City Council

COUNCIL CHAMBER Regular Meeting December 18, 2018 The sixty-sixth meeting of the City Council of Charleston was held this date convening at 5:46 p.m. at City Hall. A notice of this meeting and an agenda were mailed to the news media December 12, 2018 and appeared in The Post and Courier December 16, 2018 and are made available on the City’s website. PRESENT (13) The Honorable John J. Tecklenburg, Mayor Councilmember White District 1 Councilmember Waring District 7 Councilmember Shealy District 2 Councilmember Seekings District 8 Councilmember Lewis District 3 Councilmember Shahid District 9 Councilmember Mitchell District 4 Councilmember Griffin District 10 Councilmember Wagner District 5 Councilmember Moody District 11 Councilmember Gregorie District 6 Councilmember Jackson District 12 Mayor Tecklenburg called the meeting to order at 5:46 p.m. Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Madam Clerk, would you please call the roll?” The Clerk called the roll. Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Everyone is present and accounted for. If you all would like to join us for an invocation and Pledge of Allegiance, Councilmember Shealy is going to lead us this evening.” Councilmember Shealy opened the meeting with an invocation. Councilmember Shealy then led City Council in the Pledge of Allegiance. Mayor Tecklenburg said, “I always think of Councilmember Moody when we leave out that comma, ‘One nation under God’. I would also like to recognize, I heard it was done, but some Committee members weren’t up here at the time, a happy birthday to Councilmember Moody.” There was applause in the chamber. Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Now, for recognitions, I would like to ask our own City leader, Russell Binder, who led the City’s giving campaign this year to both United Way and Red Cross, to come forward, along with Amanda Baldwin, with the Red Cross, and another employee with a special presentation, Kyle Weiss.” Russell Binder said, “Good evening everyone. Mr. Mayor, members of Council, ladies and gentlemen, this year I had the pleasure of chairing not only the private United Way campaign,  City Council December 18, 2018 Page 2 which I have done in years past, we also combined it this year with the American Red Cross. The goal this year, as you know, was $70,000. For United Way, we took in $44,916.15, and the American Red Cross took in $28,086.96. This all comes from your generous donations as City of Charleston employees, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart, as do the citizens in our Tri- county area that will benefit from that. The total was $73,003.11 which was $3,003.11 over our goal.” There was applause in the chamber. Russell Binder said, “This year we had a contest with the candy corn, and it had prizes. The count was 294 pieces of candy, but the really big thing was that the American Red Cross gave us tickets from Southwest Airlines for two round-trip tickets in the continental United States. The person who was the closest, without going over, is Charleston firefighter Kyle Weiss. He said he’s flying to Myrtle Beach, I think.” There was laughter in the Chamber. Mr. Binder said, “Thank you, and Merry Christmas everybody.” There was applause in the chamber. Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Tell everyone where you’re going to vacation.” Mr. Weiss said, “I’m going to take my family to Yellowstone National Park.” There was applause in the Chamber. Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Alright, next we have a number of public hearings this evening. First is a boundary line adjustment between the City of Charleston and the Town of James Island. This has come before Council already. This will be our second reading, but we have a public hearing regarding the matter this evening. Would anyone like to be heard on this matter? Please come forward.” No one asked to speak. Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Hearing none, it comes back to Council.” Councilmember Waring said, “Move for approval.” Councilmember Lewis said, “Second.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “We have a motion for second reading. Any discussion?” Mayor Tecklenburg recognized Councilwoman Jackson. Councilwoman Jackson said, “I just want to say, because it has been a long time in getting to the final approval, that the purpose of this was to accommodate the creation of a new fire station on James Island by the Public Service District. So, if anyone’s been by the ratty, old Camp Road station, it’s going to be a happy day for James Island to have a brand new one. So, thank you.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Terrific. And we just voted or did we? We have a motion. This is for second reading.” The Clerk said, “Mayor, are we doing third reading? This says ‘second’. We’re going to do third, as well?”  City Council December 18, 2018 Page 3 Mayor Tecklenburg said, “It is, but I think we were just waiting for the public hearing. So, we do need third reading and ratification.” On a motion of Councilmember Waring one (1) bill (Item E-1) received second reading. It passed second reading on motion by Councilmember Lewis and third reading on motion of Councilmember Mitchell. On further motion of Councilmember Shealy, the rules were suspended, and the bill was immediately ratified as: 2018-163 AN ORDINANCE TO ADJUST THE BOUNDARY LINE BETWEEN THE CITY OF CHARLESTON AND THE TOWN OF JAMES ISLAND AS IT PERTAINS TO CERTAIN PROPERTY OWNED BY THE JAMES ISLAND PUBLIC SERVICE DISTRICT LOCATED AT 1104 FOLLY ROAD, CHARLESTON, SC 29412 AND DESIGNATED AS T.M.S. PARCEL NO. 425-09-00-007. Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Next, is number two. Mr. Morgan.” Mr. Morgan said, “Thank you Mr. Mayor. This is 52 Line Street, on the Peninsula. It’s between King Street and Meeting Street. The map is in front of you and in your packets. It’s former Norfolk Southern land. It has a cell tower in the rear. We have some images of the property. It’s used for parking right now. It’s immediately adjacent to the old rail line and would be adjacent to the future Lowline. The property is gravel and surrounded by other commercial uses. It’s in our comprehensive plan as in our Urban Core, which is the area recommended for the densest type of uses. The request is to go from General Business to MU-2 Work Force Housing.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Would anyone like to be heard on this matter? Yes, sir.” 1. Anthony G. Bryant said he had made public comment over the years regarding affordable housing and transportation. He had a transportation lawsuit in Richmond, Virginia regarding issues that he spoke on. He had received a ticket in 1989, and he hadn’t lived in Charleston during that period of time. It was delivered to him in 2013. All of the comments that he had made online regarding the issues of gentrification and other issues, had been put in question by the State of South Carolina, DHEC, and the City. Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Thank you, sir. Would anyone else like to be heard on this matter? Hearing none, it comes to Council. We have a motion and a second. Any discussion?” On a motion of Councilmember Mitchell, seconded by Councilmember Lewis, City Council voted unanimously to give first reading to the following bill: An ordinance to amend the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Charleston by changing the Zone Map, which is a part thereof, so that 52 Line Street (Peninsula) (approximately 0.90 acre) (TMS #459-05-03-139) (Council District 4), be rezoned from General Business (GB) classification to Mixed-Use/Workforce Housing (MU-2/WH) classification. The property is owned by Norfolk Southern. Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Mr. Morgan.” Mr. Morgan said, “Okay. E-3 is at F Street. It is also property that was formally Norfolk Southern that is now City of Charleston property. It’s at the end of F Street, as you see here, backing up to the ramps of I-26, as I-26 merges into 17 coming into downtown. Properties in front of it, fronting on King Street, are owned by the Charleston Housing Authority and have affordable housing on them. This is a future affordable housing site, as well. The zoning requested for it, since it was previously railroad right-of-way, is MU-1 Work Force Housing. Both staff and Planning Commission recommend  City Council December 18, 2018 Page 4 approval.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Great. Would anyone like to be heard on this matter? Yes, sir.” 1. Anthony Bryant said that DHEC was cited in the lawsuit. The real question was whether this was a federal arrangement made by the City of Charleston and the Federal Government to gentrify their community. Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Yes sir. Would anyone else like to be heard? Hearing none, it comes before Council.” On a motion of Councilmember Waring, seconded by Councilmember Shahid, City Council voted unanimously to give first reading to the following bill: An ordinance to amend the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Charleston by changing the Zone Map, which is a part thereof, so that property located on F Street (Peninsula) (0.71 acre) (TMS #460-04-04-118) (Council District 4), be rezoned from unzoned right- of-way to Mixed-Use/Workforce Housing (MU-1/WH) classification. The property is owned by the City of Charleston. Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Mr. Morgan.” Mr. Morgan said, “E-4 is 89 Romney Street. It’s a request to rezone from DR-1F to RO, our Residential Office classification. You all are probably very familiar with this area of Romney Street. Here’s Meeting Street on the north/south run. This corner is going to have a new multi-family building with mixed use in it. The off-ramp from I-26 comes in right here, and King Street is further to the east. There is a good bit of transition and new business in this area and more traffic in the area, as well. We have some images of the property. You see some aerial images there showing the property, and there’s a street-front view. It’s a very small piece of property, a Freedman’s Cottage that has been on the market. Staff is very comfortable with this request because of the nature of this area of Romney Street and the fact that there are a number of other mixed-use uses in the area, and the Residential Office district requires that the residential character of the building be maintained, as well. So, staff and Planning Commission recommended approval of this request.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Would anyone like to be heard on this matter?” No one asked to speak. Councilmember Mitchell said, “One question, have they reached out to the neighborhood association president there?” Mr. Morgan said, “Yes, sir. I believe she came to the site and saw the property.” On a motion of Councilmember Moody, seconded by Councilmember Gregorie, City Council voted unanimously to give first reading to the following bill: An ordinance to amend the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Charleston by changing the Zone Map, which is a part thereof, so that 89 Romney Street (Peninsula) (0.10 acre) (TMS #463- 16-02-005)(Council District 4), be rezoned from Diverse Residential (DR-1F) classification to Residential Office (RO) classification. The property is owned by Mary A. Boags Life Estate. Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Mr. Morgan.” Mr. Morgan said, “The next one is on Clements Ferry Road. This is 2026 Clements Ferry Road, the Enterprise Boulevard area. It’s just north of I-526. It’s an area that has industrial to the north. It has a marina and other commercial buildings to the south, residential development to the  City Council December 18, 2018 Page 5 east. There’s a new multi-family development on the rear portion of the property, and the front portion was brought into the City as Light Industrial, but as time has evolved, the owners have realized that the better use on the site would be for mixed-use development and would like to take it to the General Business classification. It’s approximately 30 acres in size. Here’s an aerial image of it. It already has a road that traverses it through here. There will be a new road created on the property that will line up with Beresford Run, which will create a great location for a new traffic signal and our new City fire station in that location. Again, the Multi-Family is already at the rear of the property here, and Industrial to the north. Both the Planning Commission and staff recommend approval of the request.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Would anyone like to be heard on this matter?” 1. Foster Gaillard said he didn’t have anything else to add, but was happy to answer questions. He was representing the applicant. Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Foster Gaillard and a former member of this Council. I would point out that this is the tract of land that the City of Charleston has a contract on to build our replacement fire station for Fire Station #20.” Councilmember Shahid said, “Move for approval.” Councilmember Mitchell said, “Second.” On a motion of Councilmember Shahid, seconded by Councilmember Mitchell, City Council voted unanimously to give first reading to the following bill: An ordinance to amend the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Charleston by changing the Zone Map, which is a part thereof, so that 2026 Clements Ferry Road (Cainhoy) (30.50 acres) (TMS #271-00-01-035) (Council District 1), be rezoned from Light Industrial (LI) classification to General Business (GB) classification. The property is owned by Clements Ferry Properties LLC. Mr. Morgan said, “E-6 was deferred--” The Clerk said, “Christopher, I realize that number six is deferred, but in the event that some people came that might want to speak about number six—“ Mr. Morgan said, “We can announce 217 Ashley as number six.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “There was a rezoning of 217 Ashley Avenue that was advertised. Council will not be taking action on this matter tonight. It has been deferred by the applicant, but the public hearing was advertised, so if anyone would like to come forward and speak to the matter of the rezoning of 217 Ashley Avenue, now’s your chance. Would anyone like to be heard?” No one asked to speak. Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Would anyone on Council like to be heard?” Councilmember Seekings said, “Just very briefly, before we go on, this keeps showing up on our agenda, and it just so happens that the person in the office next to mine lives next door to this property. So, she sees it on the agenda. Can you give us an idea of what the applicant is doing, thinking? Is this ever going forward?” Mr. Morgan said, “Well, staff recommended against the rezoning. The Planning  City Council December 18, 2018 Page 6 Commission recommended against the rezoning. The applicant has deferred several times, and beyond that, I can’t tell you. We don’t have a limitation on that, other than the amount of time within which the applicant has put the application in and when the final action is taken.” Councilmember Seekings said, “And what is that time limit?” Mr. Morgan said, “It’s basically a year time period, and it’s getting close to that.” Councilmember Seekings said, “So this one might just time out on us, you think?” Mr. Morgan said, “I think the applicant wants to have it back in January, but we thought that for December, and then we were told about a week ago that they’re not going to be here.” Councilmember Seekings said, “I think we’ve all heard from this applicant. I would just like to get this off the agenda. Thank you.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Now, number 7.” Mr. Morgan said, “Number 7 has also been deferred, by request of the applicant. But, again, we’ll show the map and just let everybody see where this is, in case anybody’s here for the discussion. This is newly annexed property on the southern end of Clements Ferry, south of 526, south of St. Thomas Island Drive, adjacent to other properties in the City. The recommended zoning from staff and Planning Commission was RR-1, but the applicant has requested a deferral at this point in time.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Would anyone like to be heard on this matter? All quiet. Any comments from Council? We’re not acting on this tonight. It’s been deferred by the applicant. Alright, number 8.” Mr. Morgan said, “This is property on Johns Island. It is an amendment to the PUD, the Fenwick PUD that is in this location near Maybank Highway and Main Road. The main purpose of this amendment is to create changes to the PUD that allow for the dedication of the right-of- way for the northern pitchfork corridor, which would come from the property owner here, and to make sure that the owner does not lose any of the things that could have been in the PUD, just by virtue of dedicating the right-of-way for that. Otherwise, the PUD still has the same number of units that were approved by Council three years ago. They’re just minor changes in the PUD. We were very comfortable with this and very happy that we could move forward with the northern pitchfork by virtue of this dedication. This also goes in step with the development agreement that you all have later on your agenda, as well. Both staff and Planning Commission recommended approval of these amendments to the PUD.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Would anyone like to be heard on this matter?” No one asked to speak. On a motion of Councilmember Moody one (1) bill (Item E-8) received second reading. It passed second reading on motion by Councilwoman Jackson and third reading on motion of Councilmember Mitchell. On further motion of Councilmember Shahid, the rules were suspended, and the bill was immediately ratified as: 2018-164 AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF CHARLESTON, BY AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 2016-005, ESTABLISHING THE VILLAGE AT FENWICK PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES, SO THAT PROPERTY OWNED BY 1776, LLC, LOCATED ON JOHNS ISLAND, IN THE CITY OF CHARLESTON, CHARLESTON COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA,  City Council December 18, 2018 Page 7 CONSISTING OF (1) APPROXIMATELY 12.645 ACRES ON RIVER ROAD (TMS NO. 346-00-00-004); (2) APPROXIMATELY 22.91 ACRES ON RIVER ROAD AND MAYBANK HIGHWAY (TMS NO. 346-00-00-076); (3) APPROXIMATELY 4.947 ACRES (A PORTION OF TMS NO. 346-00-00-258); AND (4) APPROXIMATELY 4.389 ACRES (A PORTION OF TMS NO. 346-00-00-259) (COUNCIL DISTRICT 5) BE SUBJECT TO THE AMENDED AND RESTATED PLANNED UNIT DEVELOPMENT GUIDELINES FOR THE VILLAGE AT FENWICK. Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Congratulations. This has been coming to us for a long time, and we thank you again for the dedication of this right-of-way. It’s really an important step to improving traffic on Johns Island. Thank you very much. Okay, next, we’ve got one more.” Mr. Morgan said, “The Legal Staff was handling this. This was the issue with the Planning Commission super majority and City Council vote.” Mr. McQueeney said, “This is the proposed amendment to Section 54-943c, which would take out the three-quarters override requirement that’s currently in that section and replace it with an eight members of Council requirement. So, if eight members of Council show up, you’d need 100% of members to vote to override a Planning Commission decision or a resident protest decision. If nine come, you need eight, etcetera. If 13 come, you need eight. To put it in perspective, eight of the total amount of Councilmembers would meet a 60% threshold, but not a 65% threshold. If anyone has any questions, I’m happy to answer them.” Mayor Tecklenburg recognized Councilmember Waring. Councilmember Waring said, “Is this a public hearing?” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “It’s on our public hearing section, so would anyone from the public like to speak to this matter? Please, come forward. Yes, sir.” 1. Anthony Bryant said he was a former Charleston County Board of Zoning Appeals member. Each one of the Councilmembers should have a membership on the Boards. County Council gave each Councilmember a person to serve on their Committees. That helped with the overall area because they would have different perspectives. The Mayor couldn’t exclusively appoint people to the Boards. For overriding a decision by people who were experts, they would have to consider changing all of the board requirements. 2. Leah Farrell, Preservation Society, stated that they wanted to remind Council that the Planning Commission unanimously disapproved the recommendation. They had a robust conversation during the joint working session, and they thought it was productive. No decisions were made, so they requested a reset to allow for further conversation. They welcomed the opportunity to be a part of that dialogue. Mayor Tecklenburg said, “The matter comes to Council.” Councilmember Waring said, “Move for approval.” Councilmember Griffin said, “Second.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “We have a motion to approve and a second.” Mayor Tecklenburg recognized Councilmember Waring.  City Council December 18, 2018 Page 8 Councilmember Waring said, “Thank you, Mr. Mayor. I think this is the fourth change, or fifth time, a change to this ordinance has been in front of us. I thought this was a new ordinance that we set forward. We are trying to establish a change in policy and in discussing, having sat down with the Preservation Society, Historic Charleston, a couple of members of the Planning Commission, we had a good conversation which led to additional conversations with members of the Planning Commission. Believe it or not, this 8-vote override was a suggestion from a member of the Planning Commission. It wasn’t mine. As a matter of fact, and there’s no need to reveal the name, but let me tell you how this process has gotten so personal. One of the objections was, if we had a simple majority, seven members of Council, we could do business. We could pass this City budget tonight with seven votes. One of the disagreements was you could override, technically, the Planning Commission with four votes. I said ‘you know, you’re right about that’. That person suggested having a threshold of eight. We sent that back to the Planning Commission, discussed it with our colleagues here, and when we went to the Planning Commission, the Commission member who suggested it, voted against it. When we look at, and I have 25 years’ experience either being on the Planning Commission or this City Council, in 25 years there has only been one small, minority business owner that’s gotten overridden. One, in 25 years. When we look at, part of the pushback, ‘Well, big developers will run rampant with this’. Well, let’s look at the results. When large developers, on projects that have failed at the Planning Commission in particular, it’s usually on a divided vote, what happens? The architects, engineers, lawyers, fan out and lobby you, Mr. Mayor, and us, to give us the rest of the story. So, the Lowe’s corporations of the world aren’t being stopped by this. The Greystars of the world aren’t being stopped by this. The J.P. Morgan Real Estate Investment Trust isn’t really being affected by this. All of these are transactions that are ongoing and taking place right now in the City of Charleston. Who’s being affected by this most acutely are the small business people. You say ‘why am I so ardent behind this change?’ Because, when you apply for a zoning change in the City of Charleston, in particular for an individual or a small business person, it is an intimidating process. When they get turned down, they don’t even come forward. I did not even realize this until I left the Planning Commission and came to Council. So, when you look at creating affordable housing in the City of Charleston, we don’t even recognize those small business people who have those duplexes, triplexes, maybe the little eight and ten unit apartment complexes. We don’t incentivize that. We don’t throw fertilization to grow that supply of affordable housing. I’m talking about people who create units to be rented to people in Section 8 housing. We have a huge private sector out there, whose voices aren’t being accommodated. Now, we accommodate unaffordable housing, and you say ‘how do you define unaffordable housing?’ Unaffordable housing is the apartments that, right now, the average City employee cannot afford, and we know that. Our first responders cannot afford. The LPN at the hospitals cannot afford. What do we do to incentivize unaffordable housing? We reduce the parking requirement, Councilman White. I remember you and I voted against that three or four years ago. Why? It used to be, for those in the audience, let me explain. If you’re building a 100- unit apartment complex, it used to be you had to create one and a half off-street parking spaces for every 100 units, which meant you had to create 150 off-street parking spaces. We, not under this administration, the previous administration, voted to reduce that to one. Now, that seems simple enough. You don’t have to reserve space for 50 off-street parking spaces. What did that do? That drove up, exponentially, the cost of the land, the value of the land. Then, as a Council, we came around and increased the height district. So, we created an environment. We never saw boom cranes like this ten years ago. You know why? We didn’t have that parking requirement change, and we didn’t’ have the height change. Funny, how that works.  City Council December 18, 2018 Page 9 Community Development, I was listening to Councilmember Lewis, and he really said this under his breath, when he saw the Upper Peninsula guidelines, he said, ‘My goodness. This is the last frontier’, meaning this is the last big tract of land on the Peninsula that we can create affordable housing. We’re trying to amend it now, but when it first came out, it had no affordable housing component to it. It was approved, and some people are grandfathered under that now. This is most effective with discouraging changes that are proposed by small, women-owned, and minority businesses. Now, that may not be the intention, but that is a fact. Our history and our recordings will show that. One of the things that I will ask of Council, not tonight, I don’t understand how an elected body can propose an ordinance on a change of governance, and a non-elected body can throw up a roadblock to that. I actually believe it dilutes one person, one vote. So, we’ve been playing this tennis match back and forth, but obviously, I think it’s wrong. It hurts small business, and as we go forward, in particular, into election year, you know when we voted for the apology for slavery, these rooms were packed. This was one of the things I brought up, and one of the reasons I didn’t vote for the apology for slavery because they are entrapments, if you will, from Jim Crow. This was done in 1931. Many of the people around this table, it didn’t have us in mind. Charleston used to be known for the small businesses, the small shops, the unique things that were not elsewhere. Recently, I had a very good friend who stayed at Charleston Place, came outside on the sidewalk and said, ‘Wow, it’s the buildings, the shops you can find almost anywhere else now’. We’re changing, as a fabric, in the City. Why are these small businesses moving off? They can’t afford the rents. What are we doing, as a system of governance, to affect change in that? We keep the same policies in place.