Charleston County planning panel backs special-exception path for vehicle storage in Parkers Ferry overlay

The Charleston County Planning Commission voted to amend the Parkers Ferry Community Overlay Zoning District use table to allow vehicle storage uses by special exception on commercial properties and business‑service nodes that front on Highway 17.

Staff presenter Marshae Miller told the commission the Parkers Ferry overlay was created with community input after the comprehensive plan designated the area for rural cultural community protection and that permitted uses vary by subarea. Miller said staff recommended approval with a condition limiting vehicle storage to business-service nodes and commercial parcels that have frontage on Highway 17, subject to special-exception procedures in the Zoning and Land Development Regulations (ZLDR).

The amendment would add vehicle storage to the overlay’s use table and make the use available only if an owner obtains a special-exception approval from the Board of Zoning Appeals. Miller said the applicant had provided responses to the ZLDR approval criteria and had undertaken community outreach after the commission deferred the request at its March 10 meeting.

Applicant Chris Lanou told the commission he had met with the Will Town Community Center and identified six boat landings within about a 14‑mile radius of the property. “I did meet with the Will Town Community Center, located at 5779 Parkers Ferry Road in Adams Run,” Lanou said. He said the lot he owns in a business node is about one acre.

Public commenters were mixed. Richmond Truesdale said after hearing about the application at short notice that he had no objection because the site sits on Highway 17. Jonathan Whiting, who said he lives on Highway 174, urged the commission to allow the use, saying, “Let the guy have his business. It’s, a small business. It’s gonna encourage use of the boat landings in the area.” Another resident urged the commission to be “as lenient as possible allowing commercial and other development for the property owners.”

Commissioner Gary Lesseigne voiced reservations about changing the overlay, saying he was “50/50” and worried the proposed permanent storage could be “an eyesore” and might “hinder development.” Commissioner Luke Morris said the amendment would only make vehicle storage eligible for special-exception review and noted existing provisions already allow vehicle and boat repair by special exception; Morris said the Board of Zoning Appeals would determine compliance with the comprehensive plan.

A motion to approve the ZLDR amendment passed on a roll-call vote with the commissioners present voting yes. The Planning Commission record shows the following commissioners voting aye: Commissioner Davis; Commissioner Gary Lesseigne; Chair Cindy Floyd; Commissioner Warwick Jones; Commissioner David Kent; Commissioner Adam McConnell; Commissioner Luke Morris; Vice Chair Pete Pilatos; Commissioner Susan Cox.

County Council will consider the amendment at a public hearing on July 22, 2025, at 6:30 p.m. in council chambers; the record indicates council may then consider up to three readings at its discretion before adopting any ordinance change.

The Planning Commission’s approval makes vehicle storage eligible for special-exception review in the Parkers Ferry overlay under the stated frontage and subarea limits, but it does not itself grant permission to operate a vehicle‑storage facility; individual projects would still require a separate Board of Zoning Appeals special‑exception approval and any applicable permits.