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After weeks of deliberation and debate that pitted real estate developers against preservationists, Charleston County Council on Oct. 24 decided against amending a law designed to protect historic settlement communities from suburban sprawl.

Three members voted in favor of the amendments, while five voted against. One member, Kylon Middleton, did not vote because he was out of town, though he joined the meeting online. Middleton expressed disappointment in the outcome.

The issue could get a third and final vote at the next council meeting on Nov. 14.

“It’s not over yet,” warned Councilman Henry Darby, who seeks to strengthen safeguards against unwanted development in historic areas.

Those voting in favor of changing the law were Brantley Moody, Joy Boykin and Jenny Costa Honeycutt. Those voting against the modifications were Darby, Larry Kobrovsky, Robert Wehrman, Teddie Pryor and Herbert Sass.

The ordinance, which established and empowered a Historic Preservation Commission, will remain unchanged for now, although many agree — including preservationists — that the law, and the methods used to protect historic neighborhoods, could be improved.

Since 2021, when the commission began operating, developers have been obliged to obtain a certificate of historic appropriateness before their subdivision designs could get final approval from the planning commission. Had the amendments to the law gone into effect, that certificate no longer would have been required as a prerequisite. The Historic Preservation Commission would have functioned only in an advisory capacity.

County staff and some members of the planning commission argued in favor of amending the ordinance because of an alleged conflict between the powers of the HPC and state law, though defenders of the ordinance’s protections rejected that claim.

Preservationists, residents of settlement communities and a few council members have insisted that the ordinance should not be altered without first creating other ways to protect the county’s 20 settlement communities.

Kobrovsky, noting the shift over the last few weeks among his colleagues, called the outcome “a big victory.” The settlement communities are an essential, unique and special part of the Lowcountry, he said. They are the result of “generations of blood, sweat and tears” and must be preserved.

Weakening the ordinance, and thus the powers of the HPC, would have meant the eventual demise of these neighborhoods, Kobrovsky said. Development pressure is increasing in rural areas as the population grows and, if controls are lacking, the whole stretch of land between Mount Pleasant and McClellanville will fill in with subdivisions, he added.

“This is the next frontier; much already has been built out,” he said, adding that development now is encroaching on the county’s settlement communities.

One development company, Crescent Homes, is suing the county because of what it alleges is unfair treatment after getting the necessary permits to build out three subdivisions in the 10 Mile Community near Awendaw.

The HPC denied Crescent Homes the certificate of historic appropriateness, inserting a monkey wrench in the works. The developer had already invested $9 million in projects that had received a green light from the planning commission, and now Crescent Homes is arguing that it has a right to continue with its plans.

The planning commission recently voted to issue final approval of Crescent Homes’ subdivision designs even without the HPC’s certification — an apparent breach of the law. But county staff argued that, due to a presumed conflict with state law, the approval was appropriate.

During the Oct. 24 council meeting, members voted in a 4-4 tie on a zoning change to reduce the density of new construction in the Ten Mile Community from four houses per acre to three. The tie would have meant no change to the zoning and an end to the question, a disappointment to neighborhood advocates. But when that outcome became evident, Darby changed his vote and joined a majority opposed to the new designation in order to keep the matter alive.

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Council members who vote in the majority have a right to revisit an issue at the next meeting. Darby’s move indicates that he’s holding out hope for a different outcome.

Justin Schwebler, properties manager for Historic Charleston Foundation, credited members of the Ten Mile Community and other settlement communities for speaking out. It’s because of them that council has been forced to take development in these neighborhoods seriously. He said the response has been encouraging.

“It’s clear that council is anxious about pulling the rug out from under these communities,” Schwebler said.

He endorsed an idea raised at the council meeting by Ten Mile resident Craig Ascue to organize workshops that foster improved engagement between residents and county representatives. That collaborative effort could lead to a thoughtful restructuring of the ordinance that limits the county’s legal liability, strengthens the HPC and clarifies the process for developers, he said.

“That all needs to be done through a good, open, public process,” Schwebler said. “I hope (county) staff doesn’t see this as a rejection. We just want a seat at the table.”

Many issues remain unresolved. The Crescent Homes developments are subject to legal disputes; the zoning change is still in play; and an effort to establish an overlay district is in the works.

In the meantime, the 10 Mile community is in need of infrastructure upgrades, said resident Jerome Vanderhorst. Some areas — especially along Seafood Road, where one of the Crescent Homes subdivisions is being built — are prone to severe flooding, and speed limits are not observed, making the roads unnecessarily dangerous.

He’s waiting to see what council will do about all of this.

“The ball is in their court right now,” Vanderhorst said.

The city of Aiken could soon finally take a step toward determining the Hotel Aiken’s future.

The city could have a document out next month to find a group to help the city sell the hotel to someone who will work to refurbish or rebuild it, City Manager Stuart Bedenbaugh said at a city council meeting Monday evening.

“We’re working,” Bedenbaugh said. “I believe next month we’ll have a document out to solicit proposals from entities to select someone to list the property for us for sale.”

