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Board reviews continuing-education requirements; staff schedules group viewing of SCAC webinar
Summary
Staff told the Lancaster County Board of Zoning Appeals about required continuing education for members and scheduled a group viewing of the South Carolina Association of Counties webinar to satisfy the three-hour annual requirement.
Allison Harden, planning staff and the board secretary, reviewed continuing-education requirements for members of the Lancaster County Board of Zoning Appeals, telling the panel that state law requires three hours of training each year on topics related to the board’s work.
Harden said new members must complete six hours of basic training in their first year and that members may use relevant professional continuing education — for example, engineering credits — to satisfy the requirement if the content relates to land-use or zoning topics. Harden told the board staff will record certificates and asked members to provide proof of outside training for credit.
The board’s staff plans to host a group viewing of the South Carolina Association of Counties (SCAC) annual webinar on Nov. 13 from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.; the session provides the full three hours of required credit. Harden said the group viewing will be held in Conference Meeting Room B at the Lancaster main library branch on White Street and that the webinar will be available after the live broadcast for members who cannot attend the group viewing. Members must be logged into the SCAC system and attend the full webinar to receive the certificate, Harden said.
Why it matters: Continuing education is a statutory requirement tied to the board’s decision-making on land-use and zoning; tracking certificates ensures the county complies with training rules.
Board members asked whether specific professional credits could be applied. Harden said that if the outside training “relates to items that the board would review, land use planning, zoning rules, legal processes, ethics, FOIA information and the like,” staff will log the credit. She also noted the county and SCAC have previously offered useful in-person trainings and that staff will provide materials and contact presenters for clarifications if needed.
The board did not take a formal vote on training beyond accepting the informational report and scheduling the group viewing; staff requested members share certificates for record-keeping.
