In the second episode of Talking Charleston, Mayor William Cogswell sits down with Councilmember Jim McBride, who represents Johns Island and a portion of James Island. The conversation was recorded on October 9th.

McBride and the mayor dig into how John’s Island got to where it is today: how developments were zoned with the assumption that the 526 extension was going to happen and how the city, county and state are working together on solutions. They also explain why even straightforward road projects can take years, from federal permitting requirements to funding timelines, and what recent changes could mean for the future.

The conversation also covers what’s coming to the island, including the Maybank Highway widening, plans for a safer Riverland Drive and Maybank intersection, burying power lines along the municipal golf course, a new fire station, and the new John’s Island Recreation Center. They also walk through the November county transportation sales tax ballot question, so listeners can get informed before they vote.

Talking Charleston is a brand new monthly podcast from the City of Charleston that focuses on issues that affect all of us every day. Every month, the Mayor sits down with a different Charleston council member to go over what is happening in their district and beyond.

Watch or listen to Talking Charleston wherever you get your podcasts!Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0346CDe7AOhWZcBf5UKYf9YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW4POECQG_hQApple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-charleston/id6815488372

Johns Island "Town and Country" Plan:https://www.charleston-sc.gov/892/Johns-Island-Community-Plan

Chapters:

(00:00) Intro

(00:33) Who is Jim McBride?

(03:34) How the 526 Extension impacted zoning

(07:20) City, county and state working together

(09:30) The Maybank Highway widening

(11:43) Why do projects take so long?

(15:05) The zoning rewrite and the November sales tax

(17:21) Greenbelt, conservation and the urban growth boundary

(20:09) The River Road and Maybank "pitchfork"

(20:39) Maybank as a "Main Street"

(23:54) Sidewalks on Maybank?

(26:03) Stronger TRC review and traffic impact studies

(28:40) Infrastructure before growth

(33:19) Fixing Riverland Drive and Maybank

(36:29) The new John's Island Recreation Center

(38:10) Other projects on Johns Island

(39:08) 2028: The Year of Jubilee

Intro Music:"Cool Intro" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

In the debut episode of Talking Charleston, Mayor William Cogswell sits down with Councilman Ross Appel, who represents parts of West Ashley and James Island. The conversation was recorded September 18th.

Appel and the mayor dig into Charleston's growing pains: why the city doesn't control most of its own roads, how state and county funding structures shape local traffic solutions, and what "concurrency" legislation could mean for future development.

They do a deep dive on the Riverland Oaks property on James Island, explaining how decades-old zoning and the city's strengthened stormwater manual have already cut the project from 153 to 95 units, and what other options are still at our disposal.

The conversation also covers recent happenings in Appel's district, including the Fort Pemberton Park ribbon cutting, the Windermere stormwater project, signal retiming in West Ashley, an upcoming pothole repair partnership with SCDOT, and the plan to bury power lines along the municipal golf course.

Talking Charleston is a brand new monthly podcast from the City of Charleston that focuses on issues that affect all of us every day. Every month, the Mayor sits down with a different Charleston council member to go over what is happening in their district and beyond.

Watch or listen to Talking Charleston wherever you get your podcasts!

Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/0346CDe7AOhWZcBf5UKYf9

YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLW4POECQG_hQ

Apple:

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/talking-charleston/id6815488372

Chapters:

(00:00) Welcome to Talking Charleston!

(00:48) West Ashley and James Island overview

(01:11) Traffic and Growth

(01:53) Why SCDOT owns most of our roads

(03:06) How are roads are funded?

(06:45) How "Concurrency" laws could help

(13:04) Riverland Oaks

(14:40) "Why can't the City say no?"

(16:52) "Why can't the city buy out Riverland Oaks?"

(21:16) How Stormwater regulations cut units

(23:54) Using Greenbelt funding to cut units

(30:11) Red tape getting in the way

(35:05) State of the City West Ashley

(39:26) What does it mean to be from Charleston?

(45:59) What's coming to West Ashley/James Island?

(48:59) Closing time!

Intro Music:

"Cool Intro" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/