Mount Pleasant Town Council has taken the first step toward a new public process for land whose zoning doesn’t match the town’s long-range plan.
Council approved the ordinance on first reading by a 6-3 vote at its Nov. 10 meeting, Live 5 News reported. The measure amends Section 156.1592 of the town code, which covers conflicts between a property’s zoning map designation and its designation on the future land use map in the comprehensive plan, according to the meeting agenda.
The town says thousands of properties have zoning that doesn’t line up with how they are used or what the long-range plan calls for, according to the station.
The debate centers on properties like the field behind Trident Academy off Wakendaw Road. The school wants to sell the 6.5-acre field, which is zoned for homes but has long been used as public green space. The town’s Planning Commission denied the school’s sketch plan for a 10-lot subdivision there in October.
Councilman Jake Rambo, who has pushed the change, said it would not take away anyone’s rights.
“This is not rezoning anybody’s property. This is not taking anybody’s property rights,” Rambo said, according to Live 5. He said owners would have to come forward, get a public hearing and present their case.
Rambo said the rule would also reach government-owned land, including property of the Charleston County School District, Mount Pleasant Waterworks and the town, the station reported.
Hacker Burr, Trident Academy’s interim head of school, called it “a slippery slope when you talk about property rights” and warned that the effects would spread beyond his campus.
“This is about, you know, 20 plus other schools and churches that are going to be impacted in the same way,” Burr told Live 5.
Some council members raised legal concerns, according to the station. The ordinance needs two more readings before final approval, and council members said they would work on revisions along the way.
