Council approves conveyance of multiple Charleston Homes parcels, passes Saint Paul's Fire District budget amendment

CHARLESTON, S.C. — Charleston County Council on Tuesday completed third reading on multiple ordinances to convey small parcels to nonprofit and private builders as part of the Charleston Homes program and passed an ordinance to increase Saint Paul's Fire District's general fund by $584,699 for fiscal year 2024'25.

Why it matters: The conveyances move discrete lots into the hands of local builders and nonprofits for housing development and are part of the county's ongoing affordable-housing efforts. The budget amendment provides additional operating resources to Saint Paul's Fire District for the current fiscal year.

What the council approved:

- Third reading passed for an ordinance amending the 2024'25 budget to appropriate an additional $584,699 to Saint Paul's Fire District's general fund (ordinance number referenced in the agenda as amending ordinance 2296). The third-reading vote recorded nine ayes and the ordinance "passes third reading with 9 ayes."

- A set of ordinances authorizing conveyance of county-owned parcels under the Charleston Homes program cleared third reading, each vote recorded with nine ayes. Parcels and recipients recorded in the meeting include: 1912 Morgan Avenue (approx. 0.25 acres) to International Abba Ministries; 1980 Dogwood Road (approx. 0.2 acres) to Charleston Habitat for Humanity; 9789 Pete Wood Drive (approx. 0.22 acres) to J and W Construction and Design, LLC; 6306 Brandt Street (approx. 0.29 acres) to Narrowgate Development; 7646 Allwood Avenue (approx. 0.23 acres) to Charleston Revival; and 2225 Doris Drive (approx. 0.27 acres) to WEH Incorporated. Parcel identification numbers were read into the record for each conveyance.

- Two ceremonial resolutions were adopted: a March 2025 proclamation designating March as Procurement Month in Charleston County and a resolution honoring the memory of the Marquis de Lafayette on the 200th anniversary of his 1825 visit to Charleston. Both were read and adopted during the consent and presentation portions of the meeting.

Context and council discussion: Council members thanked procurement staff for their work in coordinating county purchases and highlighted an upcoming small-business meet-and-greet. Council also discussed the county's housing and housing-affordability efforts and noted the conveyances as part of the broader strategy. No public objections to the specific conveyances or the Saint Paul's Fire District budget amendment were recorded in the portion of the transcript covering the third readings.

Formal vote records: The clerk recorded roll calls for the third readings and many of the consent items; for the items cited the transcript reports unanimous roll-call "ayes" among the nine participating council members (Boykin, Darby, Honeycutt, Kobrowski, Moody, Pryor, Sass, Wurman, Middleton). The ordinance amending the Saint Paul's Fire District budget was specifically announced as passing third reading with nine ayes.

Ending: The actions clear property for development consistent with the Charleston Homes program and provide additional funds for Saint Paul's Fire District operations in fiscal 2024'25. No implementation timelines or effective dates beyond the meeting record were specified for the conveyances and budget amendment in the transcript.