Fort Johnson Road Repairs

SCDOT has been doing some light resurfacing work on Fort Johnson Road.   The plan is to improve the road surface and protect it from wear.  Unfortunately, cars were permitted on the road before it had cured enough.   Some drivers have asphalt on their car.

County Councilman Joe Qualey looked into the matter.   Thank you, Joe!

Roadway Management, the SCDOT Contractor has an agreement with Cactus Car Wash at 5122 Savannah Highway to clean the cars.   The cost should be no more than $75.   You need to keep the receipt.

After you get the receipt, you need to complete a Claims Form and a Release Form.   Copies of these Forms are available at Town Hall.

Return both forms and the receipt to Merrie Green, of Roadway Management.    They can be faxed to 407-566-42011 or emailed to mgreen@roadwaymanagement.com.   The mailing address is 1936 Lee Road, Winter Park, Florida 32789.

Once they have received everything, they will process a refund.

If Cactus Car Wash charges more than $75 or else you have other questions, call Jeff Hansen at 407-948-2005.

Dills Bluff and Camp

The SCDOT Safety improvement project on the corner of Dills Bluff and Camp Road has again been delayed.   The James Island P.S.D. needs to repair a sewer pipe under the road.   They are completing their procurement process and expect to have a contractor at the end of October.   They work should be complete near the first of the year.   After that, SCDOT's contractor will return to put down the final layer of asphalt.   Finally, the light will be turned on.

James Island Elementary Fall Festival

Improvements to Dock Street Park

The Town of James Island used a PARD grant and matching Town funds to improve parking at the Dock Street Park. The Town will also be replacing damaged signs.    Dock Street Park is at the end of Patterson Avenue in the Bayfront neighborhood.

Community Cleanup November 2

James Island Pride needs your help!

Volunteers are needed to clean areas in our community of litter and garbage. Anywhere there is litter... Clean up your neighborhood, your favorite park, or we can suggest multiple locations that would benefit from your hard work.

Bottled Water, Safety Vests and Trash Bags will be available at James Island Town Hall the day of the event.

Be sure to stop by and pick up your 'Lunch Ticket' and supplies, between 9:30am - 10am. Lunch will be served at 12:00 noon for volunteers at Town Hall.

We will also be accepting E-waste. It is important to recycle electronics rather than throwing them away. Recycling electronics helps to recover the materials that can be harmful to the environment (mercury, lead, cadmium, beryllium, arsenic) and to also conserve landfill space. We will collect any kind of cell phone, Kindles, Nooks, e-readers, any iProducts, laptops, handheld game consoles, mp3 players, anything electronic other than full size TVs. Shattered screens are accepted.

Stormwater Ditch Piping Policy

We have received requests from citizens seeking to have ditches piped on their property.   In my view, piping ditches is a good policy, because it reduces maintenance costs.   Clearing out open ditches is costly.   Unfortunately, it is very costly to pipe in ditches. 

However, if a citizen is willing to pay to pipe in some or all of the ditches on their property, they may do so.   It is important that the piping be done properly.   Here is the Town's new policy on piping ditches.   

Traffic Calming Policy

The Town has adopted a traffic calming policy.   It was prepared by the Town's Public Works coordinator, Mark Johnson.    The policy is here.

One element of the policy is posting 25 mph speed limits.    If the speed limit is not posted, it is 30 mph.   However, at neighborhood request, the Town will post speed limit signs in residential neighborhoods.    Many of our neighborhood streets belong to SCDOT, and it will require their permission.

There is also a procedure for putting speed humps on streets.   The key requirement is strong support in the neighborhood, but speed humps are expensive and so the Town can only afford a limited number each year.
For more information, contact Town Hall and speak to Mark Johnson.    

Proposed List of Prohibited Uses

What were the prohibited uses that failed to pass Town Council?

Here are the different portions of Folly Road defined by the Overlay District, who has jurisdiction, the list of prohibited uses, and the permitted uses.  

North Village  (County, City of Charleston)

Prohibited:  Auto Dealers, Vehicle Storage, Boat/RV Storage, Billboards, Gun Shops, Shooting Ranges, Hotels or Motels and Tattoo parlors.

