Adopt James Island moratorium | Editorials

It will take a supermajority of Charleston City Council votes tonight to approve a badly needed six-month moratorium on large new developments on James Island. Council members should not hesitate to lend their wholehearted support.

The Town of James Island unanimously passed a moratorium in May. So did City Council, although the city Planning Commission rejected it in June.

County Council inexplicably has remained largely silent on the issue.

But no one should be under the illusion that a half-year ban on multi-family developments will somehow straighten out the island’s longstanding, growth-related woes in and of itself.

Rather the moratorium is simply an opportunity to do what City Council should have been doing for decades — develop a workable strategy to preserve James Island’s livability and unique character in the face of a booming population.

That strategy must involve infrastructure upgrades, like pushing forward the stalled but crucial Rethink Folly Road plan in cooperation with the Town of James Island, Folly Beach and Charleston County officials.

It must involve a reassessment of the city’s zoning code, which Mayor John Tecklenburg has rightly criticized as an unworkable “one-size fits all.”

It must involve working to preserve green spaces, tree canopies and the natural treasures that make James Island a beautiful place to live and visit.

James Island needs better bike and pedestrian infrastructure, more effective public transportation and improved roads and intersections.

In short, the island needs City Council’s attention. And City Council ought to be willing to devote that attention over the next six months while pressing “pause” on the types of development that James Islanders view as most damaging to the suburban lifestyle that defines their home.

But James Island residents must also acknowledge that the solutions to the area’s most pressing issues will not be quick fixes. Infrastructure improvements take years. A new zoning code will require months of public debate and scrutiny.

Patience will be required. So will a new sense of urgency from council members, Mr. Tecklenburg and city officials. There is no time to waste.

A six-month apartment moratorium won’t fix James Island’s problems. It would, however, demonstrate that City Council takes residents’ worries and concerns seriously. It would be an olive branch to a part of the city too often overlooked in the past. It would be a start.

City Council should pass the moratorium and then immediately get down to the hard work of fixing James Island.