Public Hearing for Rezoning Town Hall Site

Town Council will hold a public hearing at its January 19 meeting to rezone the new Town Hall site on Dills Bluff Road. The rezoning will be from residential (RSL) to office residential (OR.)

The rezoning comes before the Town's Planning Commission on January 12 for a recommendation to Council.   First reading on the rezoning ordinance is scheduled for January 19 after the public hearing at the regular Town Council meeting.   The rezoning will be complete after Council passes the ordinance on second reading at its regular meeting on February 16.   Groundbreaking for the new Town Hall is planned for this summer.

The rezoning will impact three parcels.  Currently, the two parcels on Dills Bluff are in the Town and zoned RSL, which is our single family residential district.   The third parcel, on Camp Road, is in the City of Charleston, but that will change at the January 19 meeting with second reading of the Town's ordinance for the boundary adjustment. The City of Charleston has already passed its ordinance for the boundary adjustment.  (Thank you Mayor Tecklenburg and Charleston City Council!)

Government offices are not allowed in RSL, so to move our Town Hall, we must rezone the site.   The least intensive zoning district that allows for government offices is Office Residential.  That zone is intended to serve as a buffer between more intensive commercial uses and residential areas.  A key purpose is to protect the bordering residential area.  The design of buildings in office residential must have a residential character.

First Baptist Church of James Island currently owns the parcel on Dills Bluff that is next to its cemetery.  The Town and Church plan to swap that parcel with an equally sized portion of the parcel that the Town purchased on Camp Road.  The Town and Church plan to jointly develop the parcel on Camp Road as a parking lot.  The Church will effectively expand its existing parking lot on Camp Road by the Landmark Center.  Both portions of the new parking lot will be used by both the Town and the Church.

There are several very beautiful trees on the Town Hall site, including a remarkable Magnolia.  The placement of Town Hall on the site is intended to showcase these trees.   The Town plans to leave large trees lining Dills Bluff Road.  Remarkably, the area where the joint parking lot is to be located has no significant trees--the area is dominated by pines of modest size and lots of poison ivy.   The plan for construction seeks to retain as many trees as possible.   Much of the Town's site will be shady and landscaping tentatively focuses on shade loving flowering shrubs such as azaleas and camellias.

First Baptist Church will remain our most important immediate neighbor.  However, we will also have two neighboring residences.   We intend to protect the residence on Hillman Drive by planting a buffer.   We also plan to maintain a buffer behind the residence on Camp Road that will remain in the City of Charleston.