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Would anyone else like to be heard?” Mayor Tecklenburg recognized Councilmember Griffin. Councilmember Griffin said, “Councilmember Waring, I think you probably know this better than anybody here, but I haven’t been here that long. You said there’s been five different times this thing’s come back, and how many different ways have we tried to word this to work with the Planning Commission to come up with some sort of compromise?” Councilmember Waring said, “First, we went back with a 60%. They said ‘no’. Then, we said 65%. They said ‘no’. Then, we said simple majority. They said ‘no’. So, we’ve been back and forth.” Councilmember Griffin said, “Exactly, and my point there is that we keep trying to make a compromise with them, and they go against us every single time. This time, they made the suggestion and then unanimously disapproved it. Something’s got to give here, and it just doesn’t seem fair. Like you said, we’re elected to serve our people, and then we approve the Planning Commission. There’s no reason why they should have more authority than we do. We keep trying to work with them, and they’re not going to, so we have to come up with something.” Mayor Tecklenburg recognized Councilmember Lewis. Councilmember Lewis said, “I’ve sat here and listened. Many times, we’ve been accused of trying to override the Planning Commission and take their powers away. I’ve been sitting here for 23 years, and I can’t think of five times I can remember this City Council overriding the Planning Commission on anything. They are here at the pleasure of City Council. We appointed them. They do a good job, and I don’t think that we’re trying to take their authority from them. But, we have a responsibility as the Board of Directors of this City to make sure, that if something comes before  City Council December 18, 2018 Page 10 this Council that we need to override, we need to override it. You look at, last week a budget was presented. The Mayor has authority to present his budget, but the Council felt that there was a different budget that they could present. They presented it, and we didn’t vote on the Mayor’s budget. We voted on the Ad Hoc Committee budget, but it only took seven people. He’s the Mayor of this City, so why should the Planning Commission have more authority than the Mayor has? It only takes seven people to override the Mayor, and it would have taken 10 people to override the Planning Commission. Something’s wrong. It just doesn’t seem right, so I think that we need to change this and go with this recommendation and get this behind us.” Mayor Tecklenburg recognized Councilwoman Jackson. Councilwoman Jackson said, “Thank you. I especially thank Councilmember Waring because I’ve discussed this with you more than once. I am going to vote along with this new iteration of the definition of the super majority, but I do think that we have begun an opportunity to get back to, sort of, the basics of why we have the Planning Commission and then elected body government. I think we’ve gone astray in recent years in making most of the decisions that the actual Planning Commission end up voting on pretty pro forma. They have not been encouraged to take on the full depth and breadth of their own authority to be making recommendations to us for improvements to our Zoning Code and ordinances for land use, in particular. I think that’s the result of maybe many different reasons, but I think we made a really good start. I didn’t realize, when I was sort of insisting that we table a lot of the rezonings that we have on our deferred agenda, I didn’t realize when I was asking for a joint work session, along with a couple of the other Planning Commissioners, that that had never happened in the history of the City. I mean, that makes no sense. We’re supposed to be working as a well-oiled machine. They understand the Code. They understand the rulings that are coming before them. They can determine that things are not working correctly, based on the fact that they’re not being empowered to use any decision- making opportunities that they have. They can come to us for changes in the Code and Regulations, and we can say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. That’s how you evolve into a much better process that is responsive to the era of growth and development that we’ve been experiencing the last decade. So, I’m going to vote for this, but I don’t want us to use this vote as a way to sort of put the Planning Commission back in their box. This is not a contest. This should be a collaboration and a cooperation between two bodies that are very important to the current and future of the City. So, I think we need to have another work session. I’ve been talking to the Mayor and encouraging him on those lines. We identified several items that were on our ‘hoped for’ agenda that are going to need to be well-thought and worked through. So, I would like us to continue that process and get the most out of each of our authorities. So, thank you very much for bringing this to our attention.” Mayor Tecklenburg recognized Councilmember Mitchell. Councilmember Mitchell said, “Yes, Mr. Mayor, and Councilmembers, I know, as it was stated that we have been going back and forth on this for a long time. It’s very seldom that Council, as it was stated, overrides the Planning Commission. They are volunteers which we elect, and we love them. We love volunteers, but I have not seen anywhere I’ve been, that volunteers have more power, more authority, than elected officials. We are out there, each one of us here has approximately 10,000 to 12,000 people in their district to represent. We are out in this community all of the time hearing different problems that they’re running into, flooding, this and that. We are hearing all of this. The Planning Commission is there to make a decision, but they’re not hearing all of that information. They’re not in the street every day. They’re not out in that community like we are, but they’re making the decisions on what they’re getting in front of them on paper. But, we go out and do a lot of ground work to find out if it’s true, if the fact is going on, along with the  City Council December 18, 2018 Page 11 staff and what the staff is giving us. Planning Commission is going to receive some information, and they’re going to make a decision from what they are seeing on the paper in front of them, but we are out there on the ground floor of these communities hearing and seeing the problems that are out there and making decisions. That is my dilemma and my problem with this when this was being sent back and forth. ‘How are these volunteers going to tell me, as an elected official, and the oath we took, that they are not going to do this?’ I have never understood this, never did. We need them, as I stated, volunteers, because they’re volunteering. We are volunteering too, for me, all of the work we are putting into this Council. We are not just coming to meetings every second and fourth Tuesday. We are out in the community. We have neighborhood meetings. We have all of the other meetings we are going to. It’s just like a full-time job. I tell people sometimes, this job on Council works me harder than I work my regular job, and worked 33 years as a certified housing counselor. People have got to understand that just because you’re sitting on the Board, you don’t have all of the authority. Even on Council, we don’t have it because we have to abide by certain rules and regulations. All we’re saying is that we need to have more leverage to change things if it has to be, if it comes to that point. We’re not going to say that we’re going to change everything that the Planning Commission sends to us, or override it. But, just because something has been in place for thirty years, or one hundred years, that doesn’t mean it’s right. The City has changed. I didn’t want the City to change the way it is. This is my home. I’ve been here for 70 years, but it’s changed, so I have to go along with the changes that have been made. It’s changed, so we have to change with the time too, that’s all I’m saying. We are making changes for the better, and I believe it’s for the better, because we are not always going to be on this Council. Some young people are going to be here soon, and they’re not going to take up all these things that we’re taking up.” Mayor Tecklenburg asked, “Would anyone else like to be heard? Councilmember Moody has not spoken.” Mayor Tecklenburg recognized Councilmember Moody. Councilmember Moody said, “I’m going to support this, and I’ve been in support of it all along. To me, it’s a little more insidious than you all are talking about, because the Planning Commission, by a vote of 3-2, can deny something. They can have just five of their nine present, and they can deny something, and then we have to have this super-super majority. I just think these rules are wrong. As a matter of fact, I don’t know where this might go. I’d be interested in having a lawsuit or something to take the Attorney General, sue ourselves, as I don’t know how we get a Resolution on this, just find ourselves guilty. But, I think that we might need to go outside and look for legal counsel and say ‘Hey, we need some kind of a ruling on this’, and proceed.” Mayor Tecklenburg recognized Councilmember Griffin. Councilmember Griffin said, “Sorry, there’s one more thing that I meant to mention that I didn’t before. I do want to say that I absolutely agree with what you said, that we cannot lock the Planning Commission up in a box. They’re one of our most important entities, as a City. But, at the same time, Councilman Mitchell, you’re absolutely right; we’re the last line of defense. It comes to us very last, and if we approve it, or we don’t, we’re the ones who have to answer the questions. We’re the ones that are on the ballot every four years, and to think that we have to get ten votes to override somebody who came before us, I think that’s ludicrous. We’re going to be the ones that have to answer the questions and if we feel, as a Council, as an elected official, that the decision was not made correctly by the Planning Commission, it should take a simple majority to overrule that. Thanks.”  