Beaufort begins another attempt to adopt new development code
A stroll down parts of Beaufort's Boundary Street will show some clues as to how city planners want to shape the future.
City project development planner Lauren Kelly points to the new Starbucks design as a shining example.
It "is more inviting to people and friendly but still can function as it needs to," she said.
Kelly has been working to overhaul the city's development code, with widespread changes aimed at streamlining development processes and simplifying language. An eight-member review committee will work through the current draft, called the Beaufort Code. The process is expected to last into next summer, when the code is scheduled to be adopted.
The committee will meet with neighborhoods starting in February, giving residents time to learn about the different potential districts and to decide how changes might affect where they live.
Among other things, the city is trying to shake a notion it is unfriendly to business.
"That will hopefully help solve some of the development problems people say we have," city manager Bill Prokop told City Council on Tuesday during a brief update about the code.
The new code will also address the controversial topic of short-term rentals.
Under the draft, short-term rentals won't be allowed in The Point. They will be allowed in the Bluff and Old Commons neighborhoods in the historic district, but only when paired with renovating a historic home.
Rentals in the city's other residential areas would continue by special exception, though everything will be up for debate in the coming months.
Historic Beaufort Foundation director Maxine Lutz said the rental issue would probably also be addressed in areas outside the historic district.
"We're just to be concerned with the historic district, but I hear from so many people," Lutz said. "Pigeon Point feels like it's being inundated with short-term rentals -- there may be other neighborhoods."
The new code should simplify the process for people to find out what is and is not allowed in their neighborhoods, review committee member Don Starkey said.
"They look at our (current ordinance), it is that thick," Starkey said, extending his thumb and index finger. "I think people, when they don't know what's allowed, ignore the law because they say, 'It's too complicated, forget it.'"
The review meetings are public but will not be a public forum, though city staff will be available after meetings to answer questions.
The city wants residents to fill out comment forms via its website, www.cityofbeaufort.org/beaufort-code. Submissions will be presented to the review committee each week.
Follow reporter Stephen Fastenau at twitter.com/IPBG_Stephen.
Related content:
- City of Beaufort resumes work on form-based code, April 28, 2014
- Port Royal gives initial nod to proposed form-based code, March 12, 2014
- New vision: Beaufort council approves Civic Master Plan, Feb. 1, 2014
- Beaufort man's dock request will go to public hearing, Oct. 15, 2015
This story was originally published November 29, 2015 at 5:02 PM with the headline "Beaufort begins another attempt to adopt new development code."