FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

The 2020 Charleston City Plan will be our community’s vision for the future of our city. You may see the City Plan referred to as the “comprehensive plan.” This language comes from a state law that requires municipalities to create plans for the future. State law mandates that comprehensive plans be created every ten years, updated every five years and cover ten key topics, known as “elements:”

• Population

• Economic Development

• Natural Resources

• Cultural Resources

• Community Facilities

• Housing

• Land Use

• Transportation

• Priority Investment

• Resilience

As we craft the plan, we will look to community members from all parts of our city to develop shared ideas for how to approach each of the topics above over the coming decade. When completed, our City Plan will provide objective data regarding each of the topics above, make recommendations for appropriate land use throughout the city, and guide decision makers as they implement planning-related policies over the coming years.

The end result of this process will be a document that illustrates the way we want Charleston to look in 2030. The City Plan will reflect a vision that is endorsed by the community, backed by objective data, and sets our community on a positive course for the next decade and beyond.

To learn more about the city plan, click here.

Municipalities in South Carolina are required by state law to create a new comprehensive plan every ten years and update the plan every five years. In 2010, our community came together to write the Century V Plan. Our city faces different challenges and opportunities today than it did in 2010. The 2020 City Plan presents our community with the opportunity to research and craft recommendations to address these emerging issues.

Creating this new plan will allow us to apply the knowledge we have gained through more recent planning efforts, including Dutch Dialogues Charleston, the Citywide Transportation Plan, and Plan West Ashley. Most importantly, the 2020 City Plan serves as an opportunity to amplify the voices of our community that have been missing from previous planning efforts and create a more inclusive vision for the future of Charleston.

When completed, the City Plan will be used in a variety of ways:

• The Planning Commission and City Council will reference the City Plan’s recommendations as they consider the growth of the city, including redevelopment, new development, neighborhood strengthening, commercial revitalization, and expansion of green spaces.

• The development community will use the Plan to better understand where to invest in the city.

• Utility providers reference the Plan when evaluating system expansion and upgrades.

• The completed Plan will serve as a valuable resource for all community members who wish to better understand the current state of our city and where it may go in the coming decade.

The 2020 City Plan is putting water first. Flooding and sea level rise affect people in every corner of our community. In 2019, the Historic Charleston Foundation and the City of Charleston launched Dutch Dialogues™ Charleston, a collaborative effort that brought together national and international water experts and local professional, academic, and community leaders to reimagine our city’s water management approach. The end result of the Dutch Dialogues™ Charleston process was a final report that recommended near and long-term solutions for the broader community as well as within six focus areas around the City.

Many members of the Dutch Dialogues™ team have returned to assist with the City Plan. For this effort, the team has chosen additional focus areas around the city and has been tasked with incorporating Dutch Dialogues™ findings into the City Plan’s land use map and recommendations.

The City Plan is community empowered and recognizes that our city’s strength is rooted in its diversity. These two guiding principles will inform both the Plan’s process as well as its final recommendations.

For the Plan to be truly community empowered, we must receive input from all members of our community, including folks that are often absent in traditional planning discussions. To reach everyone, the City Plan team is hosting community conversations organized by geography (Cainhoy Peninsula, James Island, Johns Island, Charleston Peninsula, and West Ashley) and by topic (housing and water), as well as multiple open listening sessions for all members of the community to share their vision for the future of Charleston. In addition to those community conversations, the CP team encourages you to conduct your own community meeting or engage online independently. For all information about City Plan community engagement activities, please click here.

While the Plan is limited in what it can and cannot affect, it is important to acknowledge the historic role that the field of planning has had in perpetuating systemic inequities. The City Plan presents us with the opportunity to better understand the consequences of past planning decisions and work to remedy them. Charleston’s cultural fabric is precious, and the Plan will be a valuable tool for our community to protect and strengthen Charleston’s historic diversity.

We are committed to engaging with the public in such a manner that both ensures everyone has an opportunity to participate and also adheres to public safety guidelines. We will phase in opportunities to engage in-person and offline only as it is safe to do so, and with appropriate safety measures in place. All events will follow guidelines from CDC, SCDHEC, and health authorities.

Phase I

Planning activities on hold.

Phase II
All meetings held virtually. May set up no contact stations in various locations for information sharing purposes only. Independently held meetings may not exceed 10 persons and should adhere to guidelines issued by CDC, SCDHEC, and health authorities.

Phase III
Primarily virtual, providing no contact stations in various locations for information sharing and limited interaction. May consider in-person outdoor meetings with small groups only; with no contact, masks required, and 6-ft of distance. Independently held meetings may not exceed 25 persons and should adhere to guidelines issued by CDC, SCDHEC, and health authorities.

Phase IV
Small group public engagement events may be held in person in venues capable of proper social distancing. Mask wearing may be required. Continue to provide virtual/online engagement opportunities.

We are currently in Phase II. To learn more about these guidelines and how we determine which phase we are in, click here.

No. The City Plan makes broad land use and flood mitigation recommendations, but does not change zoning or stormwater regulations. The City’s Department of Stormwater Management recently revised its Stormwater Design Standards Manual, which is available here.

City Plan activities will take place in three distinct phases:

• Defining Existing Conditions & Establishing A Shared Vision:

This phase is about learning and understanding how our city has changed, how it will continue to change, and dreaming big about how we’d like to shape that change in the next 10 years. Engagement activities focus on learning together – reviewing key trends in the data and listening to community member’s lived experiences. As we learn together, we identify priorities for the future.

• Applying Recommendations:

In this phase, we draft a plan that responds to the challenges and opportunities we have defined as a community, and that reflects our shared vision. Engagement activities focus on refining recommendations and strategies to make sure we’re on the right path.

• Finalizing the Plan:

In the final phase of the process, we review the draft plan, make final revisions and adopt the plan. Engagement activities focus on gathering final feedback and soliciting public comment during public hearings.

The City Plan is a vision for the next ten years and takes a comprehensive look at many aspects of the city in its entirety.  The Charleston Peninsula Coastal Flood Risk Management Study, or “3x3x3” study, is wholly separate from the City Plan and was requested by the City and funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as a federal feasibility study to investigate coastal storm impacts on the Charleston peninsula.  It is narrowly focused on storm surge flooding and solutions largely affecting only the Peninsula area of the City. 

As with other studies, the 3x3x3 study will be used as a reference document for the City Plan, but recommendations in the plan are intended to encompass a more comprehensive understanding of flooding, stormwater, and tidal influence for all parts of the city.  The City’s evaluation of the 3x3x3 study is ongoing and conclusions will be incorporated, as appropriate, in all the City’s planning efforts.

To register for the city plan newsletter and sign up for city plan public meetings, click here.