Sullivan’s Island Comprehensive Plan 2018-2028

Adopted August 20, 2019

What is a Comprehensive Plan?

The comprehensive plan communicates a community’s goals and objectives, provides a blueprint for future land use, and serves as the basis for zoning, land use and historic and environmental preservation. A comprehensive plan is a document consisting of text and a series of maps that:

• Identifies a community’s goals and sets forth its vision for the future for preserving and improving upon the neighborhoods and way of life on Sullivan’s Island;
• As part of its formulation, reaches out to a diverse group of stakeholders for their help, ideas, and expertise in the developing those goals and identifying the actions needed to achieve them; and
• Provides decision-making guidance for establishing the laws, policies, and programs to achieve implementation

There are nine required "elements" that every Comprehensive Plan must address - population, housing, economic, community facilities, natural resources, cultural resources, land use, transportation, and priority investments. However, the recently adopted Sullivan’s Island Comprehensive Plan 2018-2028 showcases a tenth element addressing community resiliency planning & sea level rise.

Who Writes the Plan?

Ultimately, the entire community participates in writing the plan. One of the main responsibilities of the Town’s Planning Commission is to manage the research, development and review of the Plan. In South Carolina, communities are required to rewrite the Comprehensive Plan every 10 years and update the plan’s elements every 5 years.

The Commission most recently endorsed the Town’s plan on October 10, 2018, with Town Council’s final reading and ratification on August 20, 2019. The seven-members of the Planning Commission also served as the core membership of the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee, along with community stakeholders to who provided specialized expertise on defined areas of the Plan.

Community Stakeholders

Examples of these stakeholders were Town staff, civic groups, business organizations, historic and environmental preservation groups and appointed citizens of Design Review Board, Board of Zoning Appeals and Tree Commission. Remember, every resident is an important stakeholder in the future development and implementation of the Sullivan’s Island Comprehensive Plan!