Charleston County School District · Board of Trustees
🏫 CCSD unveils Universal Pre-K plan aiming for about 7,500 seats, no lottery
The board received a presentation on a phased rollout of public 3K and 4K through 2036. CCSD says it would be the only district in the nation offering universal pre-K without a lottery. The plan calls for about a 3.5-mill property tax increase over several years, and parts of it depend on the November school capital sales tax extension vote. Nothing is final.

James Island Public Service District · Regular Commission
🏗️ $9M master plan for Signal Point Road campus, with drainage as the biggest hurdle
An architect presented a three-phase, 6-8 year plan for the district's 1960s headquarters. Commissioners asked for a full tear-down-and-rebuild option to compare, and agreed to coordinate with the City of Charleston on drainage first. Separately, a $10M State Revolving Fund loan application for the pump station 33 force main passed unanimously.

Charleston County · County Council
🏛️ Council designates Snowden as a county historic district
The Gullah Geechee freedman settlement near Mount Pleasant covers 377 acres and 340 parcels, founded in the late 1860s. A three-year canvass found 53.59% of registered voters in the district in support. Council also advanced a special source credit agreement for the Robert Mills Manor affordable housing rehabilitation.

City of Folly Beach · City Council (Special Meeting)
🅿️ Folly Beach moves to require private lots to post parking rates at every entrance
Council gave first-reading approval to an ordinance requiring private commercial parking lots to post rate signage at each principal entrance, answering a residents' transparency complaint. Council also unanimously approved FY 2027 accommodation tax allocations, adding $8,594.70 in accrued interest to the Folly Beach Historical Society's award for a total of $24,114.55. Council then went into executive session for legal advice on parkland.

Charleston had 33 certified small tour buses in 2026, down from 36 in 2025. A city ordinance caps small buses at 36 operating at any one time. That was one of many figures the city shared at the Peninsula Plan open house, where the Tourism Commission, tourism enforcement, hotel rules, and a plan to draw visitors beyond the peninsula were all on the agenda. Here is what I took away.

The city is developing the Peninsula Plan and the Tourism Management Plan in tandem, with a focus on the areas where they overlap.

The city divided the topics this way. Land use and zoning, infrastructure, housing and affordability, and urban design and architecture belong to the Peninsula Plan alone. Governance and administration, regulation and enforcement, marketing and communications, and livability and public safety belong to the 2026 Tourism Management Plan alone. Eight topics sit in the overlap, under the heading "Residents First": transportation and mobility, visitor accommodations, economic development and local businesses, public spaces and attractions, arts and culture, parking, revenue, and data.

The city also reviewed a history of tourism management plans, with milestones in 1978, 1994, 1998, 2015, and 2026, along with Bloomberg's recommendations. Topics in that history are grouped under headings such as quality of life for residents, tourism governance and community engagement, planning and development, traffic, transportation and parking, and touring. Some of the topics, according to notes on the city's chart, are covered in the Peninsula Plan.

The open house included an overview of the Tourism Commission, its board composition, and its responsibilities. Feedback on improvements was requested.

The commission's membership is four residents of the Peninsula, three residents off the Peninsula, three representatives of the tourism industry, two representatives of business, one City Councilmember, and the Mayor or a representative.

The city lists eight duties. The commission is to oversee tourism-related matters that affect the economic and general welfare of residents, and to make policy recommendations to the mayor and city council. The areas named for those recommendations are parking and routing of tourism-related traffic, qualification and licensing of tour guides, vehicle appropriateness, and enforcement of tourism management regulations. The commission also hears appeals from decisions of the Department of Livability and Tourism, applies Robert's Rules of Order, issues regulations the council authorizes by ordinance, reviews the director's annual report, monitors the director's enforcement and decisions, and takes on other duties the council directs.

Tourism enforcement officers regulate activity citywide, including verifying bus permits. The motor coach map showing approved loading and unloading zones is being updated, and the city asked for feedback to confirm it is accurate.

