County planning staff presented proposed amendments to the Charleston County Zoning and Land Development Regulations (ZLDR) intended to implement a council directive to make infrastructure impacts a formal consideration for applications requesting higher density. Key elements included: required letters of coordination from transportation, stormwater, water/sewer providers, CCSD, emergency service providers and CARTA for comp-plan and map amendments that increase density; adding an infrastructure criterion to approval standards; requiring traffic-impact studies for planned developments when they increase density; and adding an enforcement provision for short-term rentals operating without a permit.

Staff said the changes would apply when an application seeks greater density or intensity than current zoning allows and emphasized that plan developments (PDs) already have some coordination requirements. The presentation noted public input received during outreach: for the infrastructure criterion staff reported 55 comments in support and one general comment; for short-term rental amendments the packet showed 10 comments in support and two in opposition.

During public comment Michael Ramsey, for the Charleston REALTORS, voiced support for the intent but warned the draft was “too broad and unfairly targets small property owners,” urging timeframes for partner coordination letters and a minimum-size threshold to avoid imposing the full coordination process on small, mom-and-pop parcels. Johns Island Task Force representative John Zlogar urged staff to consider density as the relevant measure, not just acreage, saying, “Putting 5 houses on 5 acres is 1 thing. Putting 50 houses on 5 acres is another thing.”

Commissioners pressed staff on how the rule would apply to overlay/commercial districts, to PDs, and whether administrative decisions would determine when a proposal increased density or intensity. After discussion, a motion to defer the amendments carried unanimously so staff could return with clearer thresholds, timeframes for coordination letters and possible carve-outs for small commercial overlay districts.

What’s next: Staff will revise the amendments and return to the commission (the board asked for both the infrastructure and short-term rental proposals to be brought back in December).