Planning commission recommends 10 Mile community overlay after multi-year outreach; commissioners split on rural upzoning

Charleston County planning staff presented a draft 10 Mile community overlay zoning district and recommended approval of parallel amendments to the Charleston County Comprehensive Plan and the Zoning and Land Development Regulations (ZLDR).

Staff said the overlay responds to community meetings held since 2023 and to a 24-month moratorium County Council enacted in July 2024 on major subdivisions inside historic districts. The overlay would apply customized standards across the 10 Mile historic district east of the Cooper River, including rules for residential density, building form, signage, stormwater protections, and traffic-impact thresholds.

Emily Pigott, a county planner who presented the item, said the overlay is intended “to protect and promote the culture of the historic 10 Mile community” and to preserve low-density residential patterns while allowing limited commercial uses in community-identified locations. Pigott noted the overlay would control uses, dimensional standards and provide special conditions such as a maximum 35-foot building height and a…