The carriage gate operates from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. during Eastern Standard Time and from 9:00 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. during daylight saving time. In standard time, medallions are issued until 4:15 p.m. and returned by 5:30 p.m. In daylight saving time, they are issued until 5:15 p.m. and returned by 6:30 p.m.

A commercial tour is defined as one conducted in the commercial district only and after 4:15 p.m. No more than five commercial tours may begin between 4:15 and 5:00 p.m. industry-wide, and no more than five between 5:00 and 5:30 p.m. Commercial tours after 5:30 p.m. are not limited in number and do not require a medallion.

Medallions are assigned across five carriage zones: six for Zone 1, six for Zone 2, eight for Zone 3, six for Zone 4, and eight for Zone 5. The city describes Zone 4 as a relief valve used on holidays and busier days.

Under Sec. 29-261, walking tours for hire conducted from the public right-of-way are limited to 20 people per group, not counting the tour guide. Larger tours must be divided into groups of no more than 20, and each group must have a tour guide. For school groups above 20, either a tour guide or a chaperone may accompany each group of 20 or fraction thereof beyond the first 20.

The section does not apply to tours conducted off the public right-of-way when use of the right-of-way is only incidental. It also states that tour groups of any size shall not obstruct the free, safe, and efficient flow of vehicular or pedestrian traffic. Sec. 29-262 prohibits amplifying devices while conducting a walking tour.

No more than 36 small buses may operate on city streets at one time. If more people want to operate small buses than the cap allows, the director of livability and tourism or a designee, with the advice of the tourism commission, is to devise a lottery or similar system so operators have an equal opportunity to operate for reasonable periods of time.

The city showed how the accommodations overlay on the peninsula has changed. Before 1987, accommodations were allowed across most of the peninsula. A 5 Point Special Exception Test was adopted February 24, 1987. The overlay was refined May 1, 1998, with a room limit line at Calhoun Street. It was refined again on September 24, 2013, with a 6 Point Special Exception Test and a room limit line at Crosstown. The current requirements for the special exception test fall under Ordinance No. 2019-094.

According to the city, 3,383 entitled hotel rooms have not been built, and many of them are set to expire soon. That total does not include 1,040 hotel rooms allowable within the Magnolia Landing Planned Unit Development. The city says planning there is currently focused on residential, public parks, office, waterfront retail, and restaurant uses.

The Mayor's five pillars for the Charleston Standard :

The city proposes a public-facing dashboard that combines key metrics with storytelling. The proposed metrics are number of visitors (regional, citywide, and Peninsula); hotels (occupancy rate, average daily rate, and number of hotels); short-term rentals (number permitted); visitation to off-Peninsula points of interest; food and beverage (number of establishments and seats or occupancy); industry activity (carriage tours, walking tours, bus tours, certified bus tours, and special event permits); and revenue. Revenue sources listed are the State Accommodations Tax collected by the State, the Municipal Accommodations Tax collected by the County, hospitality fees collected by the City, and business license fees specific to tourism-related businesses.

Tourism revenue funds major city projects, including the African American Museum and the Battery Extension. The current fiscal year State Accommodations Tax (ATACS) budget was shared, with allocations that include grants to city organizations. I do not have the dollar figures to report.

The city wants visitors to explore areas off the peninsula, such as West Ashley, James Island, and Daniel Island. The stated goal is to work with Explore Charleston on a campaign promoting these areas and their cultural attractions. Attendees were invited to write a destination on paper and pin it to a map of West Ashley, Daniel Island and Cainhoy, Johns Island, or James Island. Suggestions I could read included Ashley River historic sites, Angel Oak, McLeod Plantation, local farm tours, and Birds of Prey.

Many locals said they avoid downtown because of parking difficulties, crowding, and traffic. Pedestrian safety came up as a major concern, with tourists often inattentive while walking. Residents also raised tour groups stopping traffic for photos and noise from vehicles such as motorcycles. Incentives for locals were discussed, including parking discounts and discounts at restaurants and attractions.

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