Planning commission and city council meetings
By Lauren Dean
The new buzz phrase for the Planning Commission is “form-based codes.” According to Zoning Official Aaron Pope, City Council has asked the Planning Commission to come up with some definitive standards for new construction and ownership changes of businesses in the downtown commercial district, formerly referred to as C-1.
Pope stressed that the new regulations would apply only to the downtown business area and would not affect residential properties. “We don’t want to tell people they have to have so many windows or paint the walls a certain color. We are not looking for a cookie cutter approach,” Pope said, “but we need some objective standards other than height and mass for the Design Review Board (DRB) to look at when it comes to commercial properties.”
The Planning Commission viewed a lengthy and comprehensive on-line presentation of form-based building codes by the Form-Based Codes Institute, which led to a discussion among the planning commissioners. Most vocal was Carl Hally, who wondered how the recent regulations enacted through the Comprehensive Plan that Planning worked on for two solid years would be impacted by the form-based codes. Not much, according to Pope, who said present codes are “very basic” and they do not address the actual form a building may take.
“The present codes talk about mass and scale, but are very vague about such things as community character. It’s wide open. We don’t have anything concrete. If they’re in a litigious mood,” Pope continued, “owners could say ‘We’re sorry you don’t like it, but there’s nothing in your regulations that says we can’t do it.’ Under current rules, there is really nothing we could do about it.”
Much of the discussion centered on Treasure Island, the infamous “tee-shirt store” on Folly Road that was before the DRB for eight or nine months and underwent many revisions before the DRB finally gave hesitant approval, according to Pope. “How did we get Treasure Island?” he asked. “We want Folly to be quirky and eclectic, but . . .”
“Has the Mayor indicated that he wants this?” Hally asked. “This has come through City Council,” Pope responded. “We don’t expect a major code adjustment that will take years to hammer out. We’re not going to be redeveloping the whole town, but we do need some architectural standards that are enforceable.”
“Some people will be adamantly opposed to the idea,” Pope continued. “It will take a balancing act to get it through, but we need it.”
“We have a window right now while the economy is down,” Hally said. “It’s a good time to make some concrete decisions about maintaining the character of our community. I’m assuming we make recommendations, send it to City Council, the usual procedures?”
“Yes,” said Pope, but he added that maintaining is one thing, while rebuilding is an entirely different matter. “What if a hurricane wipes us out and we have to rebuild? What would you want Folly Beach to look like?” Pope asked.
So the members of the Planning Commission agreed to knock around some ideas and send a proposal to City Council, which would then have its own input before sending it back to Planning for a public hearing.
Pope said later that form-based codes are most useful in large areas and with new developments, but they can also help define a community vision. He said this type of regulation takes into account factors such as the configuration, features and functions of buildings based on the objectives of the community and also considers factors like pedestrian use and social interaction.
“Form-based codes are prescriptive in that they state what you want, rather than what you don’t want,” Pope said. “Folly Beach residents will have a real opportunity to make an imprint here. I hope they will show up this time and tell us what they want their community to look like.”
What do you want Center Street to look like? Call Aaron Pope at City Hall (588-2447) or come to City Council and Planning Commission meetings and the public hearing, which will be held later in the year. City Council Meetings are the fourth Tuesday of the month. The Planning Commission meets the first Monday of the month. Both meetings are broadcast on Comcast Channel 60.
City Council August 10
All Council members were present for the short meeting following a Council Work Session in which water and sewer rates were discussed and Steve Robinson brought council members up to speed on waterline conflicts involved with the building of the new bridges.
Resolution R26-10, which added an additional amount not to exceed $19,250 to the cost of engineering services for relocation of the sewer main and the development of plans and specifications for the water line conflicts, received unanimous approval.
“I really do think we need to quickly pull together to put forth a plan to deal with DOT,” said Paul Hume. “I think we have cards that we can play. I think we need to form a game plan, and I think that the sooner we do it at this point, the better off we are.”
In a later conversation, Mayor Tim Goodwin said a civil engineer had been hired to act as a liaison between the City of Folly Beach and the Department of Transportation (DOT) and to explain changes and procedures to council members as they occur. “It is well worth the money,” Goodwin said. “These bridges will affect us for a long time to come and we need to get it done right.”
The next City Council meeting will be on Tuesday, August 24 at 7:00 p.m. in council chambers. The meeting will also be broadcast on Comcast channel 60.
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