Standing Committee

PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE Special Meeting Minutes for April 4, 2022 3:00 PM The Planning and Development Committee of Town Council met on April 4, 2022 for a special meeting. The meeting was held in the Annex Training Room of Town Hall, 200 S. Main Street, Summerville, SC. Committee members present included Terry Jenkins, Council District 2; Russ Touchberry, Council District 3; and participating via phone was Bob Jackson, Council District 6. Staff members present included Jessi Shuler, AICP, Director of Planning; Lisa Wallace, Town Administrator; Tim Macholl, Zoning Administrator; Becca Zimmerman, Planner II, and other Town staff. The meeting was called to order at 3:00 PM. Lodging (short term rentals) regulations: Mr. Jenkins briefly explained why this issue is being brought before the Committee, and Ms. Shuler provided more detail regarding some inconsistencies in the use chart in regards to lodging uses, specifically in the N-MX zoning district. Based on the discussion of the lodging uses and the conditions required for approval, the Committee members recommended that staff work on drafting additional conditions for short term rentals and inns in the N-MX zoning district. These conditions should take into account the current use of the property (residential versus commercial) and the current uses of the adjacent properties. Once the language is drafted by staff, it will be emailed to the Committee members for review and then proceed through the ordinance amendment process. Accessory structure regulations: Ms. Shuler then detailed the issues that staff has been encountering with accessory structures since the removal of the size restriction in the UDO amendments that were approved in August. Specifically, the main issues are concerning stormwater runoff onto adjacent properties in relation to the review process, which historically was not as robust for accessory structures due to their limited size. Ms. Shuler explained that accessory structures’ sizes were limited even prior to the adoption of the UDO and even in the UDO, the size of ADUs is still restricted. Ms. Zimmerman noted that this discrepancy provides a loophole for building a larger ADU after the fact. Ms. Shuler stated that staff recommends that a size restriction be put back in place for accessory structures, and provided some suggested language that included exceptions based on lots size and distance from property lines. Following discussion of the suggested language, the Committee members recommended that language be drafted that differentiates between accessory structures on lots less than an half acre in size, between an half acre and an acre, and over an acre in size. Once the language is drafted by staff, it will be emailed to the Committee members for review and then proceed through the ordinance amendment process. Following no additional discussion, the meeting was adjourned at 3:47 PM on a motion by Mr. Touchberry, and a second by Mr. Jenkins. Respectfully submitted, Jessi Shuler, AICP April 7, 2022 Director of Planning