Berkeley Group launches comprehensive-plan update with county commission

The Berkeley Group formally kicked off Berkeley County's comprehensive-plan update at a joint work session with the county commission and planning commission, presenting a community engagement schedule, draft-chapter process and an adoption timeline that aims for public hearings in fall 2026.

The consultant said the update will be a rewrite of the county's long-range plan and will cover land use, transportation, infrastructure, public facilities and other elements the state code requires. "This document is your long-range, planning document," said Cecile Gaines, project manager for the Berkeley Group. "It should be your decision-making guide for any decisions." The firm said it will compile a community profile, draft chapters, hold six planning-commission work sessions and stage public open houses and focus groups.

The consultants said the engagement program will include two drop-in open houses (one afternoon, one evening), an online and paper survey, six topic-focused roundtables, and an always-on project website with draft chapters and signups. Caroline Van Terve, project lead, said the team already completed a county tour and department interviews to inform the baseline conditions report. Commissioners were asked to help publicize the survey and events and to review draft chapters before planning-commission work sessions.

Commissioners used the meeting to flag local priorities they want reflected in the plan. County Commissioner John Hardy, who will serve as liaison, said transportation, schools and health-care access will be recurring public concerns; another commissioner noted the county's lack of countywide zoning and the rising interest in policy guidance for data centers, solar and large-scale energy projects.

Gaines said the plan will not be a regulatory document itself but will be used to guide ordinances, subdivision standards and capital programming. The Berkeley Group recommended placing technical data in an appendix and producing a prioritized implementation chapter that lists responsible parties, approximate costs and timeframes.

Next steps: the first public drop-in session is scheduled next week, the survey will run roughly April 5'May 24, and drafting of chapters will begin in July, with planning-commission review sessions to follow through the summer and fall.

The consultants asked commissioners to publicize the outreach materials and provided flyers and a QR link for the survey.