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Council defers rezoning request after debate over storage-shed sales on Main Road
Summary
Council deferred a rezoning request for 1757 Main Road after planning staff raised zoning compliance and buffering concerns; the owner said he is working to come into compliance and offered operational changes while council asked staff to identify alternatives to General Business zoning.
Charleston City Council on May 26 voted to defer consideration of a zoning change for 1757 Main Road after an extended discussion about whether the small site should be rezoned from Commercial Transitional (CT) to General Business (GB).
Planning staff told council the property had been the subject of a zoning-enforcement complaint because storage sheds placed for sale were on the site without permits. Christopher Morgan, a city planning staffer, said the parcel is a third of an acre and lies immediately adjacent to single-family residences. He said GB would allow more intensive uses, potentially with 24-hour operations, and that the city’s staff and the Planning Commission had concerns about compatibility and required buffers.
Owner Thomas Turlian, who identified himself as the proprietor of Island Shed Company, told the council he misinterpreted the zoning when he began his business but has been trying to come into compliance. He said the business has a permitted sign and fence, that traffic to the Johns Island site is low ("less than 10 customers a week"), and that he can reduce the visible footprint by selling smaller units at the Johns Island location while directing larger inventory to a West Ashley site. "We can literally just sell 8-by-12 and 10-by-12 sheds on that location," Turlian said, adding he can move larger units to a busier location.
Council members and staff detailed several outstanding code issues, including lack of stormwater approvals, absence of disability parking, and illegal signage. Staff also noted that outdoor sales and outdoor storage are not allowed under CT, whereas GB permits a broader set of outdoor commercial activities. Council members repeatedly expressed concern that converting the lot to GB would permit uses incompatible with adjacent houses.
A motion to defer the application passed by voice vote. Council directed staff to work with the applicant to explore alternatives (such as a tailored use variance or other zoning classifications and site modifications) that would allow the business to operate in compliance without opening the site to the full range of GB uses. Council members emphasized they did not want the item returned simply as a GB rezoning request.
Next steps: the applicant is expected to coordinate with planning staff to identify a path to compliance and potential permit solutions before the item returns to council.
