Residents of Charleston’s future suburbs will find them friendlier to walkers and bicyclists with a more coherent neighborhood identity, planners said as the city altered its requirements for new subdivisions. In a community that has long guarded the look and feel of its historic downtown, the rules mark a regulatory step outward into the appearance and design of developments on the suburban fringe.
That step bothers some, who argue that the market — the preferences of buyers — should determine how subdivisions are built, not city planners.
They also note that the requirements might add to the cost of some new homes.
But city officials said the rules, which include requiring sidewalks on both sides of the street and allow narrower streets, will add little to the cost of homes while vastly improving the quality of life in the suburbs.
“This is going to contribute to the livability in subdivisions for all the reasons you can think of,” said City Councilman Robert George. “I think it borders on criminal not to have sidewalks on both sides of a street today.”
Planners said the idea is to copy the example of popular older subdivisions such as Byrnes Downs in nearby West Ashley, as well as newer projects such as the “neotraditional” development on Daniel Island.
The new rules are part of a more thorough overhaul of the city’s 1960s-era zoning ordinance, which planners say fostered the kinds of development of automobile-dependent suburbs the city now wants to discourage.
That effort will unfold later this year and will include a number of public hearings.
The current changes also require that blocks in subdivisions not be longer than 800 feet. That requirement is designed to foster a grid pattern in new suburbs and create a distinct, compact neighborhood feel, said city Zoning Administrator Lee Batchelder.
He said the additional cost of providing the dual sidewalks — the city already requires them on one side of residential streets — will be insignificant. Many developments already include two sidewalks, he added.
Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. said narrower streets — the minimum will drop to 22 feet from 24 feet — will be better for the environment and for areas with drainage problems, as less paved area means less runoff.
He also said the extra expense of dual sidewalks will be at least partially recouped by having to use less asphalt on narrower streets.
Furthermore, planners said, narrower streets help to calm traffic, making pedestrians feel safer.
The rules generated little opposition during a public hearing, although some builders have said they dislike the additional requirements.
Ben Harrison, president of the local Trident Home Builders Association, has said he’s not convinced the market will support the new style of development.
Many homeowners want to live in the kinds of subdivisions that have been the rule for the last few decades, he said.
The only public comment came from Marc Knapp, a West Ashley resident and former candidate for City Council who attends most of council’s meetings.
He said Daniel Island’s narrow streets are difficult to navigate in a car.
“It’s murder if there’s one vehicle parked on the street … you can’t get by,” Knapp said. “Face it, we’re tied to our vehicles.”
But others disagreed with that assessment.
Bill McKenzie, director of development for Daniel Island, said it’s not that hard to get around the island’s neighborhoods, which intentionally were patterned after some downtown areas. He said they are friendly to pedestrians.
