City attempting to preserve character while managing growth
Johns Island - Charleston laid out a plan Tuesday for managing growth and development on Johns Island, an attempt to protect its environment and rural character while creating neighborhoods that could bring thousands of homes.
Among the key concepts of the plan, the city would develop a new system of secondary roads by insisting that new developments be connected to one another and to existing streets.
Planners think more small roads would eliminate the need for big road-widening projects and massive intersections.
"You wouldn't have to get on Maybank Highway to go certain places," city Planning Division Director Christopher Morgan told a gathering of about 60 people.
The Johns Island Plan also calls for three mini-downtown areas along Maybank Highway, designed so that once people arrive at one they could comfortably walk from place to place.
Though in draft form, the plan is expected to go before the city Planning Commission in May and to City Council in June for a vote.
New neighborhoods would feature building styles similar to those now existing on Johns Island and would have to have bicycle and pedestrian paths and small public park areas.
Affordable housing would be encouraged with incentives and planners would promote building practices that are energy-efficient, with an eye toward the impact on global climate change.
"Every neighborhood should include a variety of housing types for a range of incomes," Morgan said.
The proposals were developed through public workshops and the work of a residents committee. They also build upon prior city and county planning efforts.In a significant departure from the current zoning policy for most of Charleston, the proposed development guidelines would apply only to Johns Island. The plan addresses the part of the island within the urban growth boundary, which the city and county recognize as a limit on suburban development.
The current 19 zoning districts on Johns Island would be replaced with five development types: town-like areas, low-density development, non-residential and two types of "walkable neighborhoods."
The growth area is about 15 percent of the land on Johns Island but is nearly twice the size of the Charleston peninsula.
Josh Martin, director of the city Department of Planning, Preservation and Economic Innovation, said the city will coordinate development requirements with the county because much of Johns Island is outside city limits.
Among those in the audience on Tuesday, builder Colin Campbell said he appreciates the planning effort but warned that any requirements on construction, such as energy efficiency, could clash with the goal of building affordable housing.
Johns Island resident William Saunders said he was disappointed that the presentation made no mention of preserving public access to the rivers, which he said was a hallmark of growing up on the rural sea island.