City Council December 18, 2018 Page 12 Mayor Tecklenburg recognized Councilmember Moody. Councilmember Moody said, “Let me ask one more question. I think one of our lawyers could answer it. This ordinance was put in place by a Resolution or Ordinance of City Council, was it not?” Ms. Herdina said, “I’m going to defer to Chip because he’s looked at the history of this.” Councilmember Moody said, “We passed this ordinance, we approved this ordinance, and I’m not so sure exactly what the history has been. Maybe Chip can fill us in. I know at some point, there were 16 members of Council, and it went from Alderman to City Councilmember, and I’m not sure exactly how this occurred, but it’s in an ordinance, right?” Mr. McQueeney said, “Yes, sir. It’s in the Zoning Ordinance.” Ms. Herdina said, “It’s in the Zoning Ordinance.” Councilmember Moody said, “Okay. Who can pass an ordinance? City Council is the only one who can pass an ordinance, so if we can pass it, why can’t we unpass it? But then, be held hostage by anybody.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Because it’s the Zoning Ordinance. Is that correct?” Mr. McQueeney said, “Yes, sir. Well, there’s case law that basically says you can delegate, as long as you retain the final approval authority, and there’s one state, I don’t remember which it is, that actually requires unanimous decision to overturn a Planning Commission by State Law. But, as long as you maintain the right to finally approve or disapprove the ordinance, you can sort of delegate that authority to require a super majority requirement, if you would like to. The ordinance was originally adopted, I believe there was a Zoning/Planning Commission established initially. Then, in 1931, our first Zoning Ordinance was adopted based a study done by a firm out of Pittsburgh. The current ordinance is the same as it was in 1931. It was adopted by City Council on recommendation of that Planning/Zoning Commission in 1931. Pennsylvania actually has a State law, the exact same provision we have in our ordinance now. They still have it. In 1999, to kind of go up a little bit, after the Conference of Planning and Zoning Enabling Act was passed by the State, City Council actually, after review and approval by the Planning Commission, again reenacted and changed its whole Zoning Ordinance and kept this provision in. So, it was actually reenacted in 1999, as well. That’s the history.” Councilmember Waring said, “When we had the joint workshop, one of the questions I put, I think we do need to note that it was a unanimous vote, but two members were absent at the Planning Commission when they voted on this, Commissioner Ravi Sanyal, and Commissioner Dr. Elise Davis McFarland. With that said, one of the questions at the work session I brought up, I pointed out, as I did to you all, that this is particularly punitive on small business people. Now, if you’re hurtful to small business people, you hurt small business and women and minority-owned businesses. The two go hand in hand, and you say ‘Why do you say that’? Because we don’t have Fortune 500 women and minority owned businesses in Charleston. But, when I asked the question of the Planning Commission, you are not really being effectual on the large businesses or the Fortune 500 businesses, you’re being very effective on small business owners. What is the reason that we want to be that effective on small business people that are coming forward and asking for change? Every Planning Commission member was there. Nobody said anything. Nobody answered that. What is the reason? So, I pose that same question to you, Mr. Mayor, and out of respect, I’m going to ask for a roll call vote, because this is definitely anti-small  City Council December 18, 2018 Page 13 business. So, I would like to hear, because I don’t see all of these small business proposals that are voted down. We need to encourage small business proposals. Why? Because small business employees more people in America than any other single form of business in the United States, and that is a fact. So, I rest my case, if you will, and I’d like to hear from my colleagues. Why do we want small business people, who cannot afford to hire the attorneys, the engineers, and the consultants, to have that hurdle? Thank you.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “I would just like to share, I plan to vote against the motion. We had a wonderful joint session with the Planning Commission just last week. It pulls at my common sense heartstring when you mentioned, Councilmember Moody, that a vote 3-2, and that it requires our super majority to override them. In this case, the vote, even though two were absent, admittedly, was unanimous by the Planning Commission. It was clear, from our discussion at our joint meeting the other day, it was clear to me, even though they didn’t take another vote. I don’t think we turned anybody’s opinion with the conversation that occurred here. So, I honestly think we could do a better job. I know this has been to us a number of times, and you all want to be done with it. But, perhaps there’s some compromise where, if they have a split decision with a simple majority vote, that Council could suffice with a simple majority. But, in this case, they had a unanimous vote with all present. Let me share, that as we had earlier this evening, with these public hearings, and almost always they involve some rezoning matter that has always gone to the Planning Commission. What gets reported by our staff, and we all, at least my ears, perk up, ‘Well, how did the Planning Commission vote on this?’ We respect their opinion. Yes, they’re volunteers, and God bless them for the countless hours they volunteer in service to our City. But, they are there to make informed decisions, and by their service on that Commission, as you served, Councilmember Waring, for 15 years, you learn a lot, you gain expertise. Many of them are chosen specifically because of the expertise that they have. So, we honor their judgement and their recommendations to this Council. I think of that often when we have these public hearings on these matters. So, this Zoning Ordinance that was put in place in 1931, I’m not married to never changing it, but I think it’s a system that is not broken. Since I’ve been Mayor, I only recall a few cases where we even disagreed with the Planning Commission. When that occurred, we got it, and we overrode them. One case was with the Sergeant Jasper. Another was a case where Council wanted to entitle a property up on King Street to give them a little more height, and the Planning Commission was against it. We came together as a group and overrode the Planning Commission. So, we have that authority, and I believe they give this City a certain amount of checks and balances, which is a good thing in government. So, until I’m convinced we can do a better job at compromise, I plan to vote against it. I think everybody’s had their say. Can we call the question?” The Clerk called a roll call vote. Councilmember White said, “Nay”; Councilmember Shealy said, “Aye”; Councilmember Lewis said, “Aye”; Councilmember Mitchell said, “Aye”; Councilmember Wagner said, “Aye”; Councilmember Gregorie said, “Aye”;  City Council December 18, 2018 Page 14 Councilmember Waring said, “Aye”; Councilmember Seekings said, “Nay”; Councilmember Shahid said, “Nay”; Councilmember Griffin said, “Aye”; Councilmember Moody said, “Aye”; Councilwoman Jackson said, “Aye”; Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Nay.” On a motion of Councilmember Gregorie, seconded by Councilmember Griffin, City Council voted to consider giving second reading to Item E-9. The motion failed 4 to 9. The vote was not unanimous. Councilmembers Shealy, Lewis, Mitchell, Wagner, Gregorie, Waring, Griffin, Moody, and Jackson voted in favor the motion. Councilmember Waring said, “Mayor.” Mayor Tecklenburg recognized Councilmember Waring. Councilmember Waring said, “I would like to put a motion on the floor that Council seeks outside legal opinion on this because I really believe it puts our staff in a precarious position. They work at your pleasure, and they are trying to give advice to opposing parties and to me, inherently, that’s a conflict of interest. I still don’t understand why we have to get approval, why the elected body has to get approval from a non-elected body. I’d like to put the motion on the floor that we seek an outside legal opinion.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “I’ll second that motion. Any discussion?” On a motion of Councilmember Waring, seconded by Mayor Tecklenburg, City Council voted unanimously to seek an outside legal opinion regarding Agenda Item E-9. Councilmember Gregorie said, “Mayor, before we move forward, I think it’s Machiavelli, The Prince, that talks about power, and that power is never given. It’s always taken. But, it sounds like we’re giving it, and they’re taking it.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Okay, next is our approval of our City Council minutes from November 27th.” On a motion of Councilwoman Jackson, seconded by Councilmember Wagner, City Council voted unanimously to approve the minutes of the November 27th City Council meeting. Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Next, is our Citizen’s Participation Period. We have a few folks. I would ask you all to limit yourselves to two minutes, please. Madam Clerk will call your name, and just please come forward, state your name and address.” The Clerk said, “The first person will be Mohammed Idris, followed by Judge Arthur McFarland, Harriet Reavis, Becki McSwain, Frank Conrad Russen, Gail Lansing, and Anthony Bryant.”  