New Rural Zoning could Affect Property Values on Lady's Island SC and St. Helena Island SC

March 11, 2009 - PRLog -- A change to Beaufort SC County rural zoning regulations is presently before County Council for consideration. The purpose of the proposed change is to provide owners of smaller pieces of rural property with additional flexibility as to how they can use of their land.  For property owners of lots over 10 acres the new regulation will allow one additional house to be built than is authorized under the present (one house per three acres) rural zoning. If the new zoning regulation is passed into law it will eliminate rural residential zoning and those with
property having such zoning could see a reduction in authorized density. The following chart is provided to show the impact which the proposed new zoning would have on rural real estate in Lady's Island SC.  To view real estate on Lady's Island SC please go to http://www.lowcountryproperties.com/ladys-island.php

It should be noted that to avoid manipulation of this new regulation it will apply only to lots of record as of the day the new regulations are approved. This is to avoid future subdivision of large parcels of land into smaller lots to take advantage of the increased
density.  It does not take a PhD in math to see that the impact of this regulation on an area,
such as Lady’s Island, is directly proportional to the number of small lots existing in the rural area at the time the new regulation goes into effect. On Lady’s Island it would authorize an additional 448 homes in the rural area.  Due to its sensitive environmental nature, Coosaw Island would stay under the present zoning of one per three acres with no increase in density. Coosaw Island will be provided an opportunity to become a community Preservation Area in the future.  "While these changes might promote more homes, it could also hurt home values", says Todd Covington.  

Two areas (Sheldon and St. Helena) are requesting a higher authorized rural density than set forth in the above chart.  From Lady’s Island viewpoint the key area of concern regarding any density increase to either our island or St. Helena is our roads and bridges. Under the new zoning the increase in density for St. Helena Island SC real estate, if approved, would authorize an additional 803 homes if kept at the same level of increase as Lady’s Island or 1,968 additional homes if approved at the increased level being proposed.  Approval of the new rural zoning requires 3 positive (readings) votes by County Council and a public hearing. It has received two of the required positive votes and will be before Council for a final vote in the near future. Lady’s Island County Councilman Paul Sommerville has voted against the new rural zoning due to his concern regarding the stress the additional housing on Lady’s Island and St. Helena would put on Lady’s Island roads and bridges. He is right. Construction of the new bridge has not even started and is projected to barely meet the
2025 traffic load. It does not need the traffic from an additional 2,500 additional homes.  This could dramatically affect Beaufort SC real estate in a negative way".  The current zoning has been in place in accordance with the county growth plan.  Why change it now?, asks Todd Covington.

Todd Covington is the owner of Beaufort South Carolina's top real estate website, http://www.lowcountryproperties.com/ .  He specializes in Fripp Island and Harbor Island real estate.pecializes in the Beaufort

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