(A) Purpose of the overlay district. This overlay district is intended to provide development regulations consistent with those of Charleston County; to protect the sweetgrass basket-making culture by allowing their sale through traditional roadside stands; to preserve the rural character of the community; to provide interconnectivity between and within developments; and to provide an access management plan for safe and efficient traffic flow.
(1) Residential area. The Residential area is intended to maintain the large-lot, low-density development that has been the tradition and is characteristic of lots in the area at the time of original adoption of this overlay district.
(2) Old Georgetown Road Loop office area. This area is intended solely for low-intensity professional office uses having minimal impact on adjacent residences due to limited hours of operation and traffic generated primarily by automobiles rather than delivery trucks, but also fulfilling the intent for access management by encouraging access from Old Georgetown Road and shared access if from U.S. Highway 17 North.
(3) Village Commercial Area, from Old Georgetown Road to Hamlin Road. This area is intended to allow low-intensity commercial uses, and to provide safe, convenient, and efficient traffic movement by utilizing secondary roads and creating interconnectivity among developed parcels, thereby reducing the need for traffic trips onto U.S. Highway 17 North.
(4) Village Commercial Area, from Hamlin Road to Porchers Bluff Road. This area is intended to allow appropriate commercial uses in conjunction with the existing residential uses and to provide safe, convenient, and efficient traffic movement by implementing an appropriate access management plan, thereby reducing the need for vehicle trips onto U.S. Highway 17 North.
(B) Effect of the overlay district. The regulations of this section apply, in addition to the underlying (base) zoning district regulations, to impose different development rules for properties within the overlay district. In case of conflict between the regulations of this section and other regulations, the regulations of this section shall control. Where no SB-OD regulation is stated, the regulations of the underlying base zoning district and all other applicable provisions shall apply. These district regulations are intended to be consistent with similar regulations within the town.
(C) Boundaries of the overlay district. The properties subject to the SB-OD regulations are all those within the area generally bounded by a portion of the Isle of Palms Connector, U.S. Highway 17 North, Porchers Bluff Road, and Rifle Range Road, as more accurately depicted on the official zoning map. The SB-OD is further distinguished by a Residential Area, an Old Georgetown Road Loop Area, and two Village Commercial Areas, which are more fully described below and depicted within the SB-OD on the official zoning map.
(1) Residential area. Properties included in the Residential area are all those not included in the Old Georgetown Road Loop Area or in the Village Commercial Area.
(2) Old Georgetown Road Loop office area. Properties included in the Old Georgetown Road Loop office area are those located between U.S. Highway 17 North and Old Georgetown Road.
(3) Village Commercial Area, from Old Georgetown Road to Hamlin Road. This Village Commercial Area applies to the area 500 feet in depth from the edge of the right-of-way on properties having frontage on U.S. Highway 17 North.
(4) Village Commercial Area, from Hamlin Road to Porchers Bluff Road. This Village Commercial Area corresponds to a community node as depicted on the Comprehensive Plan Framework Plan. The recommended commercial use applies to the area 500 feet in depth, from the edge of the right-of- way on properties having frontage on U.S. Highway 17 North.
(D) Sweetgrass basket stands.
(1) Sweetgrass basket stands shall be allowed on all lots and within all buffers and rights-of- way, to the extent the entity having jurisdiction over encroachments to the right-of-way extends permission;
(2) All sweetgrass basket stands shall utilize safe ingress and egress; and
(3) Parking for sweetgrass basket stands shall be located in an area furthest from the roadway.
(E) Uses. As an overlay district, permitted uses shall be those of the underlying use district classification, except as modified herein.
(1) Residential uses.
(a) Uses in the Residential Area shall be all those as provided in the CC, Community Conservation District, including accessory, conditional, and special exception uses, subject to their respective approval processes; and
(b) Lots in the Old Georgetown Road Loop Office Area or Village Commercial Areas may utilize uses provided in the CC, Community Conservation District, including accessory, conditional and special exception uses, subject to those approval processes.
(2) Commercial uses.
(a) In order to maintain the intent of the Old Georgetown Road Loop Office Area, commercial uses shall be limited to those permitted in the LO, Limited Office, zoning district, including accessory, conditional, and special exception uses, subject to those approval processes;
(b) Hours of operation for uses located within the Old Georgetown Road Loop Office Area shall be limited to between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m.;
(c) Except for hotels, hours of operation for uses located within the Village Commercial Areas shall be limited to between 6:00 a.m. and 11:00 p.m.; and
(d) Any use involving the sale or dispensing of fuel shall require special exception approval pursuant to the provisions of § 156.411(A)(3)(a) through (e).
(F) Lot, yard, height, and coverage requirements. Development standards for the Sweetgrass Basket Overlay District shall be in accordance with the following Development Standards Table.
DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS TABLE | ||||
ZONING DISTRICT
| ||||
SB-OD Lot, Yard & Height Requirements | Residential Area | Old Georgetown Road Loop Office Area | Village Commercial Area, Old Georgetown Road to Hamlin Road | Village Commercial Area, Hamlin Road to Porchers Bluff Road |
DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS TABLE | ||||
ZONING DISTRICT
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SB-OD Lot, Yard & Height Requirements | Residential Area | Old Georgetown Road Loop Office Area | Village Commercial Area, Old Georgetown Road to Hamlin Road | Village Commercial Area, Hamlin Road to Porchers Bluff Road |
Lot Requirements | ||||
Minimum lot size | 12,500 sq. ft. | None | None | None |
Minimum lot width | 80 ft. | 75 ft. | 75 ft. | |
Minimum lot depth | 110 ft. | |||
Maximum building size (per building) | 3,000 gross sq. ft. of floor area | 10,000 sq. ft. | 15,000 sq. ft. | |
Maximum building size (per developable acre) | 10,000 sq. ft. | 15,000 sq. ft. | ||
Front | 30 ft. | Equivalent to required buffers | Equivalent to required buffers | Equivalent to required buffers |
Rear | 30 ft. | |||
Side - combined | 25 ft. | |||
Side - individual | 10 ft. | |||
Maximum Building Coverage and Height Requirements | ||||
Building coverage | 35% | |||
Maximum building height in all areas is 35 feet, except as provided in § 156.102. | ||||
(G) Bufferyard requirements. To help fulfill preservation of the sweetgrass basket-making craft, planting and cultivation of all grasses used in their making is encouraged.
(1) Old Georgetown Road Loop Office Area.
(a) A 20-foot Type B buffer is required along the Old Georgetown Road right-of- way;
(b) Type B land use buffers shall be required pursuant to § 156.201; and
(c) Fencing may be required to screen adjacent or surrounding residential uses, subject to the Design Review Process.
(2) Village Commercial Area, from Old Georgetown Road to Hamlin Road.
(a) A minimum of a 50-foot vegetated right-of-way buffer shall be required along U.S. Highway 17 North. For each 100 linear feet, six canopy trees, ten understory trees, and 40 shrubs are required, such planting standards as are provided in § 156.200, Landscape Requirements, to be followed. In event of an inconsistency between these two sections, the requirement of the SB-OD shall supersede;
(b) A minimum of a 25-foot Type B buffer shall be required at the rear or adjacent to residential uses; and
(c) Fencing may be required to screen adjacent or surrounding residential uses, subject to the Design Review Process.
(3) Village Commercial Area, from Hamlin Road to Porchers Bluff Road.
(a) A minimum-35-foot, right-of-way buffer shall be required for commercial use properties abutting U.S. Highway 17 North. This buffer will generally correspond to the MPW "Green Line" sewer easement and an additional five feet of width.
1. For each 100 linear feet of frontage, six canopy trees, ten understory trees, and 40 shrubs are required; and
2. Also required, where allowed by the SCDOT, are two street trees with a minimum caliper of six inches, to be planted within the adjoining road right-of-way.
(b) A ten-foot-wide bufferyard, with the required plant material of a 25-foot "Bufferyard E" and an F3 fence structure may be utilized between commercial use property and residential use property.
(c) With the exception of (a) and (b) above, all other bufferyards shall be provided in accordance with the requirements of § 156.201; provided, however, that the width of these bufferyards may be reduced by a maximum of one third of the required width, if the area of all required bufferyards exceeds 30% of the area of the site.
(H) Access.
(1) A minimum 225-foot curb cut separation requirement (measured centerline to centerline) applies to commercial parcels along U.S. Highway 17 North and on streets perpendicular to the highway.
(2) Village Commercial Area, from Hamlin Road to Porchers Bluff Road.
(a) The minimum distance from a street intersection for new residential or commercial use access is 75 feet, measured from the edge of the intersecting roadway to the beginning of the driveway radius. These minimum spacing requirements will be increased if a right-turn deceleration lane is required, and shall equal the length of the turn lane and taper plus an additional distance of 50 feet.
(b) As a condition of nonresidential use zoning/rezoning, a suitable access management plan must be submitted, demonstrating that the 225-foot-driveway-separation requirement can be met. The following techniques may be employed to achieve this result, but the burden of accomplishing the desired effect remains with the developer of the property.
1. Aggregation of parcels.
2. Parallel frontage or backage roads.
3. Shared curb cuts between adjoining properties.
4. Shared access easements between parcels.
(c) Corner lot parcels shall provide access from the side street and not U.S. Highway 17 North.
(I) Commercial site design.
(1) Village Commercial Area, from Old Georgetown Road to Hamlin Road. Site design of one parcel shall include interconnectivity for parking and access with the adjoining parcels, if possible, and stub-out connections for future shared parking and access are required if such interconnectivity cannot be achieved in the current design.
(2) Village Commercial Area, from Hamlin Road to Porchers Bluff Road.
(a) A more rural visual context. The design guidelines of § 156.310 should generally be followed with the emphasis and exceptions provided herein. The intent of the design requirements for this district is to reflect a more rural visual context rather than a suburban or urban look.
1. Therefore, building materials should consist of cementitious siding to give the appearance of wood siding rather than brick or adorned masonry siding, pitch roofs are preferred over flat roofs, and the use of porches are encouraged.
2. Corrugated metal and unadorned masonry may be acceptable as siding material in the proper context.
3. Some examples of the desired treatment are shown below.
(b) Buildings on corner lots. Notwithstanding the provisions of § 156.310(F)(2), buildings located on a corner lot may be set back from U.S. Highway 17 North and designed to address the side street as the primary street, provided that continuous, interconnecting access is provided through the adjoining parcels of the block between side streets.
(Ord. 06092, passed 1-9-07; Am. Ord. 10025, passed 7-14-10; Am. Ord. 11035, passed 5-10-11; Am. Ord. 13004, passed 2-12-13; Am. Ord. 14047, passed 8-12-14)