City Council December 18, 2018 Page 15 1. Mohammed Idris said Councilmember Gregorie said at the last Council meeting a great deal needed to be given to the City in the sense of they were voting for the staff, but not the tools of the staff. A fire took place two days later on Addison Street, an 82- year old man died in the fire, and the fire hydrant did not work. The firemen had to hook up the hoses down the street, so that may have caused the man to die, and the City needed to check that out. He thanked Councilmember Gregorie and then asked Council not to drink on Christmas. 2. The Honorable Arthur McFarland, Co-President of the Charleston Area Justice Ministry (CAJM), along with Reverend Jeremy Rutledge, said they were there on behalf of the 29 congregations of CAJM to thank Council. Over two and a half years ago, CAJM came to Council and asked for a racial bias audit of the Police Department, and Council voted unanimously to conduct the audit. Now was the last step in the effort, which was to approve the firm CNA to conduct the audit. This was a giant step toward improving police/community relations in the City, so they wanted to thank Council for the investment. They expected to reap tremendous returns for the citizens and those visiting the City. In particular, he thanked the Committee chaired by Councilmember Shahid, as they sat through those meetings and witnessed the diligence they showed in selecting the firm. They also thanked Chief Reynolds who showed his support for the audit and the necessity of doing it. With regard to their Community Problems Assembly (CPA), CAJM selected transportation as their 2019 issue. Their Research Committee was narrowing their focus on the particular problem or issue and the best practice that they would be bringing before Council and other public officials to address in 2019. They invited Council to come to the Nehemiah Action, which was where they made their final decision, on May 6th at 7:00 p.m. at Mt. Moriah Baptist Church. He said Council had acted in the best interest of everyone in the City. 3. Harriet Reavis, President of the Marlborough Neighborhood Association, said Marlborough was the home of the Maybank Tennis Center on James Island. She said their concern was drainage and flooding. She thanked Council for funding the Folly Road Central Park Drainage Study in the 2018 Budget which had not begun yet, but would be carried over into the 2019 Budget. She said for neighborhoods to benefit from the expenditure of tax dollars for the drainage study, they needed the results of the study, implementation of ideas, and best practices for storm water management before developments like the Central Park Cluster received final approval from TRC. They were not anti-development, but they asked Council to figure out a way to pause on new developments in their area until the study was completed and implemented. They asked Council for responsible development. She thanked Council for their service. 4. Becki McSwain said she was following up on behalf of all of the residents from their neighborhood, as well as neighborhoods around them on James Island. They were small, but she thought their cause represented many areas of older, established neighborhoods that were being impacted by some of the bigger cluster developments that had been approved. The one that concerned them now would affect not just their neighborhood, but many neighborhoods around them. They have a chance if Council could help them by pausing on that development until the drainage study was complete. The Planning Department told them they were next after the DuWap Study  City Council December 18, 2018 Page 16 was completed, and it made sense to not put the cart before the horse. She asked why an issue should be created if the study said they had to spend a lot of money to go back and undo what the development had caused. She thanked Council and asked that they make sure there was plenty of stormwater funding for James Island. 5. Anthony G. Bryant said Criminal discovery abuse and/or prosecutorial abuse was real in America. Rand Paul stated with Donald Trump that prosecutorial abuse was real. He stated if you were poor, do not get into any trouble because you did not have any money to get out of it. He stated that they could have all of the audits they wanted but just to pay the fees across the street was $400. If one looked at the census data in the area, who could pay $400 for a case or an appearance? If one didn’t make an appearance, he said it was called interlocutory. He said, ‘interlocutory meant mistrial, and if one was disobedient to the court, they could be arrested. The premise of the State was the 1895 Constitution. All of the good deeds may be good deeds, but without dealing with the premise of the 1895 Constitution, things would remain the same in terms of race in South Carolina. He said the court system in America was about prosecutorial abuse of African Americans. Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Thank you, sir. Did we miss anyone who would like to be heard?” No one else asked to speak. Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Alright. So, next up is our Committee Reports. I believe the only one we have this evening is our Committee on Ways and Means.” Councilmember White said, “I move for adoption of the report.” Councilmember Mitchell said, “Second.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Is there any discussion?” Mayor Tecklenburg recognized Councilwoman Jackson. Councilwoman Jackson said, “Mayor, I don’t have any discussion, but I thought in light of the, what I would consider, very important approval that we made at Ways and Means that we’re about to corroborate with our vote now on contracting for the Police Audit, maybe we could hear just a snip it of a report from Councilmember Shahid as the Chairman of the Public Safety and the Committee that selected the consulting team that’s going to do the audit. We understand that this was a very cooperative and passionate effort on behalf of many citizens for us to do this. I do salute you, Mayor, as allowing yourself to be open to the opportunity and then to our new Chief Reynolds for picking up that ball and eagerly carrying it. So, I do think we have a lot to be proud of, that we’re going to start on a venture that will serve our community well. So, can you just tell us, Councilmember Shahid, why you picked this group?” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “If it’s the pleasure of Council, and he keeps it brief.” Councilmember Shahid said, “Yes, I will keep it brief. I just want to echo Judge McFarland’s comments about the makeup of the Committee. We started to expand and include some officers and some minority members on this Selection Committee, and I agree with the classification that it was very deliberative. We were meticulous, we went through, and we  City Council December 18, 2018 Page 17 reviewed the candidates, the companies that came forward, on their interviews. The questions that we asked them, I thought, were very thorough and very deep. Their presentations were very good. Then, we narrowed it down to three companies, and there was a long process to negotiate, I think, the contract to where we are right now. So, I appreciate the comments from Judge McFarland, and I appreciate the work that our Committee put into this thing. It was very long and very involved. That was just the beginning part of it, so we’re finally getting to the start of this process, and I think we’re looking at eight months of that contract extending.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Alright. Thank you. Councilmember Jackson.” Councilwoman Jackson said, “No, I just wanted to know how long.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Is that satisfactory?” Councilwoman Jackson said, “Yes. Thank you.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Okay. Is there any other discussion on the Ways and Means Report?” The Clerk said, “Mayor, just to ensure that it’s on the record for some people, we’re also approving and giving first reading to those ordinances that are connected to the Ways and Means agenda.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Absolutely.” On a motion of Councilmember White, seconded by Councilmember Mitchell, City Council voted unanimously to adopt the Committee on Ways and Means Report as presented: ---INSERT WAYS AND MEANS REPORT--- (Bids and Purchases (Police Department: Approval to establish a contract in the amount of $158,556.26 for a Racial Bias Audit of the Charleston Police Department with the CNA Corporation, 3003 Washington Blvd, Arlington, VA 22201 (Budget Finance and Revenue Collections: Approval of the Amended 2019 State Accommodations Tax Budget (Budget Finance and Revenue Collections: Approval of the Amended 2019 Hospitality Fee Budget (Approval of Year 2019 proposed Stormwater Utility Budget (Office of Cultural Affairs: Approval to apply for $5,000 in funding from the Walmart Foundation Community Grant Program. Funds will be used to support outreach and festival programs off of the peninsula during the 2019 Piccolo Spoleto Festival. No City match is required. (Office of Cultural Affairs: Approval to accept funding from the Gaylord & Dorothy Donnelley Foundation Lowcountry Artistic Vitality Grant in the amount of $60,000 to support programming of OCA Festivals through 2020. Due to time constraints, the grant conditions form was submitted on November 30, 2018. No City match is required. (Parks-Capital Projects: Approval of Louis Waring, Jr. Senior Center Change Order #14 to the Construction Contract with Howell & Howell Contractors, Inc. in the amount of $48,668.56 for the repainting of the Nichiha outside panels to match the doors and gutters and the