City extends public comment on ‘Beaufort Code’ to allow additional review of development code

28 Mar City extends public comment on ‘Beaufort Code’ to allow additional review of development code

Monday, March 28, 2022

Contact: Bill Prokop, City Manager, 843-525-7000

City extends public comment on ‘Beaufort Code’ to allow additional review of development code

City of Beaufort leaders are pushing back the ‘Beaufort Code’ schedule by 30 days to allow additional time for community review of the proposed development code standards.

 After four weeks and 15 public meetings on the draft development code this month, the Beaufort City Council and planning department received several comments from the public asking for more time to go through the updated 282-page document.

 The Metropolitan Planning Commission now is scheduled to review the Beaufort Code changes at a workshop May 9.

 The Beaufort Code is an update of the Unified Development Ordinance. Once adopted by the Beaufort City Council, it will put more emphasis on how buildings relate to the street and each other, rather than guiding development by a building’s interior use as has been the case with traditional zoning.

 A primary goal: Create a user-friendly document that clearly explains and illustrates what types of construction, development and buildings are appropriate in different areas of the city.

 “We have spent a lot of time creating these new standards to both protect the city’s historic heritage but also to encourage and promote infill development. Delaying the process by 30 days will allow citizens more time to study the revisions and to share their concerns with us,” Beaufort City Manager Bill Prokop said.

 An updated version of the Beaufort Code is expected around March 30 and will be posted to the city’s website – www.cityofbeaufort.org – under Projects/Beaufort Code. The website features drafts of the full document and zoning map; a list of committee comments as well as those by community members; a public comment form and lists of meetings.

 “It is encouraging that the people who are interested in this subject are truly dedicated to studying the draft documents and they have been very helpful with their comments and participation,” Prokop said. “This is an important project and it deserves attention.”

 The city already held 10 neighborhood meetings to explain the Beaufort Code. The updated schedule features the following meetings for additional information and public comment:

 ·       Monday, April 4, 2 p.m., City Hall Planning Conference Room – review of code changes and public comment session

·       Wednesday, April 13, 10 a.m., Planning Conference Room – public comment session

·       Wednesday, April 13, 5:30 p.m., Planning Conference Room – public comment session

·       Wednesday, April 20, 5:30 p.m., Planning Conference Room – public comment session

Following those sessions, a new draft of the Beaufort Code reflecting public input will be published online on or about April 29.

The tentative review and approval process includes:

·       April 18 – Metropolitan Planning Commission Overview Presentation

·       Date TBD between April 29-May 9 – City Council Overview Presentation

·       May 9 – Metropolitan Planning Commission Workshop #1

·       May 31 – MPC Workshop #2 (if needed)

·       Special meeting week of June 13, TBD– MPC recommendation

·       June 14 – City Council Work Session

·       June 21 – City Council Public Hearing

·       June 28 – City Council Work Session

·       July 12– City Council, first reading

·       July 26– City Council, second reading.

For more details, visit www.cityofbeaufort.org, click on Projects and go to The Beaufort Code.