Bedenbaugh’s comments came after Jacob Ellis, a former write-in city council candidate, asked about the vacant hotel building on the southeast corner of the Richland Avenue and Laurens Street intersection during the non-agenda item public comment period.

Ellis said he has been frequently walking along Laurens Street and he’s often stopped by other people who want to know “what’s going on with the Hotel Aiken.”

“When are RFPs going to go out,” Ellis asked. “It has been past time for those RFPs or even another for sale sign to go up and let someone buy the property and refurbish or fix-up the property.”

Mayor Rick Osbon said he agreed with Ellis’s question.

A request for proposal to determine the hotel’s future would be issued within 45-60 days, Osbon said at the January state of the city address. But those dates have long since passed without a request for proposal being issued.

He added Bedenbaugh probably gets tired of him asking about the hotel so he would let Bedenbaugh answer Ellis’s question.

After Bedenbaugh answered, Ellis asked if the document would be for a group to list the hotel for sale to refurbish and rebuild.

“Yes,” Bedenbaugh replied.

As the owner, the city will ultimately determine what happens to the building that was constructed in the 1890s and renovated in the 1930s.

The city became the owner of the hotel after the Aiken City Council voted May 8 to dissolve the Aiken Municipal Development Commission and transfer ownership of the commission’s properties, including the Hotel Aiken, to the city.

The commission planned to demolish Hotel Aiken and replace it with a modern hotel as as part of the $75 million development effort known as Project Pascalis.

But, the commission canceled the project before demolition took place, leaving the Hotel Aiken with an uncertain future.

The commission paid $4.25 million to purchase the hotel Nov. 9, 2021 from the Shah family. The commission paid $100,000 to the Aiken Chamber of Commerce for its right to purchase the hotel. The chamber acquired the right to purchase the hotel earlier that year from Weldon Wyatt’s GAC Investments.

GAC Investment reached an agreement with the Shah family to purchase the hotel earlier in 2021.

The Shah family tried and failed twice to renovate the hotel, once in 2015 and again in 2017.

The daughter of a council member running for re-election was injured in a car accident on Oct. 21.

Laura Hyatt, a Mount Pleasant Town Council member running for a second term on Nov. 7, said her daughter, Ava, is recovering after sustaining injuries to her arm in the accident that happened early Saturday evening in the northern end of Mount Pleasant.

Hyatt’s 16-year-old daughter was riding in the backseat of a car with some friends on Oct. 21. Hyatt said the group of teenagers planned to go to Fright Night at Boone Hall Plantation, but tickets were sold out.

The group decided to drive around town to fill the time, eventually ending up in the north end of Mount Pleasant near Awendaw when the accident occurred. Her daughter sustained injuries to her arm. The other passengers of the vehicle were unharmed, the councilmember said.

“Ava was saying she was glad that she was the only one that was hurt and she hopes everybody learned a valuable lesson in that situation,” Hyatt said.

The teen was taken to an emergency room and then to the Medical University of South Carolina to undergo surgery on her arm. The council member said that the accident highlights the importance of wearing seatbelts, which her daughter had on.

Hyatt mentioned that the incident calls attention to the need for more activities for younger folks in Mount Pleasant and referenced the proposed senior/civic center planned on Faison Road.

“Kids that age don’t have a whole lot to do around town and maybe that would have been a better option for them,” Hyatt said.

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Councilmember Blair Hahn kicked off the Oct. 24 Isle of Palms Chamber of Commerce meeting with a roar by poking holes in the contents of the referendum short-term rental document that voters will endorse into law or decline on Nov. 7.

The local attorney analyzed sections of the contract and noted that much of the language in the document applies to a community with more than 1,600 short-term rentals, when in fact IOP was under that number (1,595) as of April 30. “So all that goes away,” he concluded at the IOP Exchange Club gathering.

Hahn went on to shed light on another part of the proposal that debunks any notion of certain licenses being grandfathered in perpetuity. He claimed, in fact, that licenses are annual and don’t roll over, as proprietors would be required to stand in line for a new one every 12 months.

The elected official additionally highlighted an excerpt that could put some property owners in a bind if the referendum is voted through.

“Four percenters, there’s no limit. The maximum number of six percenters is 1,600, except as provided below ... The owner of an existing six percent rental has 60 days from the effective date of this chapter to apply for [a] license. The effective date of the the chapter will be the day after the election if it passes. And so you will have 60 days,” Hahn explained.

“And that’s just to get a license to carry you through the end of this license year. And after that 60 days, the City opens it up to anybody else. The cap is going to be at 1,600 for calls that were not more than 1,600 existing licenses that can get in under the 60-day period. [...] Upon expiration of the initial 60-day application period, the City accepts licenses on a first-come, first-serve basis until you hit 1,600 — and then you’re done.”

On that note, Hahn referenced a conversation he had with a property manager who was concerned about the prospect of having 75 licenses to renew when the license total is already at 1,550. When she asked what would happen in that case, the attorney told her that she would get “sued” due to property-owner clients reprimanding the realtor of not getting the process started sooner.

The speaker predicted that little sea cabins on the island would only wind up losing value in the absence of rental licenses.

In comparing IOP’s STR controversy to what took place on Folly Beach — which has had licensure caps since February — Hahn said the neighboring community’s ordinance didn’t deprive individuals of their existing licenses.