Permitted:  Residential Office, Office General, and Neighborhood Commercial

Commercial Core (Town, City of Charleston)

Prohibited:  Auto Dealers (New and Used) Vehicle Storage, Boat/RV Storage, Billboards, Gun Shops, Shooting Ranges, Hotels or Motels and Tattoo parlors.

Permitted: Community Commercial

South Village (Town, City of Charleston)

Prohibited: Auto Dealers (New and Used), Billboards, Gun Shops and/or Indoor/Outdoor Shooting Ranges, Liquor Sales, Hotels or Motels and Tattoo parlors shall be prohibited uses.  

Permitted:  Residential, Office Residential , Neighborhood Commercial

Neighborhood Preservation  (County, City of Charleston)

Prohibited:  Auto Dealers (New and Used), Vehicle Storage, Boat/RV Storage, Billboards, Gun Shops, Shooting Ranges, Hotels or Motels,  Fast Food Restaurant, Gasoline Service Stations (with or without convenience stores), Indoor Recreation and Entertainment, Consumer Vehicle Repair and Tattoo parlors.

Permitted:  Special Management , Neighborhood Commercial

Conservation area (County, City of Folly Beach)

Prohibited:  Auto Dealers (New and Used), Vehicle Storage, Boat/RV Storage, Billboards, Gun Shops, Shooting Ranges, Hotels or Motels and Tattoo parlors.

Permitted:  Special Management , Neighborhood Commercial

The prohibited uses are pretty straightforward.   The permitted uses refer to the existing zoning districts.   

Any use that is not permitted by the existing zoning district is prohibited!

So, the list of prohibited uses either prohibit a use that is currently permitted by the current zoning or else just repeats an existing prohibition.

The following chart comes from the Town of James Island's current zoning.   CC stands for Community Commercial.     CN stands for Neighborhood Commercial.   OR stands for Office Residential.

A means allowed, N means not allowed, C means there are conditions, and S means that the BZA has to give special permission.

Uses	CC	CN	OR
Auto Dealers	A	N	N
Vehicle Storage	A	N	N
Boat/RV Storage	A	N	N
Billboards	N	N	N
Gun Shops	A	C	N
Indoor Shooting Ranges	A	N	N
Outdoor Shooting Ranges	N	N	N
Hotels or Motels	A	A	N
Tattoo parlors.	N	N	N
Liquor Stores	S	S	N

So, Billboards were on the list of prohibited uses.   Town Council rejected that, but they aren't permitted anywhere on Folly Road in the Town.   We have a few, but they are legal, nonconforming uses.  In other words, they were grandfathered in.

Auto Dealers are only allowed in Community Commercial.  That is in the Commercial Core area of the Overlay, which is mostly zoned Community Commercial. now   The recommendation from the Planning Commission was to ban them.   Council rejected that.   Auto Dealers continue to be allowed in the Commercial Core.

Auto Dealers are not permitted in Neighborhood Commercial or Office Residential, and so they are already prohibited in the South Village Area.   When Council voted against the list of prohibited uses, it didn't suddenly allow Auto Dealers in the South Village Area.

Tattoo Parlors were on the list of prohibited uses.   But they are not permitted anywhere on Folly Road.  At least not in the Town.   See the N N N for all of the zoning districts?   

Liquor stores were prohibited in the South Village.   That was a change.   While most of the South Village is either residential or office residential now, there are a few parcels that are Neighborhood Commercial, for example, Treadquarters.   A liquor store could open there, but only after a vote by the Town of James Island BZA.

Outdoor Shooting ranges are prohibited everywhere on Folly Road already--at least in the Town.   There was no need for the Town to specifically prohibit them.   Indoor shooting ranges are already prohibited in the South Village.   But the proposal was to ban them from the Commercial Core.   That area has community commercial zoning and so they are permitted.   The Overlay District list was overriding the current zoning and prohibiting something that is currently permitted.

