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Charleston council rezones Folly annexation to conservation, lifts Morrison Drive tech overlay to clear path for housing
Summary
Council amended a recent Folly Road annexation to conservation zoning and voted to lift a tech overlay on large Morrison Drive parcels to enable residential development and support affordable housing plans.
Charleston — At its Jan. 13 meeting, the Charleston City Council amended the zoning for a recently annexed parcel on Folly Road and approved removing a tech overlay on Morrison Drive parcels to allow residential development.
Councilman Stark proposed an amendment to change the zoning of the 3.12-acre parcel annexed in December at 0 Folly from rural residential to conservation. Stark said the change was intended to reassure constituents that the parcel would be used for stormwater purposes rather than higher-density housing. "Instead of having it be zoned as rural residential, be zoned as conservation, to provide those further assurances to the constituents in District 12 that the annex property will be used solely for stormwater as intended," Stark said. The council adopted the amendment by voice vote; Council member Tinkler recused from that vote.
City staff explained the practical effect of the conservation designation: "Conservation is a very low density zoning category of 1 unit to every acre and a half," Mr. Morgan said, noting the designation would still allow stormwater ponds but would significantly limit residential density.
Later in the meeting council considered a separate zoning ordinance to lift a tech overlay on two large parcels along Morrison Drive. Council members framed the action as a measure of good faith intended to support affordable housing options on those parcels by allowing residential uses where the overlay had previously encouraged nonresidential tech uses. Council member Kustman said removing the overlay would "allow for more density, more height, and housing in on those parcels" and described the step as part of broader work to create a mixed-use strategy in collaboration with the county.
Both zoning actions were approved by voice vote.
Council did not provide an immediate timetable for rezoning-related development approvals or funding commitments; staff said further work remains, including proposed rezoning into a new MUWH-3 classification as part of an ongoing code update.