The IOP referendum on the table, conversely, will strip active renters of their licenses, according to Hahn.

Folly Beach home sales, he further noted, have decreased since their their cap ordinance was voted into law. In cases where people had to sell their homes, the audience learned, property values dipped by about 40 percent, while property taxes have surged with the growth of millage rates.

When trying to discuss a compromise and/or meeting of the minds with a “capper,” recounted Hahn, the unnamed party told him, “No, this is all or nothing” in terms of comparing and contrasting condos and vacation destinations versus residential single-family properties.

“I walked away; so that’s the mentality,” he observed.

When asked if an injunction could be filed in the event of the referendum passing, Hahn replied that some kind of legal action would likely transpire.

“Get out there, and anybody that you know, explain this to them. I’m not going to tell you to vote no; I’m not going to tell you to tell people to vote no. I’m going to tell you to vote your conscious, but do so when you understand the facts,” he advised.

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MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD) – A new push by the cruise industry to sail ships out of Mount Pleasant is grabbing the attention of town leaders.

According to Mount Pleasant Mayor Will Haynie and Town Councilwoman Guang Ming Whitley, a lobbyist paid by the cruise industry is aiming to bring the ships to Patriots Point.

Councilwoman Whitley said they are proposing to build a 30,000 square-foot terminal and a 1200 car parking garage. The councilwoman and the mayor both share the same stance and firmly oppose the idea.

“The people that are pushing this have no interest in this land, they have no leasehold stake in this land, and I think what’s offensive about this is they are trying to push an issue on the town about land that they have no right to be pushing this issue on,” said Mayor Haynie.

Mayor Haynie said state law doesn’t even allow for ships of that kind at Patriots Point.

“Once this got out, I’ve heard from so many residents, ‘don’t ever have cruise ships in the Town of Mount Pleasant,’” the mayor told News 2.

Meanwhile, Councilman Gary Santos had a different take.

“The benefit is, it will create more jobs for people in Mount Pleasant, definitely. And it will create revenue for, you know, the Medal of Honor Museum and the Yorktown and the business over there,” the councilman said.

He also predicted there would be certain regulations such as noise limitations.

South Carolina Ports Authority President and CEO Barbara Melvin weighed in on the potential for cruises in Mount Pleasant as well.

“We will continue to have concerns unless there is a permit application that thoroughly addresses impacts to safe navigation in the harbor, as well as impacts to operations and maintenance of the channel. We encourage those pursuing this to gauge support of Mount Pleasant, as that is a critical component.”

While this proposal has yet to appear on a town agenda and will likely come across many obstacles if it does, Santos said he wants to hear from the people of Mount Pleasant.

“We need to put that out there and let the citizens decide what they want to do and not just have the mayor and one councilmember come out with their opinion and try to stop something that may be really good for Mount Pleasant,” said Councilman Santos.

This conversation comes as the cruising industry in the City of Charleston gets ready for a shift. The contract between the South Carolina Ports Authority and the Carnival Cruise Lines will come to an end in 2024.

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCSC) - A historic Mount Pleasant park was possibly going to be a dog park before nearby community members banded together against the development.

Now, the development has been put on hold and nearby residents are celebrating the victory.

At Edwards Park in historic Mount Pleasant, the park has been here since 1837, that’s why the proposed development brought together the community to maintain its historical significance.

“I heard about the dog park that the town was proposing an idea to divide and fence half of the park, and the community spoke out and said we don’t want this, and the town council responded,” Sarah Mitchell who lives near Edwards Park says. “And as I know, it is off the table for now. So, which is wonderful, but in the future, we’d like to do a historical designation of the park.”

Turning Edwards Park into a dog park was an idea shared with the community a few weeks ago, but the town decided to stop pursuing the project after over 700 Mount Pleasant residents signed a petition against it.

Eric LaFontanie with Mount Pleasant said after hearing feedback and considerations from the community, the town will not be pursuing this Edwards Park concept at the moment.

The park currently sits in the middle of a neighborhood with homes surrounding it on all sides with homeowners concerned about the potential impact on traffic and noise it would have on residents.

“It’s important just for traffic, noise, and other reasons, that we don’t ever make it an official dog park. Like I said, folks can use it now as it is: you could still come with your dog, but we also want it open for everyone,” Mitchell says.

Edwards Park is used by many members of the public to picnic, host group gatherings, go for walks, and more, which is why the community wanted it to be open to all.

“When you turn something into a dog park, it really limits it to just one use,” Park Preservation Advocate Daniel Brownstein says. “I mean, nobody’s going to go have a picnic at a dog park, so it just made sense, I think, to keep the status quo and make sure that it’s open to people and dogs and not exclusive to one or the other.”

Turing Edwards Park into a dog park was part of Mount Pleasant’s plan to improve Alhambra Hall, grounds and playground, the other improvements are all still set to begin next summer.

“I think if anything, the park could use a little TLC with its landscaping,” Brownstein adds. “It would also be an ideal spot to build a gazebo, and to really just sort of enhance it into the community gathering spot that it could be.”

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