installation of a 2” conduit for site lighting and street lights. Approval of Change Order #14 will result in a $48,668.56 increase to the Construction Contract with Howell & Howell Contractors, Inc. (from $8,012,491.97 to $8,061,160.53) The funding  City Council December 18, 2018 Page 18 sources for this project are: 2012 General Fund Reserves, 2013 General Fund Reserves, 2014 General Fund Reserves and Capital Contributions from Roper St. Francis. (Public Service: Approval of Ashley Hall Manor Drainage Improvement Change Order #1 with Lowcountry Sitework, LLC, in the amount of $5,600 for the rebuilding of an inlet to connect to the proposed outfall pipe and the use of flowable fill to close an existing driveway culvert. Approval of Change Order #1 will increase the Construction Contract by $5,600 (from $245,000 to $250,600). Funding for this project is from the Drainage Fund. (Public Service: Approval of Spring-Fishburne US 17 Phase 4 Fee Amendment #17 with Davis and Floyd in the amount of $505,688 to include additional design elements moved from Division IV, project enhancements, design revisions due to as-built conditions and other ancillary items, value engineering, mitigation support, and program administration. Fee Amendment #17 will increase the Phase 4 portion of the overall Professional Services Contract by $505,688 (from $879,065 to $1,384,753). The funding source for this work is the State Infrastructure Bank (SIB), the Drainage Fund, and the King Street Gateway TIF. (DEFERRED) (Public Service: Approval of Spring-Fishburne US 17 Phase 4 Fee Amendment #18 with Davis and Floyd in the amount of $6,831,772 to provide construction engineering and inspection (CEI) services to support the construction of the Phase 4 pump station wet wall and outfall. Fee Amendment #18 will increase the Phase 4 portion of the overall Professional Services Contract by $6,831,772 (from $1,384,753 to $8,722,213). The funding source for this work is the State Infrastructure Bank (SIB), the Drainage Fund, and the King Street Gateway TIF. (DEFERRED) (Public Service: Approval of Spring-Fishburne US 17 Phase 4 Construction Contract with Conti Construction, Inc., in the amount of $51,933,757 to construct the Pump Station, Wet Wall, and Outfall of the Spring-Fishburne Drainage Project. With the approval of the project budget, Staff is authorized to award and/or amend contracts less than $40,000, to the extent contingency funds exist in the Council Approved budget. The Construction Contract will obligate $51,933,757 of the $65,909,935.70 project budget. The funding sources for this work are the State Infrastructure Bank (SIB) ($39,000,000), King Street Gateway TIF ($8,500,000) and the Drainage Fund. ($18,409,935.70). (DEFERRED) (Public Service: Approval of Spring-Fishburne Drainage Improvements Phase 3 Change Order #5 to the Construction Contract with Jay Dee Construction in the amount of $397,558.02 with the funds coming from the Owner’s Contingency Cash Allowance resulting in a $0.00 Change Order. Change Order #5 was for negotiated settlement for costs associated with additional work at the Lockwood Drive Access Shaft including mitigation of hydrogen sulfide gas and cement and chemical grouting at the site. Approval of Change Order #5 will obligate $0.00 of the project budget. Costs for the change order ($397,558.02) will come out of the approved Owner’s Contingency Cash Allowance of $2,000,000 (balance of OCCA for the project is $1,259,154.50). (An ordinance to amend Chapter 2, Administration, of the Code of the City of Charleston to provide that expenditures of proceeds from Municipal Hospitality Tax shall be reviewed and approved by the Ways and Means Committee of Council; to provide that expenditures of proceeds from Municipal Accommodations Tax shall be reviewed and approved by the Ways and Means Committee of Council; and to provide that use of funds in the Municipal Hospitality Tax Account shall be subject to City Council approval.  City Council December 18, 2018 Page 19 (Request authority for the Mayor to execute the attached Facilities Use Amendment between the City and Pure Theatre, the term of the Agreement for three years with two (2) additional one (1) year options. Pure Theatre will pay the City facility fee charges on single tickets sold and rental fees for use of facilities. The City will share in cost of improvements to Performance Hall, not to exceed $37,500 over three-year period.(TMS: 460-11-04-155; 134 Cannon Street) (Request authorization of the Easement agreement with South Carolina Electric and Gas Company for installation of underground electrical lines to facilitate the street lights on the new Elliott’s Cut Drive through Bayview Soccer Field Park and electrical needs of the Bennett’s Bluff neighborhood. (TMS: 428-00-00-040, 428-00-00-042 & 428-00-00-043; Fort Johnson Road and Elliott’s Cut Drive) (An ordinance authorizing the Mayor to execute on behalf of the City a Lease between the City, as Landlord, and the International African American Museum, as Tenant, pertaining to property owned by the City Located at 10 Wharfside Street, Charleston, South Carolina 29401, known as the Charleston Maritime Center. (Consider the following annexation: - Three lots on Magnolia Road and Live Oak Avenue (TMS# 418-13-00-057, 418- 13-00-292 and 418-13-00-293) 0.36 acre, West Ashley (District 9). The property is owned by Nathan C. and Michelle P. Hertel. First reading was given to the following bills: An ordinance to amend Chapter 2, Administration, of the Code of the City of Charleston to provide that expenditures of proceeds from Municipal Hospitality Tax shall be reviewed and approved by the Ways and Means Committee of Council; to provide that expenditures of proceeds from Municipal Accommodations Tax shall be reviewed and approved by the Ways and Means Committee of Council; and to provide that use of funds in the Municipal Hospitality Tax Account shall be subject to City Council approval. An ordinance authorizing the Mayor to execute on behalf of the City a Lease between the City, as Landlord, and the International African American Museum, as Tenant, pertaining to property owned by the City Located at 10 Wharfside Street, Charleston, South Carolina 29401, known as the Charleston Maritime Center. An ordinance to provide for the annexation of property known as three lots on Magnolia Road and Live Oak Avenue (0.36 acre) (TMS# 418-13-00-057, 418-13-00-292 and 418-13-00-293), West Ashley, Charleston County, to the City of Charleston, shown within the area annexed upon a map attached hereto and make it part of District 9. The property is owned by Nathan C. and Michelle P. Hertel. Mayor Tecklenburg said, “So, let’s see, next a bill up for third reading is deferred because I believe that item is still going to the Planning Commission, and we will wait until they take action upon it. Next is our bills up for second reading, and first is an ordinance regarding the property on Clements Ferry Road. No, this is the one that we passed earlier during the public hearing I believe, isn’t it?” Councilwoman Jackson said, “No, it’s deferred.”  City Council December 18, 2018 Page 20 Councilmember White said, “No, I think you’re right.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “You’re right. It is the one that’s deferred, 16.4 acres, but it’s not marked as deferred on here.” Councilmember White said, “Well, I think Christopher had mentioned it was--” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “It was deferred by the applicant, correct?” Councilmember White said, “Because I think that it would have probably been after the agenda.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “So, I think since it’s not marked on the agenda, let’s have a motion to defer.” Councilmember Mitchell said, “Motion to defer.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “We’ve got one on the floor. Do we have a second?” Councilmember Wagner said, “Second.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Is there any discussion?” No one asked to speak. On a motion of Councilmember Mitchell, seconded by Councilmember Wagner, City Council voted unanimously to defer the following bill: An ordinance to provide for the annexation of property known as Clements Ferry Road (16.40 acres) (TMS# 275-00-00-005), Cainhoy, Berkeley County, to the City of Charleston, shown within the area annexed upon a map attached hereto and make it part of District 1. The property is owned by IVO Sands LLC. (DEFERRED) Mayor Tecklenburg said, “So, L-1 is deferred.” The Clerk said, “Yes.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “L-2.” Councilmember Griffin said, “Move for approval.” The Clerk said, “Well, do we want to take all of the four together as we normally do?” Councilmember Shahid said, “Can we take L-2, L-3, L-4, and L-5 together?” Councilmember Seekings said, “Can we separate L-4 and L-5, please?” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Yes, I think we do need to separate L-4 and L-5, if you don’t mind.” The Clerk said, “Alright. So, we’re going to do L-2 and L-3?” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “L-2 and L-3, we discussed those earlier. There is an ordinance that goes with them.”  City Council December 18, 2018 Page 21 Councilmember Mitchell said, “So moved.” Councilmember Gregorie said, “Shouldn’t L-3 be ‘as amended’?” Amy Wharton said, “It’s the Municipal Accommodations Tax that we did last time.” Councilmember Gregorie said, “Okay.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “We did not amend that, and then L-2 is just the correction that was made from the year before for 2018.” Councilmember Mitchell said, “L-2 and L-3?” