Plan Adopted on 1st Reading

On Tuesday night, November 24, 2009, the Beaufort City Council unanimously adopted the Vision Beaufort 2030 Comprehensive Plan. The plan is subject to a 2nd reading to consolidate all amendments recommended by the Planning Commission. They will consider those amendments at their workshop on December 1st.

Also last night, a number of key action items were reported already in progress:

1. The rerouting of US 21 away from Ribault Road to Parris Island Gateway
2. The beginning of a neighborhood plan for the Northwest Quadrant
3. The advancement of a discussion about regionalism including specifically regional governance and urban service delivery.
   

Also on November 24th the Council endorsed a plan to expand the current joint Planning Commission of Beaufort and Port Royal to also include 2 representatives from the County and 1 additional at-large member. The expanded joint planning commission would then have jurisdiction to make recommendations on planning issues to the respective jurisdictions throughout the urban growth boundary adopted in the Northern Beaufort County Regional Plan.

Plan Ready for Adoption by City Council

On November 11, 2009, the Joint Planning Commission recommended approval of the Vision Beaufort 2009 Comprehensive Plan. The revised draft is available for download at the links to the right.

As part of their approval, they also made a series amendments to the current. These changes reflect the Planning Commission's desire that this document is both strong in it language and clear in its intent. The changes to the document are below:

CH 2: The Path Forward

• Clarified population trend data sources and usage (Ch 2 and App B)

CH 5: A Framework for Growth

• Added reference to Port Royal’s sector plan (p.51)
• Clarified Service Providers and their potential roles in the Urban Growth Boundary (p.73)

CH 6: Natural Infrastructure

• Strengthened language regarding the use of TDR in preserving environmental lands

CH 9 Access & Mobility

• Note about the City’s obligation to protect neighborhoods from future regional traffic growth
• Added a new Action Item to establish an on-going multi-jurisdiction transportation planning process (AM 1.1)
• Changed legend in the chart on page 148 from “Recommended” to “Potential” Transportation Solutions
• Added an implementation legend for AM 2.1

CH 11: Serving our Citizens

• Revised Fire Station Map

CH 12: Catalyst Sites

• Clarified language to indicate that the Southside Park illustrations are but one possible outcome as well as added key elements of a planned Master Plan for that area

CH 13: Setting Priorities

• Added a priority to report annually and update every 5 yrs

The City Council has scheduled a public hearing and a vote on the 1st Reading on the final document for Tuesday, November 24th at 6 pm in the Municipal Complex Courtroom.