Kiawah considers zoning change to control house size

Kiawah Island Town Council members could decide next month if they want a zoning change to limit the size of new homes or whether they want to tackle the issue in a different way. The issue arose in recent months when a Connecticut man tore down two 5,000-square-foot homes on Jackstay Court and replaced them with a 16,000-square-foot mansion. Council members last month decided to postpone passage of new zoning while town officials meet with developers to see if there's a better way, such as urging the island's developer-run architectural review board to pay more attention to relative house size, Town Administrator Allison Harvey said. "The town is exploring those avenues, and if it does not work out, the council has every intention to take up the review of the ordinance to cap the house size," Harvey said. The town's proposed limits would be from 4,500 to 10,000 square feet, depending on the district, and owners could add 500 to 2,000 square feet if they break up the home into separate structures. Many of South Carolina's coastal towns, including Kiawah, have limited house size by restricting height, setbacks and lot coverage, but those limitations don't always work. Charleston County Planner Dan Pennick, who has worked with the town, said the discussion is going beyond limiting house size, especially since a development agreement between the town and developer Kiawah Resort Associates is set to expire in four years. "This was a catalyst to look at the whole orchestration of how development takes place on the island," he said.

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