Charleston County's Board of Zoning Appeals granted most of a multi-variance package for Charleston Water System's planned replacement of Pump Station 39 at 1136 Old Town Road, approving encroachment into a protected root zone, a nearby curb cut, reduced vegetative buffers on Old Town Road and North Hillside Drive, and permission for a security fence with conditions. A related request to waive a sidewalk requirement along North Hillside Drive was withdrawn by the applicant.

Donald E. Benjamin Jr., CWS director of engineering and construction, said the existing pump station has structural concerns, limited operation and maintenance space and that flows in the collection system have increased. "We purchased this property in 2021 for the sole purpose of a pump station replacement project," Benjamin said. He described the replacement as a regional infrastructure need to protect public health and the environment.

AECOM engineers described constraints: a large, 48-inch-diameter live oak near the proposed driveway, adjacent wetlands, shallow topography and the need to keep the existing pump station operational while the new one is constructed. Staff reported the live oak was graded B by the county arborist and recommended tree-preservation measures, including tree barricades, retention of a certified arborist during construction and mitigation if the tree dies within three years (inch-for-inch canopy replacement or payment into the county tree fund).

Staff also required that the applicant submit and complete site-plan review, install tree protection within 40 feet of disturbance, and work with staff to explore non-chain-link fencing materials for visual screening compatible with the residential area. During the hearing neighbors raised sight-line and safety concerns at the nearby intersection and asked for careful attention to fencing and access. The applicant agreed to work with staff on landscaping and said the sidewalk waiver request would be withdrawn; the board approved the requested variances with the staff conditions and added a condition calling for staff approval of any landscape/screening design and confirmation of sight-line safety.