Why Summerville is overhauling its zoning ordinances
For the past two years, Summerville has engaged consultants and staff in a project to overhaul our zoning ordinances. The intent is to clarify, simplify and rationalize the town’s expectations for homeowners, builders and developers who want to build new residential and commercial properties.
The challenge we face is to strike the right balance between inevitable growth and preservation of what makes our historic town unique. We also must address two issues that have risen to the forefront in recent elections: traffic congestion and flooding.
Implicit in the model employed by the Stantec consultants is the concept of “build up, not out,” a concept that has been applied in other surrounding townships like Mount Pleasant and West Ashley. In other words, look for opportunities to increase inner town density and building heights, infill empty parcels and encourage pedestrian foot traffic over cars.
