Group helping community shape priorities for next Charleston Peninsula plan

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The City of Charleston is planning to write the next 20-year peninsula plan and a Lowcountry advocacy group wants to help the community have a voice.

The city’s last 20-year peninsula plan expired three years ago. The Historic Charleston Foundation says the city committed to hiring someone this year to produce the next plan for the peninsula’s future.

The group is hosting a free advocacy forum Thursday night called Plan Charleston: Charting the Course for the Next Twenty Years. The goal is to engage in a public conversation to see what the community prioritizes for the new plan.

A panel of experts will discuss the communities’ priorities ranging from complex topics like livability and environmental changes.

The last peninsula plan was written in 1999, since then, the city has changed in a few ways from development to affordable housing, and tourism.

Liza Holian, with the Historic Charleston Foundation, says the challenges of 20 years ago aren’t quite the same as today’s challenges.

“We today are thinking more about affordable housing, which wasn’t much of a problem 20 years ago. We’re thinking about making sure we have a diverse economic development and a diverse economic community here in Charleston,” Holian says.

The foundation says it’s crucial to begin the discussion with the community now because the city says they are looking to start this project later this year.

The meeting starts at 6 p.m. at The Charleston Museum’s Wilcox Auditorium at 360 Meeting St.

Click here to register for Thursday night’s forum.

The meeting is free and open to the public, but the Historic Charleston Foundation recommends registering beforehand.

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