MORNING HEADLINES | Charleston City Council members voted 12-1 to approve a controversial ordinance that exempts city-led projects from much of the design review process.
Council member Aaron Polkey was the only one to vote against the bill.
Council members said they hope the change will move public projects like fire stations and recreation centers through the process faster, saving time and money.
“Sending a city project back to the drawing board is not a minor inconvenience,” said Councilman Ross Appel during a March 24 public hearing on the change.
“If we’re talking about a luxury hotel downtown, the developer absorbs that. But when we are talking about a fire station, increasing costs to taxpayers by hundreds of thousands of dollars or more, not to mention delays, is not acceptable. We simply cannot afford it.”
Appel, who is also a zoning and land-use attorney, said the process is the biggest impediment to West Ashley revitalization.
City projects will still go before the board for “conceptual input and guidance,” but the board will no longer vote on them, and city staff will conduct subsequent reviews. Private developers will continue to go before the board for multiple reviews.
While the council vote was overwhelming, the city has received opposition from preservation groups, private citizens and its own Planning Commission.
“The city should be held to the same review process as the private sector,” the commission noted at a Feb. 18 meeting where its members voted 6-1 against the amendment. “At minimum a vote should be taken on concept approval, so the public gets to see their input has been received.”
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