Published Thursday, March 20, 2008 11:51 AM
Updated Thursday, March 20, 2008 11:53 AM

 

Castle's Keep 03/21/08

Growth solutions need to start with rhetoric’s end


Over the last two years, I have been given the privilege to monitor and moderate the growth debate in Dorchester County and Summerville. So, on my exit from this post, it’s only appropriate I touch on some of the best ideas to come about and encourage their fruition long into the future.

But, before I do so, let me take the chance to thank you for letting me live my childhood dream. Being editor of The Journal Scene is the most fun I’ve had and I hope that you’ve enjoyed it at least half as much as I have.

Now on to the most pressing issue –– solving this county’s problems. This is not a complete list, but some of the positive things are already being considered such as a strong comprehensive plan and raising and enacting impact fees, especially transportation.

• An Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance, albeit aptly named, is not the right tool to implement at this time. While the ordinance, and like such legislation, is a step in the right direction, my investigations lead me to believe that not what was intended by the area’s growth opponents. Town Councilman Howard Bridgman wants the ordinance to dictate whether a development can be approved by whether it meets the adequacy standard – a very noble concept. But, from my interviews with Montgomery County, Md.  officials, the exact opposite happens under an APFO. Politics play a larger role, which I know is not something Councilman Bridgman nor myself wants. For example, if a School Board is against growth, they can simply elect not to build more schools regardless of whether funding is available. Road projects with funding and demonstrated need sit on the shelf because one facet wanted to stall growth. And it doesn’t even address North Charleston’s growth in Dorchester County. What will? Well, there is one solution that has quietly been talked about that needs more legs. Dorchester County needs to allocate sewer taps. The key to controlling sprawl and high-density development is through sewer not zoning. If the county would cap sewer taps at 800 per year, the number needed to pay down their debt, then it would in effect not only control and manage their growth, but Summerville’s and North Charleston’s impact on the county’s schools, roads and other infrastructure. Allocating and limiting sewer taps – for example setting aside 300 each for North Charleston and Summerville and 200 for the county --- would allow the municipalities to grow faster than the county, as they should, and allow those two to grow at equal pace within Dorchester County. This way you’re not limiting growth in the Summerville Commissioners of Public Works district, which you wouldn’t want to because that is all infill growth that is healthy for the town. By limiting sewer taps, you’re able to manage the growth and plan properly. For example, if School District Two knows there will be 800 taps given out a year, then they can properly plan to accommodate that growth. Part of the problems unbridled growth caused in the earlier part of this decade came because there was never an indicator of how many new people would be moving to the county, so no planning could be done.

• The County also needs to create an overlay district in lower Dorchester County to better manage commercial projects being built in unincorporated doughnut holes and areas immediately surrounding Summerville. The town’s Commercial Design Review Board needs to be granted authority over commercial design projects in this area. This will provide a needed extra layer of protection since design now is only approved at a staff level. This is one of the most important ways to prevent Dorchester Road, Orangeburg Road or Central Avenue from turning into a Rivers Avenue. It would also provide an important first step towards a cooperative relationship between the county and the town.

• Summerville needs to revise its zoning ordinances. The pyramid zoning, while at times has had its benefits, will cause only more headaches in the future and will never allow for sound land management practices. An open space designation needs to be crafted to offer protection of green space within the town’s limits. A green space zoning should be supplemented by tax incentives, similar to the county’s agricultural designation, in an effort to provide green areas for all citizens to enjoy as growth continues in Dorchester County.

• A cultural arts center needs to be supported. There are so many wonderful art opportunities in the area –– there needs to be a place to call home. Acting on Town Councilman Bob Jackson’s idea to create a town-county partnership in building this center, I would throw in one more logical partner –– School District Two. To partner a cultural arts center with the district’s school of the arts is a perfect duo. For example, the school of the arts could move to the Spann building and adjacent to the property, the three jurisdictions could build a cultural arts center, right in the middle of town. It would not only serve community needs, but be used for the school of the arts as well.

• A Dorchester County Council of Governments needs to be founded. The concept is the same that was intended last year when no elected official had the guts to step up and form a countywide growth committee. Instead a game of hot potato ensued, with the Chamber of Commerce eventually accepting the role as facilitator. While that was a sensible solution for inadequate elected officials, a more structured group needs to exist. The proposal lingering in the community to create a Dorchester County Council of Governments and hire a facilitator not only needs to be explored, but acted upon. This facilitator could coordinate efforts and work hand-in-hand with the schools, the road bodies, and all elected councils to ensure everyone is writing the same chapter in Dorchester County’s future. This facilitator would be able to lobby and write grants to ensure taxpayers are not the only ones footing the bill for new infrastructure.

Once again I would like to stress these are not complete solutions to our growth, but solid, sensible solutions that can help us properly plan for growth. The one thing that desperately needs to stop is the rhetoric. The divisive language and blaming ones in the past needs to come to an end. If you want to get down to it ––– all of the citizens in Dorchester County are to blame for the lower end’s unbridled growth. Remember, it was you who elected inadequate elected officials time and time again and only started to do something after we were in a crisis mode. It’s not time to be reactionary, but rather proactive and work across not only party lines, but faction lines in an effort to secure Summerville’s and Dorchester County’s bright future.

Contact Ryan Castle in the future at ryanfcastle@gmail.com or (843) 696-2060.