Zoning plan attempts to specify urban centers

Johns Island is one step closer to a new zoning plan after a series of workshops that wrapped up last week.

The Johns Island Smartcode Charette aimed to gather public input as the city of Charleston writes zoning regulations to carry out concepts of the Johns Island Community Plan, which was developed over the last two years. If approved by City Council, the new zoning will apply to the area of the island within the Urban Growth Boundary.

About 200 people attended the workshops, according to Josh Martin, director of Planning, Preservation and Economic Innovation for the city.

About 50 were on hand for a closing presentation by city-hired design firm Town Planning & Urban Design Collaborative.

Principal Brian Wright shared drawings of five zones, which become more rural the farther from several "town centers" they are.

The town centers identified are at the intersections of Maybank Highway and River Road, Maybank and Bohicket/Main Road, and Maybank and Zelasko Road. The zoning of these areas was dubbed "T5" for transect zone 5.

Drawings of what these urban centers could look like included four-story buildings, which didn't settle well with Johns Island resident Thomas Legare.

"This is a good starting point," he said of the overall plan. "But three and four stories at intersections? Heavens no."

Legare said he was one of the people who came up with the bumper sticker Wright showed at the close of his presentation, which reads "JOHNS ISLAND RURAL FOREVER."

The sticker's meaning — and the desire of residents — is not "Johns Island rural forever, except Maybank Highway and the gathering places," Legare said.

Progressing from the town centers, the other zones are T4 — general urban, T3 — sub-urban, T2 — habitation, and T1 — rural. The exact locations of these zones were not given.

Sam Furr, an architect whose office is on Maybank Highway, said of the zoning, "It may not be perfect, but it's a heck of a lot better than what we've got right now, which is setting us up to be like James Island."

Furr said he likes that the plan breaks up the masses of buildings, providing the same square footage "in a much nicer way." He also likes its attention to pedestrian accessibility.

"You can get our of your car and walk around," he said. "Kids can ride bikes without getting squashed."

Jim Bobo, a local Realtor, said to city staff, "It appears that you're micromanaging each inch of land within the Urban Growth Boundary."

In response, Christopher Morgan, director of Charleston's Planning Division, said the proposed zoning is much simpler than the current code, which is 300 to 400 pages long.

To view the slide show from the closing presentation, visit www.charlestoncity.info/dept/content.asp....

To comment, e-mail Mark Zonarich at mark@tpudc.com.

Reach Kristen Hankla at 937-5548 or khankla@postandcourier.com.