Back to Mar 2007 Releases
3/21/2007
Conference to Highlight Debate Over Growth Alternatives and Options
Governor Invites All from Both Sides of Growth Debate to Conference Next Week
Columbia, S.C. - Gov. Mark Sanford has extended an invitation to community planners, the business community, environmentalists and all other stakeholders in the debate over alternatives and new options in how we develop over the next 20 years as a state.
"Quite simply, I invite interested South Carolinians to attend, participate and hopefully be a part of forging new solutions at our Land Use Planning Conference next Monday in Charleston," Gov. Sanford said.
The conference will be led by Andres Duany, a world-renowned land planner and leader of the "New Urbanism" movement in land planning. How South Carolina handles anticipated growth is a hotly debated among both the planning and building communities.
"The Governor's land use conference on new urbanism should be one of many educational opportunities that will allow the citizens of South Carolina and its elected officials, to make an informed decision on our state's future growth," said Mark Nix, executive director of the Home Builders Association of S.C. "Land use policies, like new urbanism, should not be presented as the answer to our growth issues, but rather as one part of the possible solutions. New urbanism, on its own, will negatively impact the S.C. housing market by severely diminishing the supply of affordable housing. The impact, as seen in other communities nationwide, will adversely impact our state's economy and especially our working class looking to achieve the American Dream of homeownership. Land use initiatives should be used as a tool to manage our growth and not stop growth! Every homeowner should have the choice on how and where they want to live and not have that decision be dictated by intrusive government regulations."
"We commend the governor for bringing together the various stakeholders in the debate over how we're going to grow as a state," said Ann Timberlake, executive director of the Conservation Voters of S.C. "At the local level, folks are concerned with the sprawl and traffic and the way that their communities are changing. We saw in this past fall's elections that many local races were decided by growth issues, and this issue isn't going to go away. Our quality of life is one of the main reasons people come to South Carolina, and we need to act now if we're to preserve our look and feel for future generations.
"The debate over how our state develops in the near future is one that every South Carolinian should care about," Gov. Sanford said. "I think this conference will provide an important opportunity for people on every side of these issues to come together and talk about creative approaches to the inevitable growth that's coming our way over the next few years."
U.S. Census projections estimate South Carolina will grow by more than 1.1 million people by 2030, and a third or more of those people are expected to make their home along the coast. South Carolina has the 10th-fastest population growth rate, outpacing the growth rates for the nation and the South as a whole.
As a result, it is estimated that over that time period South Carolina will need 525,000 new housing units, 40 million square feet of office space, 45 million square feet of retail space, and 13,000 hotel rooms.