The Building Permit Allocation Program – a successful growth management tool

By Martine M. Wolfe, PIO

MOUNT PLEASANT, SC (August 31, 2006)- At the August 23 Planning Commission meeting, Christiane Farrell, Planning Department Division Chief for the Town of Mount Pleasant, reviewed with the Planning Commission the total number of building permit applications received for the third quarter of 2006. “We no longer have single-family permits available in 2006 and three applications are already in line for the 2007 allocation,” Farrell said.

Between 2005 and 2010, 5,310 permits will be made available to the public, with 620 single-family permits available each year through 2010 - or 155 permits quarterly. The remaining 1,590 permits are for multi-family projects. The BPAP began in January 2001. The program responded to the Town’s growth rate which was 8.9% in 1998 and 8.6% in 1999, according to the 2000 Blue Ribbon Committee on Growth Management Report. Since 2001, the Mount Pleasant Planning Department has reported 6,571 permits allocated through the BPAP. In the absence of a program, and based on a 9% growth rate, Mount Pleasant would have likely issued 10,879 permits during that same period.

“We simply could not protect the safety and quality of life of our citizens at the rate of growth that we were experiencing six years ago. Even if we could have afforded the cost of expanding our infrastructure to meet this tremendous service demand, it would have been physically impossible to build the roads, bridges, and other support facilities needed within such a short period of time. To sit back and take no action, knowing that our citizens’ welfare was endangered by the overcrowding of roadways, schools, and recreational facilities, would have been unconscionable and irresponsible,” said Mayor Harry M. Hallman, Jr. “We found the Building Permit Allocation Program to be feasible and fair. We also found out that we did not experience the economic downturn predicted by the development community. The program proved to be the most effective tool of controlling rapid growth in Mount Pleasant. This was a bold step by this Council. Certainly no other municipality has followed such a comprehensive strategy to address rapid growth.”

The BPAP limits the number of new residential building permits issued each year. This pro-rata program enables the Town to maintain an average growth of 4% through December 31, 2010. As the fourth largest municipality in South Carolina, Mount Pleasant’s BPAP is an effort to control growth, keep taxes low, protect the Town’s quality of life, and provide for the health and safety of residents. It allows the Town time to complete its Capital Improvements Plan (CIP) which is predicated on a 3 to 4% rate of growth. The BPAP is directly related to the Mount Pleasant Comprehensive Plan, Transportation Plan, Capital Improvements Plan and Strategic Funding Plan.

Lawsuits challenged the Town’s legal authority to place limitations on building permits but could not prevail legally. The court consistently ruled in favor of the Town’s legitimate right to exercise their “police power” to protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public by enacting a temporary permit allocation program. The court also did no find evidence of damages or breach of contract and upheld the Town’ s position that the zoning code is not a contract, and that one must possess a building permit to be considered as having a vested interest. The Town successfully demonstrated that due process was followed and that the established rate of growth was not arbitrary and capricious.

“We often hear from the public that we aren’t doing enough to control growth,” said Town Administrator Mac Burdette. “What citizens often fail to understand is that there are legal protections for land owners to use and develop their property. It is never as easy as many would think. We must be deliberate and purposeful in the development of new growth management tools. Just because something worked in Oregon doesn’t mean that it will pass muster in our state courts.”

Town Council is obligated to review the BPAP each December and can make adjustments. The BPAP is scheduled to expire in 2010. The Town cannot implement a permanent program and must show improvements to capital improvements during the allocation period. With cause, Council could extend the BPAP in 2010 if it is deemed necessary to protect the health and safety of the public in relation to capital improvements.

For additional information on the Building Permit Allocation Program, visit us online at www.townofmountpleasant.com!