On January 11, a Kingstree Planning Commission Public Hearing was held for Tom Britton, Waccamaw Regional Council of Governments Assistant Planning Director, who presented an update on the city’s comprehensive plan. For over a year Britton has been working with the Kingstree Planning Commission to up-date the plan, which was first adopted in 1999.
A comprehensive plan is a 10-year plan that contains data on the city, existing conditions and an estimation or projection as to what the future holds for the town. It also sets out policies or statements from the council or the commission as to what desired growth should be within a decade. A viable comprehensive plan unifies goals and objectives through assign-ed groups who are in charge of reviewing development permits, zoning regulations, and making recommendations to revisions and additions to the regulations, among other issues. It also is a review criteria for zoning ordinance and zoning map and to meet state requirements, the plan must be updated every 10 years.
The town has run into problems enforcing certain codes such as landscaping, signage and other issues involving esthetics. Britton said one of the concerns of the 1999 plan was a lack of legislative enactment necessary to address those issues. “In order to have zoning requirements which address certain things there needs to be some reverence in the plan,” he said. “The 1999 plan didn’t give a lot of meat or substance in what was trying to be accomplished. The 2009 plan will provide enough options as it relates to corridor planning, specifically Long-street St., so you can address those issues.”
A major element added to the plan was priority investment, which incorporates capital projects, planning projects and other improvements foreseen over the next 10 years. “This is one that I think will have potentially some big time benefit for the town,” said Britton. “And the way this element is designed is for council or the planning commission to annually review and make amendments or add to as you go through time.” Over the years, Kingstree has performed several annexation studies and one of the requirements for annexation is a feasibility study. If the town chose to annex a parcel or a sizable area outside the city limits, those areas must be addressed in the plan because the plan is required to have zoning in those areas. Having included this in the updated plan, said Britton, will save time and money. The next step toward adoption of the plan will include an announced public hearing.