GREEN INFRA & Fund undergrounding of overhead utilities as part of redevelopment and streetscape improvements City, private developers, SCE&G, SUSTAINABILITY sales tax, TIF, Business Improvement District, 162 Longer-Term City, SCE&G $$$ development fund (in-lieu of), community partners, other utility providers
163 GREEN INFRA & Build a "Water Smart Park" with green infrastructure as part of Circle neighborhood development Longer-Term City, Charleston County, private developers $$$ City, private developers, sales tax SUSTAINABILITY 164 GREEN INFRA & Pursue the "Tiger Swamp Canal Walk" as part of neighborhood scale Citadel Longer-Term City, Charleston County, SCDOT $$$$ BCDCOG, City, SCDOT, private developers, TIF, SUSTAINABILITY Mall, Sam Rittenberg, and I-526 extension transportation planning and drainage infrastructure improvements grants
165 GREEN INFRA & Plant more trees Longer-Term City, Charleston County, BCDCOG, private $$ City, Sales Tax, BCDCOG, County Tree Fund SUSTAINABILITY developers ECONOMIC Provide convenient pedestrian, bicycle, and automobile access between housing and shopping opportunities in outer West Ashley City, Charleston County, TST, CTC, DEVELOPMENT TAP, SCDOT, grants, grand tree mitigation fund, street tree fund, 166 Longer-Term City, Charleston County $$$$ private developers, community partners, advocacy groups, neighborhood org, St Andrews PSD
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