Charleston City Council voted Oct. 28 to approve a reinterment plan after human remains were discovered during construction of Courier Square Phase 2 at 635 King Street.

City planning staff told the council the process follows South Carolina Code 27-43-10 and 27-43-20, which requires a 30-day notice and a public hearing before the governing body may consider a reinterment plan. The developer presented a plan to relocate the remains to Bethany Cemetery and said it had consulted with the state and the local church historically associated with the site.

Anna Catherine Alexander, president of the Preservation Society of Charleston, told the council the society notified the city in January 2024 about the prospect of burials at the site of the former Saint James Methodist Church, which stood there between 1793 and 1859. She said an initial ground-penetrating radar survey did not confirm burials, but during construction crews uncovered 74 interments. "The relocation plan before you tonight appears to be contemplated with necessary due diligence in coordination with Saint James Asbury on Rutledge," Alexander said.

City staff said the developer provided a letter of support from the church and a reinterment plan prepared in consultation with preservation groups and state authorities. After a motion and second, the mayor announced, "Ayes have it," and the council approved the reinterment plan.

The action was presented as a resolution to accept the reinterment plan and proceed under state law; the council did not modify the plan during the hearing. No formal tally of individual votes beyond the mayor's announcement was recorded on the public transcript.

What happens next: the developer and the city will follow the reinterment plan filed with the council and other procedures required by state law. The developer representative present at the hearing offered to answer follow-up questions from council and preservation stakeholders.