Charleston County News Release
MEDIA CONTACT
Name: Jennie Davis, Charleston County Public Information Officer
Phone: 843.958.4012
Email: jdavis@charlestoncounty.org
Release Number: 2955
Date: December 22, 2008
See plan online: http://www.charlestoncounty.org/departments/Planning/CompPlanUpdate/index.htm
Charleston County Adopts 10-Year Comprehensive Plan Update
Charleston County Council adopted the 10-year update of the County’s Comprehensive Plan on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008. The Comprehensive Plan Update is the result of the state mandated 10-year update cycle, the need for the County to conform to new state statutes (The Priority Investment Act) that require additional elements in the Comprehensive Plan, and a response to changing economic and growth trends.
The Charleston County Comprehensive Plan Update process began with a kickoff meeting held in September 2007. The Charleston County Planning Commission directed the update process and was assisted by a team of consultants who evaluated trends and aided in the drafting of the document. The update process included four key phases with a public participation element between each phase: (1) data collection and analysis; (2) policy development; (3) draft plan document; and (4) adoption.
The County held three rounds of public workshops during the update process. Each round consisted of four workshops, one in each of the four planning areas in the County. The workshops were held October 29-30, 2007; February 25-26, 2008; and July 14-15, 2008. An additional workshop was held in November 2007 with the Charleston County Citizens Academy. A total of 725 people attended the workshops to share their ideas for how the Comprehensive Plan should guide key decisions for the future of Charleston County.
The results of each round of public workshops were documented in reports and were shared with the Charleston County Planning Commission and Charleston County Council. These public comments were a significant aspect in the update of the Comprehensive Plan. In addition to the four rounds of public workshops, the Planning Commission held 13 meetings to discuss and review the results of the public workshops and to review the draft updated plan.
The Comprehensive Plan Update is available on Charleston County’s Web site: www.charlestoncounty.org (click on the Comprehensive Plan Update link located in the “Program Information” section at the bottom of the home page). The reports summarizing the workshop process and the public input received at each workshop are also available on the County’s Web site.