Mount Pleasant to consider new housing ordinance

The Mount Pleasant Planning Commission will consider a proposal Wednesday aimed at giving developers incentive to build affordable work force housing.

The proposed planned development, work force housing zoning district would allow developers to deviate from traditional land restrictions, allowing higher density on less acreage and leeway on other tenets such as setback requirements, said Kelly Cousino, a town planner.

In exchange, a developer would have to sell or rent 30% of the units as work force housing units. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development deems work force housing units as those priced appropriately for a family of four earning up to 120% of the area median income, which in Mount Pleasant would equal $70,050. For rental units, it is 80% of the median area income, or $46,700.

The median area income for the Charleston-North Charleston statistical area, taking in Mount Pleasant, is $58,400. HUD guidelines establish that a family or individual should not spend more than one-third of household income on housing.

At the end of 2007, Mount Pleasant’s median home price was well over $365,000, which shuts out many in its own work force, particularly those in the hospitality and retail sectors, according to the Lowcountry Housing Trust, which supports the new ordinance.

“Land costs in Mount Pleasant are really high. It really puts it out of range for essential workers: teachers, firefighters and that sort of thing,” Cousino said. “Affordable housing is also really important for economic development. For companies moving to an area, having affordable housing helps them attract and retain workers.”

The planning commission meets at 5 p.m. Wednesday at Town Hall. The commission gives recommendations to the council but doesn’t make final decisions. The ordinance was drafted with recommendations from the town’s work force housing advisory committee, which has been working on the issue for more than nine months, Cousino said.
 

as provided by Charleston Regional Business Journal By Molly Parker , Daily Journal Staff
 

Snee Farm subdivision OK despite lawsuit

The Mount Pleasant Town Council granted final approval of a rezoning request Tuesday that will allow the I'On group to build 57 homes on seven acres owned by Snee Farm Country Club, even as some residents begged council to await the outcome of a lawsuit challenging whether the developers have the right to build there.

The meeting room was unusually packed by the dozens of residents from Snee Farm, Mount Pleasant's oldest golf course community, who came out to speak on both sides of the emotionally charged issue. As residents went to the podium one after another, their neighbors sat in the audience either applauding or shaking their heads indignantly.

Town council voted 6-3 on the second and final reading after little discussion; the land was rezoned from conservation/recreation/open space to planned developed/mixed use.

Mark Lipsmeyer, I'On Group's chief operating officer, said he would like to see development begin within a year. The company is purchasing the seven acres from the Snee Farm Country Club, which has said it will use the money to pay for replacement of the aging clubhouse and pool.

The proposal has divided residents of Snee Farm. Some believe it will improve the value of the neighborhood, while opponents worry it will increase traffic, create storm water drainage problems and establish a precedent for building on what they claim was legally set aside as recreational land. The golf course was not rezoned, though some fret that a developer will one day attempt to take that land too as the town continues to grow.

"I would say their main concern is they bought their houses and paid a premium for them based on that recreational area, that it would always be there", said Thomas Goldstein, who is representing a group of residents in their lawsuit against the country club owners, JKM Holdings LLC, who bought it four years ago from Club Corp. of America for $2.4 million.

"It's a slippery slope. If you can cut off (these) acres today, how many acres will they want to cut off five years from now, where does it stop?"

The lawsuit is based on a deed restriction dated Nov. 19, 1975, that states the land in question will remain as a recreational complex only. The developers argue they are not impeding the clubhouse, nor do they have plans to touch the golf course, though critics say they will be taking aesthetically pleasing open space.

Goldstein told council members they should wait to act until the lawsuit is settled, though attorney Larry Richter, who is representing JKM Holdings LLC, told council the outcome of private litigation is "none of your business"."Why act?" he asked rhetorically just before the council vote. "Because the lawsuit is as bogus as the accusations you've heard here tonight.

"If there were a delicate way of saying you could judge the credibility of those who came here tonight (opposing the project), I would say it."
Lipsmeyer called his project "smart growth". Infill development, he said, is the best way to add new homes to the increasingly popular town while attempting to mitigate the impact on existing infrastructure. The controversy, Lipsmeyer said, reflects the growing rub between the developers looking to serve the needs of the massive numbers of newcomers heading to the coast and the residents who have lived in the greater Charleston region for decades.

"It's a constant battle," he said. "People continue to move to this area of the country and this city, and that's the way it's going to be. The city and infrastructure needs to accommodate the growth in some fashion."

By Molly Parker , Staff Writer

Council OK's agreement for Central Mount Pleasant

Mount Pleasant Town Council passed final reading of a development agreement that would create a mixed-use plan in the heart of Mount Pleasant. The town last week had agreed to defer final reading on the Central Mount Pleasant project until today at the developers’ request for more time to complete the development agreement.

Central Mount Pleasant is a 110-acre project proposed by Mount Pleasant-based McAlister Development Co. and joint venture partner Greystar Real Estate Partners. The development would include a master-planned downtown area with mixed residential uses, shops and restaurants, a new Whitesides Elementary School along with parks, lakes and canals.

The planned development is on a tract between Hungryneck Boulevard and Rifle Range Road and would have about 719 residential units, including apartments and single-family homes, with about 34 acres reserved for commercial use. The development agreement included annexation of 100 acres along Hungryneck Boulevard south of the Isle of Palms connector.

Keane & Co. is the urban planning consultant for the project, which is based on New Urbanism concepts that create walkable communities with less impact on roads and residential space above retail and office space.

The development would include an extension of Hungryneck Boulevard, which Mount Pleasant had budgeted for two years ago. According to an amendment to the development agreement, the town will save $1.6 million by letting the developer build the road and will contribute $4 million to the road extension.

Councilman Billy Swails and Mayor Harry Hallman voted against the development agreement. Paul Gawrych abstained because of a conflict of interest.

By Kathleen Dayton and Lindsay Street , Staff Writers - Charleston Regional Business Journal

New senior community planned for Mount Pleasant

Groundbreaking for a 248-unit senior residential community called Somerby will take place in Mount Pleasant on Tuesday. Somerby will be located on 20 acres along Basildon Road, just north of the intersection of Park West Boulevard and Grey Marsh Road. The campus-style, continuing care community will offer independent living options in either villas or apartments, and three levels of health care: assisted living, memory care and respite care.