Mount Pleasant officials discuss regulations on property expansion in legacy neighborhoods

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD) Mount Pleasant is working to balance maintaining the character of certain neighborhoods, with the desire of some homeowners to expand.

The Mount Pleasant Planning Committee discussed how to preserve their legacy neighborhoods and how to regulate additions to homeowners’ property.

Many Mount Pleasant residents have expanded on their one-story homes in legacy neighborhoods like the Old Village, but other neighbors worry about how these changes impact the neighborhood overall.

“Folks are building garages with an office or bedroom on top of it and those are only 6 ft off the property line, so they’re concerned there’s a 25-foot structure right near their property lines,” said Daniel Brownstein, a Mount Pleasant Town Councilmember.

Another concern for residents was how high an added-on structure could be. The committee is considering lowering the height limit for detached accessory structures. They ultimately decided to send the discussion back to the planning commission for recommendations.

“Rebuilds or additions we think those should complement and not just overbear the legacy neighborhoods and that’s what this is about,” said Mount Pleasant Mayor Will Haynie. “If you have an original structure and you’re adding on or building an ADU or something, it should not be higher than the original structure. That’s for quality-of-life, that’s for character of legacy neighborhoods, it just makes common sense.”

The committee also discussed regulations to discourage residents from demolitions and rebuilding, but remained split and will leave the choice up to town council.