Fall 2002
Contents

Message From the Executive Director:
* Beyond trees in parking lots

Articles:
* The 2000 Census numbers are in:
What they tell us about the Upstate
* Upstate Forever should be embraced
* Conference on the "Z Word"
is a great success!
* Restoring and protecting trout waters
in the Upstate
* Dorman HS: A casualty of "The Growth Beast"

Upstate Forever News:
* Field trips
* Volunteers
* Staff and Board

Conference On The "Z Word" Is A Great Success!

Upstate Forever’s conference last May on The “Z Word”: A Discussion About Zoning in the Upstate was a great success, with over 150 attending the event at the Palmetto Expo Center. Zoning is one of the most misunderstood and controversial subjects in our region (and in many other places) so we decided to take the matter head on and talk about it. An impressive group of speakers presented their ideas and views on the subject and answered over 50 questions from the audience.
     About half of the attendees turned in their evaluation forms, and we are pleased to report that every one of them ranked the conference as either meeting or exceeding expectations! Wow–what a report card!
     Upstate Forever Associate Director Diane Eldridge led off with an overview of the current status of zoning and land use regulations in the Upstate. Diane explained that 39 of the Upstate’s 46 municipalities have zoning, while Greenville County and Anderson County are the only counties with zoning in the unincorporated areas. Diane also reviewed the types of land use regulations that are in effect in the counties.
     Diane was followed by Jeff Ricketson, Director of Planning in Anderson County, who described the county’s innovative community-based zoning initiative. The county has established a process where the citizens can vote on whether or not to adopt zoning. To date referenda have been held in 14 precincts, with zoning approved in all but two
of them.
     Stephanie Monroe, Director of Planning in Laurens County, explained the advisory referendum that will be held this November on the subject of zoning. Meanwhile, Stephanie is hosting meetings throughout the county explaining what zoning is and how it works.
     We next turned our attention to some of the disadvantages of conventional zoning. Dr. Brenda Vander Mey, professor of sociology at Clemson, discussed the topic from the social perspective. She explained how zoning has been used in some communities to keep lower income residents out of certain areas. She also described the significant shifts in attitudes about land use regulation in South Carolina. In a statewide survey conducted in 1994, over 80 per cent agreed with the statement that “property owners have the right to do what they wish with their property,” but in a survey done last year, less than half agreed.
     Donna London, who works at the Strom Thurmond Institute and has been a planning practitioner in the Upstate since 1979, addressed the issue from the perspective of a planner. She emphasized the need to provide more flexibility in zoning ordinances and the importance of public outreach campaigns to explain basic planning concepts.
     Upstate Forever Advisory Council member Vince Graham explained how zoning posed significant obstacles to gaining approval for I’On, his award-winning traditional neighborhood development in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina. He said that conventional zoning ordinances are too rigid, discourage creativity, and aggravate traffic problems.
     Rick Pruetz, author of the widely acclaimed book, Saved By Development, explained how “Transfer of Development Rights” (TDR) programs can be used, and are being successfully used in other parts of the country, to protect rural areas. A county designates areas where it wants most future growth to occur, such as in and around urban centers (called “receiving areas”), and areas where it wants to discourage growth (called “sending areas”). It then relies on the free market to allow developers to negotiate and purchase development rights from landowners in the sending areas and to transfer those rights to the receiving areas.
     Montgomery County, Maryland probably has the most successful TDR program in the country. Since 1985, over 3,000 TDR transactions have taken place in the county, which have accomplished the preservation of approximately 29,000 acres of rural land.
     Jimmy Forbes, Executive Director of the Greenville County Planning Commission, reviewed the successful “Designing Our Destiny” project that led to adoption of a new comprehensive land use plan for the county. He also explained the Planning Commission’s recent work on area plans, such as the Southern Connector, West Georgia Road and Five Forks.
     Upstate Forever Executive Director Brad Wyche reviewed several of the legal issues relating to zoning. He explained the basic principles of the South Carolina Local Government Comprehensive Planning Act, discussed the “takings” issue, described the proposed “private property rights” legislation, and summarized important state court decisions on vested rights, non-conforming uses and “unnecessary hardship” variances.
     Tom Low, an architect with Duany Plater-Zyberk in Charlotte, spoke passionately in favor of building communities based on the traditional neighborhood development concepts of mixed uses, walkability, and open space. He described a “smart code” that his firm has drafted to encourage and promote such practices.
     Joel Russell, a well known land use attorney and consultant, said that because the Upstate is essentially unzoned, we have the opportunity to “do it right the first time.” Criticizing the rigidity of conventional zoning ordinances, he recommended more flexible ordinances along the lines of the Duany Plater-Zyberk “smart code.” Joel described an ordinance that he drafted for a community in New York that is only 14 pages long, is in plain English, and is based on the scale and impact of the use rather than the type of use.
     The conference ended with a panel of County Council members from five Upstate Counties: Bob Cook from Greenville, Frank Nutt from Spartanburg, Clint Wright from Anderson, Mike Pitts from Laurens, and Dial DuBose from Pickens. (Unfortunately, the representative from Oconee County had a last minute conflict and could not attend). Some of the notable comments
included:
     Bob Cook said that he supports zoning and believes it should be extended into the unzoned sections of Greenville County. He also expressed interest in promoting more mixed-use developments.
     Frank Nutt said that the principle governing his service on County Council is “minimum government and maximum freedom.” For this reason,
he continues to oppose zoning and believes that the land development standards in Spartanburg are working well. He said that until there is a public outcry for zoning in the county, it will not happen.
     Clint Wright praised his county’s community-based zoning program and believes that approach would work well in all of the Upstate counties.
     Mike Pitts expressed reservations about the Anderson approach because it is based on small areas within the county. He favors an “all or nothing” policy in which the entire county is either zoned or not zoned.
     Dial DuBose expressed interest in the 14-page ordinance described by Joel Russell and said that it might work well in Pickens County. He drew some applause with his statement that counties should not stand in the way of cities that want to grow.
     Now that the conference has ended, what’s next? We like the recommendation made by the Spartanburg Herald-Journal: “A number of Upstate planning officials and elected leaders attended a conference last week to learn about different methods they can use to help their communities define their future. The conference was sponsored by Upstate Forever, a nonprofit organization that promotes sensible growth. Residents of the region can thank Upstate Forever for providing this opportunity and thank their county officials for taking advantage of it. We should encourage those officials to put into practice some of the techniques that were discussed.”