Charleston’s elected leaders plan to raise taxes on new developments on Johns Island to fund millions of dollars for road improvements, rainwater upgrades, and other infrastructure as the area continues its rapid growth.
The city council hired Charleston’s Planning Department this week to draw up plans for a so-called Municipal Improvement District that would allow the city to collect additional property taxes from landowners on Johns Island.
While the city could raise property tax for anyone in this proposed district, Charleston leaders said they were not interested in burdening the island’s existing residents with additional costs.
As a result, city officials are considering how the plan can be implemented by imposing additional property taxes on new developments and plots that are currently undergoing significant redevelopment.
That means anyone who buys a newly built home or starts a new business on the island faces higher property tax for up to 30 years. That is how long the proposed improvement district would probably last.
Alderman Karl Brady, who represents Johns Island and part of the outer west Ashley, believes the fairest solution is to exempt locals and existing residents of Johns Island from the additional taxes.
“Most people see this as fair,” said Brady, who was first elected in 2019. “People who have lived on Johns Island for 10, 15, 20 years feel like all the new people are coming who are adding to the pressures.”
Any money raised through the proposed improvement district would be used solely for public projects on Johns Island. That means infrastructure projects in the area no longer have to compete with the city’s other priorities in West Ashley, James Island, and the downtown peninsula, where the city continues to spend billions of dollars on flood control.
A truck drives through the flooding in Bi-Lo parking lot on Johns Island after heavy rain on May 20, 2020. The City of Charleston could set up a special tax district on Johns Island to fund rainwater improvements in the area. File / Lauren Petracca / Staff
The ability to develop a dedicated source of funding could be important for a location like Johns Island, which is on the very edge of the city but is the fastest growing area in Charleston.
It is estimated that the number of urban dwellers on Johns Island has doubled to nearly 11,000 in the past decade. This rate of growth is expected to continue over the coming years as further developments are completed and the homes are sold.
According to the Charleston Planning Department, there are approximately 4,100 new residential units within the city limits that are in various stages of development. Many of these are along the Maybank Highway corridor, where the city is trying to encourage denser development.
With the large number of people flocking to Johns Island, there is a growing need for more public investment in the area, according to city officials. Robert Summerfield, the city’s new planning director, said his team was putting together a list of projects that could be funded through the improvement district.
Once this list is complete, the planning department will present the projects to the city council and residents of Johns Island. The city will then hold several public hearings as required by state law before the improvement district can be formed.
Some of the top priorities for the city, Summerfield said, are street improvements, street lighting, rainwater fixes, new sidewalks, public parks and recreational facilities.
The city is already in the process of acquiring more land in addition to the existing Johns Island Park and plans to build another 26 acre park off the Maybank Highway in the center of the island. The money generated from the proposed improvement district could help in such efforts.
City officials have yet to work out many details of the plan, including which properties would be in the improvement district and which landowners would be subject to the additional taxes.
But Summerfield said the idea behind the Improvement Quarter was something city officials have been thinking about for a while.
“The staff have been working on it for a while. This is not a new idea,” he said.
Jason Crowley, who oversees community and transportation issues for the Coastal Conservation League, said the creation of the improvement district was a novel concept that Johns Islanders could quickly benefit from.
Crowley pointed out that Charleston officials were preparing a community plan for Johns Island in 2007 when the island first felt much of its growing pain.
That plan, Crowley said, made proposals that would help preserve the island’s green spaces, reduce traffic congestion, make the area safer for pedestrians, and build the rainwater infrastructure needed to handle runoff from new developments .
Not all of these recommendations have been implemented in the past 14 years. But the extra money generated by the Improvement District could finally turn some of those plans into a reality.
“This is the opportunity to create the community and place that Johns Islanders envisioned more than a decade ago,” said Crowley.
The city’s plan for the improvement district is expected to be presented to councilors in July, but the public hearing and notices required by state law ensure that the special tax district cannot be completed for some time after September.
To reach Andrew Brown at 843-708-1830 or follow him on Twitter @andy_ed_brown.