And what about gun shops?   Like the other jurisdictions in the area, the Town of James Island has no special category for "gun shops."  They are just treated as sporting goods stores.   They are permitted in Community Commercial, which is the Commercial Core.   A "small" gun shop would be permitted in Neighborhood Commercial, with means less than 5000 square feet.   Basically, Treadquarters could be turned into a small gun shop.   They are not permitted in office residential, which is nearly all of the South Village.  But that isn't because gun shops are being singled out.  Hardly any retail shops are permitted in areas with office residential zoning.     

I expected that some of the items on the list of prohibited uses would be removed by Town Council.   I worked hard to get gun shops removed.   I was surprised that none of the list of prohibited uses was adopted by Council.   But the effect is just to keep the permitted uses unchanged.   Nothing that was already prohibited has now been permitted.

Ashley Kellahan Appointed Town Administrator

Ashley Kellahan was appointed by Town Council to serve as the new Town Administrator.   The vote by Council was unanimous.

Ashley is a resident of the Town of James Island.   She earned a Masters in Public Administration from the College of Charleston.   She served as Assistant City Manager in Abbeville for three years.   She currently works as a Senior Budget Analyst for the City of Charleston.

She will start with the Town on October 28.   Town Council, the Town's staff and I all look forward to working with her.

Gun Shop Ban on Folly Foiled

The effort to ban gun shops on Folly Road failed to pass first reading at Town Council tonight.

The draft of the Folly Road Overlay District can be found here.

Most of those speaking at the public hearing opposed banning gun shops.   One also spoke against banning tattoo parlors.

Council first considered all of the Folly Road Overlay District other than the prohibited uses.   The gun shop ban was just one of several prohibited uses.    Auto Dealers, hotels and motels, vehicle and boat storage, and tattoo parlors were also banned.

Councilman Berry proposed deferring consideration.  Berry said she found the proposal confusing.  Echoing the demands of Susan Milliken at the public hearing, she suggested that a power point presentation be provided to the public and then a second public hearing be held.   Her proposal failed for lack of a second.

The vote was 4 in favor with Berry abstaining.   Berry said she didn't understand what she was voting on.

Council then considered the list  of prohibited uses.   I moved to strike gun shops and Councilman Blank seconded the motion.   In discussion, Councilwoman Berry explained that she thought that guns caused violence and she would never vote to make it easier to buy guns.

The motion failed 3 to 2, with Councilman Mullinax and Councilman Kernodle joining Councilwoman Berry in voting against removing the ban on gun shops.  (I was very surprised about Councilman Mullinax's vote to keep the ban on gun shops.   For weeks he had been telling me that he strongly opposed banning gun shops.   Councilman Kernodle had recently told me the same thing, but he also told me he was opposed to banning the other prohibited uses as well.   He said as much at the meeting.)

I proposed removing the ban on motels and hotels.  That died for a lack of a second.   I proposed removing the ban on auto dealers, which also died for a lack of a second.   (I think an auto dealer or motel would be good for the James Island economy and also for the Town's and the James Island P.S.D.'s finances.)

However, the vote was 4 to 1 against the entire list of prohibited uses.   Councilwoman Berry voted to prohibit all of the uses, including gun shops.   Councilmen Kernodle, Mullinax, Blank, and I all voted against prohibiting any of the uses.   On the final vote, Councilmen Kernodle, Mullinax, Blank and I all voted against the ban on gun shops.

Later in the meeting, Councilman Blank said that he would not have voted against all of the prohibited uses.   He mentioned that he doesn't think hotels should be allowed in the Folly Road overlay district.   (Councilman Blank opposed the proposal to ban gun shops, but supported banning some of the other uses.)

At the November meeting, a second reading will be scheduled for the Folly Road Overlay District without any additional prohibited uses.

This means that the uses allowed in the various areas of the overlay district are those allowed by the Town's current zoning.   Many of the prohibited uses in the Overlay District are already prohibited by the Town's existing zoning, and that won't change.   For example, tattoo parlors are only permitted in industrial zones, and there are none of those on Folly Road.   Hotels and motels and auto dealers are allowed in the Town's community commercial zone, which is how most of the parcels in the "Commercial Core" are zoned, but not the office residential district that makes up most of the "South Village"

The other areas on the Folly Road Overlay District, the North Village, Neighborhood Preservation, and Conservation are not in the Town at all.   .

