Earlier this year, the city of North Charleston embarked on a herculean effort to rewrite its zoning code – also known as the Unified Development Ordinance (UDO) – for the first time since the city was incorporated in the 1970s. 

Since then, a lot has changed. For example, self-storage facilities and cell towers did not exist back then, which can make the process of constructing these types of structures difficult nowadays. 

At a time when our region is rapidly growing and changing, a new UDO gives the city the chance to write a new rule book for future growth, which will impact North Charleston and the Lowcountry for generations. 

Our team brought city staff and local leaders in the development and construction industries together this week to learn more about the UDO process and provide feedback. 

One of the city’s top priorities with the new zoning code is to address housing affordability. They plan to do this by incentivizing and making it easier to build multifamily housing, also known as “Missing Middle Housing.” This includes duplexes, town homes and other types of housing that fall between single family homes and apartment complexes on the spectrum of residential buildings.

Under the current zoning law, there are only two classifications for housing: R1 and R2. R1 includes single family homes. R2 encompasses everything else. With additional classifications, the city will have more tools to develop walkable neighborhoods and build more affordable housing units.

Another core component of the new UDO is transit-oriented development (TOD). As construction on the Lowcountry Rapid Transit bus line begins in 2027, the ability for the city to facilitate development along this route could be transformative. By concentrating growth along this corridor, which is already developed and has existing public infrastructure, they can prevent additional sprawl and strain on our roads and utilities. 

Next month, the city of North Charleston will host two open house meetings to hear directly from the community on the Unified Development Ordinance framework. 

Learn more and RSVP at onenorthcharleston.com. 

If you have questions or are interested in getting more involved with the Chamber’s advocacy work, I’m happy to connect. Reach out at jgamble@charlestonchamber.org.