Friends of Maybank

Charleston County Planning Commission

A development to potentially include a coffee shop with a drive-thru is proposed for the vacant parcel at the southwest intersection of Maybank and Woodland Shores on James Island. The developer is requesting the Charleston County Planning Commission clarify the development allowances to include drive-thrus.

Please sign this petition BY MONDAY, DECEMBER 14 AT 11 AM opposing the allowance of a drive-thru at this location where road users are particularly vulnerable. Charleston Moves will present the petition during the December 14 Charleston County Planning Commission meeting. The coffee shop could be a wonderful amenity to an area that will become walkable and bikeable without a drive-thru.

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Charleston Moves

To: Charleston County Planning Commission
From: [Your Name]

Regarding Charleston County Planning Commission Agenda Item VII. Request to amend PDJI, Five Points, to PD-179, to modify the allowed land uses and to incorporate the regulations of the James Island Maybank Highway Corridor Overlay Zoning District, we the undersigned respectfully ask the Planning Commission to not allow drive-thru service in the proposed PD amendments.

While the existing PD zoning allows for drive-thru services, the recently-passed Maybank Overlay Zoning District prohibits them. This decision was based on substantial public input regarding the safety of people on foot and on bikes utilizing the corridor. With the pending bike and pedestrian improvements planned for the Maybank area, a drive-thru at this location would cause dangerous conflicts between motorists and vulnerable road users.

In a Charleston County/City of Charleston 2018 survey of stakeholders during the Maybank Highway Overlay Zoning meetings, most respondents highlighted the need for safety and connectivity improvements for people who are walking and biking. Unsafe intersections, lack of sidewalks and bike lanes, and high speed limits were all identified as problems. As a result of that feedback, the Overlay includes requirements for bicycle and pedestrian improvements as development and redevelopment is proposed, and also prohibits drive-thru services.

Since 2014, four people have been injured and two people have been killed while walking or biking on Maybank Highway near Woodland Shores Road. This is a corridor that connects neighborhoods, businesses and greenspace. There is a dire need for safety and quality-of-life improvements for all users along the corridor, regardless of transportation mode. Charleston County, with the support from SCDOT, City of Charleston, BCDCOG and community stakeholders has been working on the following safety improvements:

• a mid-block pedestrian crossing on Maybank between the Terrace Shopping Center and the Pour House;
• a wide sidewalk along Woodland Shores Road;
• and a multi-use path along Maybank from Woodland Shores to Stefan Drive.

Any development or redevelopment along this corridor should prioritize the safety of people walking and biking.