Stricter Tree Ordinances Imposed

Council voted 3 to 2 to impose stricter tree regulation on James Island homeowners.    Starting tonight, it is necessary to get a permit to cut down any tree other than a pine, sweetgum or chinese tallow with diameter over 18 inches.   The permits cost $25.   If the tree is diseased or dying, a permit will be issued and it can then be removed.   Otherwise, the BZA must approve the removal.   Mitigation is imposed to replace the trees, and this is usually interpreted to mean inch-for-inch replacement.

Voting in favor of the stricter regulations were Councilmen Kernodle and Mullinax and Councilwoman Berry.   Councilman Blank and I voted against.

Planning Commissioner Millken again made it clear that he sees this as just a first step and plans to propose even more detailed micromanagement of your yard.

Speed Humps on North Shore Drive

Two speed humps appeared on North Shore Drive today.   They are located near Waites and James.   North Shore is an SCDOT road and so this required SCDOT approval.  The part of the road between Waites and James is under City of Charleston jurisdiction.  Presumably the City of Charleston requested the speed humps and paid for them.  We were as surprised as everyone else.

Here is a map showing the approximate location.   The red is City of Charleston.   The grey is the Town of James Island.

Gun Shops on Folly Road. Will the Town Prohibit Them?

The public hearing on the Folly Road Overlay District will be on October 17 and a first reading is scheduled.   The recommendation from the Planning Commission includes a prohibition on gun shops on Folly Road.   This was revisited by the Planning Commission and they voted 3 to 2 to keep the ban.    I plan to propose striking gun shops from the list of prohibited uses at first reading.   I believe Councilmen Blank and Mullinax will join me.   Where do Councilman Kernodle and Councilwoman Berry stand?   We will find out.

Please come to the Town Council meeting and speak out in opposition to this effort to keep gun shops off of Folly Road.

Tree Update: New Restrictions Likely After October 17

The second reading of Chapters 8 and 9 is coming up at the October 17 meeting.   And that means that stricter tree regulations will be imposed if the ordinances pass.    At the last meeting, they passed 3 to 2, with Councilmen Kernodle and Mullinax and Councilwoman Berry in favor.   Councilman Blank and I were opposed.    The new tree regulations will require a permit to cut down any tree other than pine, sweet gum, or Chinese Tallow with a diameter greater than 18 inches.    The existing ordinance requires a permit to cut down oak trees with a diameter greater than 24 inches.   If a tree is dead or dying, then the Planning Director can issue a permit and the cost is $25.    Otherwise, it is necessary to get permission from the Board of Zoning Appeals and provide inch-for-inch mitigation.

We have had several calls to Town Hall about cutting down trees right now.   Today, and up until October 17, there is no penalty for cutting down any tree other than an oak, nor is there any penalty for cutting oak trees with a diameter less than 24 inches.   No permit or permission is needed.   Our code enforcement officer will not, and cannot, give a ticket to people for doing something that is not illegal at this time.

I am thinking about cutting down one or both river birches in my front yard.

However, if you come to Town Hall asking for a zoning permit for a new project, you will be instructed to follow the procedures consistent with the new law.   For example, if you need to do a tree survey, you will be asked to identify all trees with diameter greater than 18 inches other than pines, sweet gums and Chinese Tallow trees as grand trees.   This is based upon the "pending ordinance doctrine."

Public Hearing Folly Road Overlay on October 17

Town Of James Island

The James Island Town Council will hold a Public Hearing on the Proposed Draft of the Folly Road Corridor Overlay Zoning District (Article 5.4, Zoning and Land Development Regulations), including a proposal to remove Gun Shops from the list of Prohibited Uses. The Public Hearing will be held on Thursday, October 17, 2013 at 7:00 pm at the Town of James Island Town Hall, 1238-B Camp Road, James Island, SC (843) 795-4141. Copies of the draft Folly Road Corridor Overlay District (FRC-O) Plan are available for the public to review Monday-Friday during normal business hours.

1238-B Camp Road  795-4141

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FOR MORE INFORMATION: www.jamesislandsc.us

The language recommended by the James Island Planning Commission is here.