Crime is another, although Police Chief Chito Walker said the area is already heavily patrolled because of its proximity to King Street. That will not change no matter what goes there, Walker said.
A parking lot is seen at 15 Radcliffe Street is being rezoned to allow a developer to build a parking garage.
Division among council
In February, the city’s Planning Commission unanimously approved the zoning change. But City Council was split when Brumley’s request came before them on March 25.
The 9-3 vote broke along geographic boundaries with the three councilmen — Robert Mitchell, Mike Seekings and William Dudley Gregorie — who represent the peninsula opposing, while Mayor William Cogswell joined the remaining eight council members who represent West Ashley and the islands in favor of the measure. Councilwoman Caroline Parker was absent.
“I cannot support a garage coming into the community,” said Mitchell, who represents the area where the garage would go. “The people we’re talking about coming into that community don’t live in that community. We’re forgetting about the people that live there.”
Seekings said zoning shapes the city and a change like this could change the landscape of a neighborhood. He called the change a “massive up-zoning” from residential to the “densest zoning we can have.”
“We’re choosing one winner against an entire community who came out here to oppose this,” he added.
But their colleagues said their constituents want to be able to enjoy King Street, too. They don’t come downtown often, said Keith Waring, who represents West Ashley but attends church across Radcliffe Street from the proposed parking garage, because of a dearth of parking.
Ross Appel, whose district is just across the Ashley River, called King Street the “economic driver of the city, if not the region.”
“We don’t have some of these other big economic drivers,” he said. “We’ve got King Street — and so goes King Street, goes Charleston.”
The city eliminated parking requirements for new businesses along the busy corridor after the pandemic shutdown lifted in hopes of reviving the commerce there. It worked but left the city without enough parking to accommodate the onslaught. City officials appear happy to have a private developer fill the gap.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
