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Council declines rezoning request at 1444 Folly Road; swim school owner says zoning change was meant to keep property
Summary
A proposed rezoning of 1444 Folly Road from residential-office (OR) to neighborhood commercial (CN) so the swim school owner could develop revenue-producing uses failed at first reading after public comment from a neighboring church and the owner.
The Town of James Island council declined to approve a rezoning request for 1444 Folly Road (TMS 427-01-00-051) that would have changed the property from residential-office (OR) to neighborhood commercial (CN).
Property owner Amy Edney, who operates a swim school at 1444 Folly Road, told the council the rezoning was an effort to retain ownership and generate limited revenue while she sought financing to expand. “My goal… was the rezoning is really an attempt to help me to not have to sell the lot,” Edney said at the public hearing.
A neighbor representing Emmanuel Baptist Church, Rosalie Speer, told council the church frequently is told by realtors that the church will allow use of its parking lot by new buyers, and she said that is not the church’s policy. “Every time somebody’s the swim team… they told them that the church will let y’all park there. And that’s not true,” Speer said.
The planning commission previously considered the rezoning and voted against it; the planning director, Kristen Crane, and council members noted letters of opposition and concerns about introducing storage-type and low-density commercial uses along Folly Road as the corridor undergoes long-term planning discussions.
Council discussion referenced the property’s allowed uses under the current OR zoning. Several council members said the owner may be able to pursue specific uses through business licensing or a variance rather than a blanket zoning change, and one council member said up‑zoning could remove the town’s ability to control future uses of the parcel.
A motion to approve the ordinance for first reading failed at the meeting; council members voted and the motion did not pass. Mayor Bridal Lyon told the property owner she respected the decision and wished her luck finding a path for her swim program.
No ordinance was adopted; the property remains zoned OR. The council and planning staff encouraged the owner to discuss specific business-license or variance pathways with the planning director if she sought limited, temporary or specific uses consistent with the current zoning.
