North Charleston’s zoning rules date to 1974. The city wants new ones in place by the end of next summer.

The city has posted the first draft chapters of a Unified Development Ordinance, a single rulebook that will replace its zoning ordinance, subdivision regulations and street rules, according to the project’s website. The initial draft of Module 1, which covers zoning districts and land uses, is open for public comment through December.

“This is a generational project,” Tim Macholl, the city’s director of planning and zoning, told ABC News 4 in July.

The effort is branded One North Charleston. Code Studio is the consulting firm overseeing the project, The Post and Courier reported, and the city lists several other firms on the project team, including The Asiko Group. City Council approved a $1.5 million agreement with Code Studio in November 2025, the newspaper reported.

Why the city is starting over

“The city’s zoning ordinance was adopted in 1974,” Macholl told ABC News 4. The rewrite would be the first since the city was incorporated, the station reported.

The current rules are spread across the city code. Zoning sits in Appendix A, road rules in Chapter 17 and subdivision regulations in Chapter 18, The Post and Courier reported.

“This has really fragmented it and made it difficult to navigate,” Macholl told the newspaper. City staff must often interpret vague provisions, the newspaper reported. The current ordinance, for example, does not say where vape shops may operate.

Macholl told The Post and Courier the city is not planning drastic changes. The goal is to modernize existing rules into one document that is easier to understand.

Housing is a central concern. Macholl told the newspaper that the gap between single-family and multifamily zoning options “creates a barrier to the creation of housing.” The city says the new ordinance aims to make room for “missing middle” housing, such as duplexes, triplexes, townhouses and cottage courts. It also aims to promote pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods and commercial areas and to create a streamlined development review process.

City staff expects North Charleston to add 30,000 residents over the next 10 to 15 years, ABC News 4 reported. The ordinance builds on the city’s PRIME North Charleston Comprehensive Plan and is meant to line up with the Lowcountry Rapid Transit project, according to the city.

“Our mission is to make sure we take care of our number one priority, our citizens,” Mayor Reggie Burgess told ABC News 4.

What’s in the first draft

The city finished a framework for the ordinance in late September, WCSC Live 5 reported. It drew on the comprehensive plan, community feedback and a review of the city’s existing codes. Residents reviewed it at an open house Oct. 1 at Lord of the Harvest Christian Faith Center on Meeting Street Road, and city leaders said then that the ordinance was about 33% complete, Live 5 reported.

Module 1 contains two articles: one that sets out the proposed zoning districts and their rules, and one that says where different land uses are allowed and what standards apply to specific uses, according to the project website. Residents can comment directly on the draft online. The city calls it an initial draft that will change based on feedback from the community, staff and other stakeholders.

A second module, due in early 2027, will include a future zoning map along with site, subdivision and development standards, Live 5 reported.

Macholl told Live 5 that a main feature of the new districts will be “that form component that will be compatible with those historic neighborhoods.” He also said, “Housing affordability is definitely a key element that we’re trying to build into the zoning ordinance.”

On data centers, he said, “We don’t have any data centers in the pipeline right now.”

What it means for property owners and businesses

Near the end of the process, most properties in the city are expected to be rezoned into the new districts, according to the project website.

The city stresses that the ordinance itself won’t change what is already built. “The UDO will not determine whether new development occurs,” the city’s project page says. Most existing properties will have to meet the new rules only if they are redeveloped, significantly expanded or changed to a different use, it says.

Business owners have weighed in. More than 50 people attended a Sept. 1 social for small businesses at Wit’s End Comedy Lounge, hosted with Lowcountry Local First, according to the city. In a September newsletter, the city said attendees raised concerns about rising costs and the displacement of small businesses and residents. They also asked for clear rules with less jargon, consistent enforcement, a dedicated business liaison and more grocery stores.

The timeline

The project website lays out the remaining schedule: code drafting through May 2027, a public review draft in June 2027 and adoption in July and August 2027. The ordinance will go to the Planning Commission next year, Live 5 reported. The city says the Planning Commission will review the proposed ordinance and make a recommendation, and City Council will vote on whether to adopt it.

Macholl told ABC News 4 the outreach would probably be “the largest public outreach that the city has ever done.”