Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Planning Zoning topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planning staff propose zoning-code overhaul to require varied building types and promote 'missing‑middle' housing
Summary
Port Royal planning staff presented extensive zoning-code amendments on June 4 designed to discourage large, homogeneous apartment complexes and require a mix of building types in developments over 20 building sites or 72 units; measures include new standards for infill, traditional neighborhood development, cottage courts, parking requirements and adaptations for the Spanish Moss Trail.
Planning staff on June 4 presented a comprehensive set of proposed amendments to Port Royal's development code intended to preserve the town's character while expanding housing choice.
Noah Krebs (speaker 9) and Lauren (speaker 13) said the revisions grew out of the council's multifamily moratorium and months of work by the planning commission and staff. The proposed code would require developments that exceed either 20 building sites or 72 units to include a diversity of building types'for example, cottages, detached houses and small multi‑unit buildings'rather than allowing a single homogeneous product.
The rewrite emphasizes three alternative development patterns: small‑scale planned infill (clustered lots that preserve natural features), a traditional‑neighborhood floating district (a more flexible, mixed‑use equivalent to a PUD), and cottage courts (small groups of homes arranged around a shared courtyard). Staff said the goal is to increase housing variety in new neighborhoods and enable "missing‑middle" options (2'12 units) that fit the town's scale.
To ensure functioning neighborhoods, the code would require two on‑site parking spaces per unit and apply frontage and architectural standards intended to protect walkability and town character. Staff illustrated scenario tests showing that the same unit yield can be achieved with a mix of building types that produce more green space and street variety than a 233‑unit townhouse monoculture.
The proposal also includes standards for waterfront subdivisions, rules for development adjacent to the Spanish Moss Trail, simplified development‑standards charts for easier use, and a user‑friendly chart of zoning district standards so homeowners and developers can easily find setback, parking and height rules.
Council members praised the work. Planning staff said additional minor amendments (definitions and purpose statements) remain and will be returned to the council for final modifications before adoption.
Next steps: the council scheduled first reading of the development‑code amendment (ordinance 2025‑10) for the June 11 meeting, with subsequent refinements expected prior to final adoption.