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “We’ve got a motion to approve L-2 and L-3.” Councilmember Lewis said, “Second.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “And a second. Is there any discussion?” No one else asked to speak. On a motion of Councilmember Mitchell, two (2) bills (Items L-2 and L-3) received second reading. They passed second reading on motion by Councilmember Lewis and third reading on motion of Councilmember Seekings. On further motion of Councilmember Mitchell, the rules were suspended, and the bills were immediately ratified as: 2018-165 AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019 GENERATED BY THE MUNICIPAL ACCOMMODATIONS FEE AS REQUIRED BY ORDINANCE NO. 1996-18. 2018-166 AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE DISTRIBUTION OF FUNDS FOR FISCAL YEAR 2019 GENERATED BY THE MUNICIPAL ACCOMMODATIONS FEE AS REQUIRED BY ORDINANCE NO. 1996-56. Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Now, we have L-4 and L-5.” Councilmember Moody said, “Move for approval of L-4 and L-5.” Councilmember Lewis said, “Second.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “We have a second. So, of course, this original budget was presented by myself as Mayor, and it was amended to be the Budget Committee’s recommendations which only varied from the Mayor’s budget by a few items, other than the primary difference being the extra 1.5 mil which brought up the full pay differential for our employees to January 1. So, I would respectfully entertain a motion to include these items on this one page that is balanced, so it would continue to be--” Councilmember Waring said, “So moved.” Councilmember Moody said, “I will second the motion to add those items, the revenue and the expenses or the transfers, I guess.”  City Council December 18, 2018 Page 22 Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Great. We have a motion and a second to add this amendment to the amended budget for L-4 and L-5. Is there any discussion?” No one else asked to speak. On a motion of Councilmember Waring, two (2) bills (Items L-4 and L-5) received second reading. They passed second reading on motion by Councilmember Moody and third reading on motion of Councilmember Mitchell. On further motion of Councilmember Lewis, the rules were suspended, and the bills were immediately ratified as: 2018-167 AN ORDINANCE TO MAKE APPROPRIATIONS TO MEET THE LIABILITIES OF THE CITY OF CHARLESTON FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2019. (AS AMENDED) 2018-168 AN ORDINANCE TO RAISE FUNDS FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 2019 AND TO MEET THE APPROPRIATION OF $224,438,757 AUTHORIZED BY ORDINANCE 2018-167 RATIFIED THE 18TH DAY OF DECEMBER, 2018. (AS AMENDED) The vote was not unanimous. Councilmember Seekings voted nay. Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Now, we’ve got left L-6 and L-7. Are you all good to take those together?” Councilmember Shahid said, “So moved.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Okay. We’ve got a motion to take L-6 and L-7 together.” Councilmember Mitchell said, “Second.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Is there any discussion?” No one asked to speak. On a motion of Councilmember Shahid, two (2) bills (Items L-6 and L-7) received second reading. They passed second reading on motion by Councilmember Mitchell and third reading on motion of Councilmember Gregorie. On further motion of Councilmember Mitchell, the rules were suspended, and the bills were immediately ratified as: 2018-169 AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO EXECUTE, ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF CHARLESTON, A DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY AND 1776, LLC GOVERNING THE DEVELOPMENT OF PROPERTIES OWNED BY 1776, LLC, LOCATED ON JOHNS ISLAND, IN THE CITY OF CHARLESTON, CHARLESTON COUNTY, SOUTH CAROLINA, CONSISTING OF THE FOLLOWING TRACTS: (1) APPROXIMATELY 12.645 ACRES ON RIVER ROAD, DESIGNATED AS TMS NO. 346-00-00-004; (2) APPROXIMATELY 22.91 ACRES ON RIVER ROAD AND MAYBANK HIGHWAY, DESIGNATED AS TMS NO. 346-00-00-076; (3) APPROXIMATELY 4.947 ACRES, BEING A PORTION OF TMS NO. 346-00-00-258; AND (4) APPROXIMATELY 4.389 ACRES, BEING A PORTION OF TMS NO. 346-00-00- 259.  City Council December 18, 2018 Page 23 2018-170 AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING A REVISED FEE SCHEDULE FOR APPLICATIONS INVOLVING THE DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING, PRESERVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY, ACCORDING TO THE FEE SCHEDULE ATTACHED HERETO AND INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE AS EXHIBIT 1. Mayor Tecklenburg said, “So, next, we have one ordinance for first reading to make parking for churches a conditional use within the Conservation and Residential Zoning District.” Councilmember Griffin said, “Move for approval.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “We have a motion to approve. Did we get a second?” Councilwoman Jackson said, “Second.” Mayor Tecklenburg recognized Councilmember Waring. Councilmember Waring said, “I just say, finally, and thank you so much.” There was laughter in the Chamber. Councilmember Griffin said, “It only took a year.” Councilmember Seekings said, “I’m sure it took longer than that.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Good things come to those who wait.” Councilmember Griffin said, “Merry Christmas!” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Do you have more for me to sign?” The Clerk said, “Yes, two. Those are the big ones.” Councilmember Mitchell said, “Did we carry the motion?” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “We haven’t voted yet. Was there any discussion?” No one else asked to speak. On a motion of Councilmember Griffin, seconded by Councilwoman Jackson, City Council voted unanimously to give first reading to the following bill: An ordinance to amend Chapter 54 of the Code of the City of Charleston (Zoning Ordinance) by amending Section 54-206 and Section 54-207 to make parking for churches a conditional use within the Conservation and all Residential Zoning Districts. Mayor Tecklenburg said, “You all pardon me. I get distracted when I’m having to sign these here things, but I’m done.” Councilmember Waring said, “While you’re signing, Mr. Mayor.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Yes, sir.”  City Council December 18, 2018 Page 24 Councilmember Waring continued, “Can we make sure that we communicate this to our religious community, that it’s now an allowed use?” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “We would be happy to do that. I’m proud to announce and, of course, it’s not every church in town, but our Clergy Council that meets on a quarterly basis and gets regular communications from the City on various matters is now at 98 Pastors representing 98 churches in the City. We hope it will be a hundred soon. So, we can easily, with a punch of a button, communicate with those 98, and we’ll ask them to share with their colleagues, as well.” Councilmember Waring said, “Thank you.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “That’s a great deal. So, next, I would like to ask for a motion for us to go into Executive Session to get a Legal update on a recent matter, the annexation lawsuit that went to court. I don’t expect any action to be taken for members of the public and staff who are here. So, effectively, this should be the end of our meeting. We will reconvene to formally end the meeting, but we don’t anticipation any action. So, I want to wish everybody a blessed holy days and holidays.” The Clerk said, “Mayor, Deb Jenkins is retiring.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Deb Jenkins is retiring. Don’t do that. Before we adjourn, could we recognize Ms. Jenkins for her many years of service, particularly this year?” There was applause in the Chamber. Mayor Tecklenburg said, “God bless you.” Deb Jenkins said, “Thank you.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “How many years?” Ms. Jenkins said, “Twenty.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Twenty years of service, and her work on the budget since I’ve been Mayor has been remarkable. So, would you like to address Council?” Ms. Jenkins said, “I just wanted to say thank you all. It’s been a pleasure to serve the citizens and thank you all for the opportunity to serve. It’s been a pleasure. Thank you.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “A job well done.” There was a standing ovation in the Chamber. Mayor Tecklenburg said, “Okay. We’re going to adjourn into the Mayor’s Office right across the hall. Council, can I get the motion to go into Executive Session?” Councilmember Seekings said, “So moved.” Councilwoman Jackson said, “Second.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “We have a second.” On a motion of Councilmember Seekings, seconded by Councilwoman Jackson, City Council voted unanimously to go into Executive Session at 7:02 p.m.  City Council December 18, 2018 Page 25 On a motion of Councilmember Gregorie, seconded by Councilmember Shahid, City Council voted unanimously to come out of Executive Session at 7:42 p.m. Mayor Tecklenburg said, “No action was taken in the Executive Session.” Councilmember Moody said, “Move to adjourn.” Mayor Tecklenburg said, “We are hereby adjourned.” There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 7:42 p.m. Vanessa Turner Maybank Clerk of Council