BZA approves duplex owner's request to operate limited short-term rentals but caps days and reduces bedrooms to three

The Charleston County Board of Zoning and Appeals on Aug. 4 approved a special exception allowing an owner-occupied duplex at 1441 North Edgewater Drive to operate as an extended home rental, but the board added a condition that reduced the number of rentable bedrooms to three as a way to limit traffic and parking impacts.

Applicant Ryan Rabbit told the board he and his fiancée live in Unit A and plan to rent Unit B (and occasionally rooms in Unit A when they travel). "We're excited to grow our family here and make Edgewater Park our home for many years to come," he said, describing renovations and fencing added to improve privacy.

Staff told the board the site is 0.35 acres (public materials included a plat and site plan) and that the ZLDR normally requires two parking spaces per bedroom/workstation; under that standard four bedrooms would require eight spaces. The site, a narrow corner lot with two driveways and a carport, can reasonably fit three spaces onsite once an ADA stall and required access are considered. Board members and the applicant discussed stacked parking configurations and fencing; applicant volunteered to restrict guest parking through rental-platform messaging and to provide neighbor contact information.

Several neighbors testified in opposition, saying the neighborhood is mostly family homes and raising concerns about traffic, rideshare drivers, noise and the lot’s small size. The board weighed those concerns alongside the applicant’s management plan and his work on renovations. One commissioner proposed a narrower approval to reduce impacts; the board adopted a condition limiting the STR to three bedrooms (which also reduces the formal parking requirement to seven spaces under county rules for a duplex), and required completion of the county site-plan review process prior to zoning permit approval.

The motion to approve the special exception and apply staff conditions plus the added bedroom limitation was seconded and passed by a unanimous vote.

Next steps for the applicant are completion of the limited site-plan review and adherence to the county’s STR rules and any site-specific conditions; staff will mail the written decision and instructions for next steps.