MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCSC) – Mount Pleasant leaders voted to extend the town’s ban on new apartment-style builds for the fourth time since 2017.
The town put the ban in place nearly seven years ago to slow development and allow leaders to address things like traffic and infrastructure. The extension will keep the ban in place until the end of 2024.
Councilman Daniel Brownstein says he is looking forward to the ban being lifted so the town can explore all types of housing opportunities as needed next year.
“We have a building permit allocation system, which means we’re not going to be overrun by apartments and condominiums. They’re still greatly restricted in our town to certain areas as well certain numbers and so I do think that the time is right,” Brownstein says.
The town leaders are waiting to lift the ban until the town finishes its zoning code rewrite. In a 2020 town audit, leaders found that the zoning codes needed to be overhauled to match current standards and situations.
“The final piece of the puzzle is we’re doing our first comprehensive zoning code rewrite since 1979 in Mount Pleasant, and that is kind of approaching the finish line. And so the thought is that that zoning code rewrite is the final piece of the puzzle and that it will it’ll be adopted later this year prior to the multifamily moratorium expiring,” Brownstein says.
The original moratorium on new multi-family housing complexes went into place as an emergency measure to slow development and allow the town infrastructure to keep up.
“The town was faced with tremendous growth. At times we were growing 3% or more in a year. And so I think it was appropriate to pump the brakes and to make sure that our town’s comprehensive plan was in place to make sure that we’re embarking on these infrastructure projects, namely road projects. But I think we’re at the point now where we’ve got a lot of these projects in process,” Brownstein says.
Brownstein notes that the original moratorium was put in place as an emergency measure. South Carolina law allows for emergency purposes like getting town affairs in order so the new codes are written, and road projects can catch up. But Brownstein says at the seven-year mark, their right to call it an emergency is weakening.
“The longer it’s in place, the higher the chance that the town could face legal jeopardy for having this emergency measure, measure, you know, in place for so long. And so, I think it’s just the right thing to do. From the town’s perspective. It allows us to get a variety of housing types. We’ve got the controls and measures that will limit it so we’re not going to be overrun like we have been previously. And so, I think it was a good compromise among the members of the council to set Dec. 3, 2024 as its expiration,” Brownstein says.
He says the code rewrite should be completed by late 2024 and once the moratorium ends, there are plenty of processes in place so that the town won’t be overwhelmed immediately by development. Brownstein looks forward to the day they can make careful decisions about where multi-unit housing might be an asset to the town.
Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.
link