North Charleston District 4 Updates-July 2017

The Crossings at Wescott is open ….and occupancy is increasing quickly. Reviews are strongly positive for the 184-unit senior living facility at Wescott traffic circle.  A ribbon cutting and grand opening ceremony led by Mayor Summey will take place Thursday, July 20,  at 4 p.m. The public is invited. Check in at this link for details

http://www.thecrossingsatwescottplantation.com/events/grand-opening-ribbon-cutting-ceremony-july-20th/

Update on a popular project in District 4: the permits have been issued, site clearing and preparation are underway and if all goes well, Krispy Kreme should be up and running early in 2018…at Palmetto Commerce Parkway and Ladson Road, adjacent to the BoJangles restaurant.

This, of course, also invokes concern for increased traffic in this busy corridor.

Charleston County is moving along with several major road projects, including a new interstate interchange at Weber Boulevard, connections of Northside Boulevard and Future Drive, a “flyover” of Ashley Phosphate and an extension of Palmetto Commerce Parkway to the Aviation Avenue area, extending Weber Boulevard to Patriot Boulevard, and expanding the turning lanes from Patriot to Palmetto Commerce Parkway.

I am arranging a District 4 meeting in August and Charleston County project managers have agreed to participate and describe these projects in detail and provide general timetables. I’ll also ask Dorchester County Councilman Larry Hargett and his colleagues to attend and outline Dorchester’s plans for new road projects and new funding mechanisms to be proposed to voters in 2018. Look for the meeting schedule details soon via this newsletter.

In the meanwhile, the city is working with Dorchester District 2 School planners to improve traffic flows on Patriot Boulevard during the school year. The city will once again assign two policemen in the morning AND afternoon to help facilitate traffic.  Also, traffic light-sequencing at Patriot and PCP during these defined rush hours will be refined.

Response to a frequent question:  there are no current project plans to widen Wescott Boulevard or Patriot Boulevard. These projects are on the drawing board and have been since these roadways were constructed. I’ll keep everyone posted and any such decisions will be attended by ample public discussion.   

The Pepperhill community drainage study will be before the City Council Finance Committee Tuesday, July 18.  Contrary to erroneous reports, the Federal Emergency Management Agency has not approved a $100,000 grant. FEMA has indicated it will likely approve a $25,000 grant later in 2017.  The Pepperhill community has a major drainage system problem likely exacerbated by larger issues such as design features of the Palmetto Commerce Parkway. This community is owed the city’s support and attention, and thus the Finance Committee will consider special funding of $96,000 for immediate implementation of the Pepperhill drainage assessment and some general assessments of drainage runoff corridors both “upstream” and “downstream”   I believe this funding will be approved. ( I chair the Finance Committee.)

There is general concern about drainage throughout our city – and within city council.  On Tuesday, we will also consider broader measures such as increasing stormwater drainage fees and updating the scope of drainage system maintenance projects.

But as I have emphasized so many times in this newsletter, much of the drainage system in District 4 is “non-municipal” and many segments are owned by property owners associations. Please make sure drainage is a priority in your HOA neighborhoods — not merely a talking point for your HOA.  As I have stressed numerous times in this newsletter, HOAs should understand their systems and retain engineers.  And these systems of wetlands and ponds and culverts must be adequately maintained – systematically!  I’ll be glad to recirculate best -practices manuals on request.  (We recently learned about a certain drainage wetland owned by an HOA that failed to pay property taxes on the property.  It was sold twice in tax default auctions to opportunistic absentee owners. This wetland property clearly is not being maintained and drainage is becoming a problem for nearby homeowners.)

The city is moving along with plans to install flow-through culverts beneath Collins road, off Palmetto Commerce Parkway. As I reported several times via this newsletter, this project is considered a downstream issue for the Pepperhill Community and possibly for Indigo Palms, the back of Coosaw Creek Country Club, and portions of The Farm at Wescott. Federal permitting procedures are being finalized and this project could be in construction mode very soon. The cost is estimated at $450,000 to be financed by the Charleston Water Systems and Charleston County and administered by North Charleston.

Response to a timely question:  E Waste – discarded televisions, computers, electronic devices and equipment, etc – should be taken to a county collection site. If you live in Charleston County, a drop-off bin is available at the city’s Public Works campus on Remount Road at Interstate 26. If you live in Dorchester County, convenience sites are at Highway 61 and Sprucewood and at St.George.
Details are available at:

Hazardous Recycling

The $21 million Aquatics Center is quickly moving through planning stages. If all goes well, federal permits will be in hand and this project will be out for bids around January 1.  It will be a state-of-the-art Olympic-sized swim facility designed for competition, swimming instructions for school students and community uses. But this project also will create a new routing for traffic into and out of the Fort Dorchester High School campus and a new traffic flow design for vehicles on campus. This work is jointly funded by Dorchester District 2 School Board and our city. Site plans and building elevation images should be publicly circulated in late August.

Short term rentals of residences via Airbnb or similar online services are popping up all over North Charleston, including in Coosaw Creek CC and Wescott.  City ordinances clearly render such rentals illegal in residential neighborhoods, but state law has changed in ways that require reviews of enforcements.  But most HOA covenants clearly forbid such arrangements, as well as “boarding house” sub-rentals of rooms in a home.  HOA covenants governing such uses are fully effective and enforceable.  Mayor Summey and City Council will hold a public hearing in September to consider all views about these growing approaches to “rentals” and whether city ordinances should be amended.  I will continue to update this issue.

Congratulations to the 2017 South Carolina Dixie Youth Baseball Champions – a combined team of 11 and 12 year-olds from Wescott and Pepperhill.  These boys prevailed in a weeklong double-elimination tournament last week in Conway, S.C. This spunky team will now represent South Carolina in the Dixie Youth World Series next month in Alabama.

Please check in regularly at  www.northcharleston.org  for full details of city events and recreation department activities. You can also file municipal service requests online. And I’ll be glad to add anyone to the direct mailing list for this newsletter. Just send me a note at this address   rbrin@aol.com