Zoning Board of Appeals - Regular Meeting

I'm going to call to order the August 3, 2026 Zoning Board of Appeals. And let's see.

All right.

I'm going to follow the agenda here. We do ask that you turn your phones off if you need to make a call or you got one coming in, please go out in the hallway. And we will call the... The city will... tell us what is on the agenda and what the circumstances are, and then the board has a chance to ask them any questions that they may have, then the, this is an appeal, so then the, The person who submitted the variance will be called, has three minutes to speak, and then after that, to speak and to get questions from the board, if any. Then witnesses, people who wanted to speak on the item can speak. And then, I'm sorry, I'm sorry. then the board will make a decision after discussion. Once your case has been heard, you do not have to stay here any longer. But for the next one, if you so choose to do that, that's fine. All right, so first item on our agenda is the Unified Development Ordinance Update. All right, well, thank you. Thank you, Tim. I went to the first zoning Unicode thing, and it was very informative. If y'all have the chance to go, I believe you were there, too.

If you have the chance to go, it's really good.

Tim gave a great presentation. And there were a lot of people to meet and talk to and hear from. And I was surprised at how many people, just regular folks here in North Charleston showed up and came out and gave their opinions.

Yeah, that was really good.

Okay, next item on the agenda is the adoption of the June 1st, 2026 meeting minutes. Do I have a motion? Motion to approve. Do I have a second? All those in favor, aye.

Aye.

Okay. All right, and I'm going to turn this over to Jack for our first request for variances.

So we have a request for signage variance in the University Boulevard overlay district at 9228 Medical Plaza Drive. As you can see from the aerial here, it's just a little bit south of University Boulevard. The representative Kathy Brazel of the Fitz Company on behalf of the property owner, Trident Medical Center LLC is seeking variances from Article 5, Section 514B1G2 relating to the maximum wall signage allowable within the University Boulevard Overlay District for the property addressed as 9228 Medical Plaza Drive in the B1 Limited Business Zoning District, University Boulevard Overlay District, Council District 7. The representative recently applied for sign permits for four new signs, HCA Healthcare Head and Neck Specialist with logo, and the Sarah Cannon Cancer Network signs. the front corner facades of the medical office buildings at this address signs ext002a and ext009a were approved and permitted separately after the removal of the signs ext002c and ext009c per section 85E4, four sign structures and wall signs containing multiple modules. The sign face shall be calculated by reference to the area of the rectangle, which if drawn would fully encompass all sign modules. Because signs 002A and 002C and signs 009A and 009C are located on the same facades, the area of the proposed wall sign is thus calculated as the size of the rectangle which would encompass the two signs per each facade. As shown on sheet four, those rectangles are 13.86 feet tall by 23.99 feet wide with an area of 332.5 square feet. Section 85G specifies that for purposes of sign area calculations and measurements, calculations shall be made with the entirety of a building's orientation being considered a single wall without regard to the existence of any offsets or bump-outs. Thus, per Sheet 4, the height of the building is 31 feet and the width of the building is 110 feet, making the total square footage of each facade 3,410 square feet. Section 514B1G2 specifies that for commercial wall and window signs, one square foot of wall and window signage combined will be permitted per each linear foot of building frontage up to and not exceeding 15% of the area of the building facade on which the sign is to be displayed. AS DISCUSSED ABOVE THE FRONT FACADE OF THE OFFICE BUILDING MEASURES 110 FEET WIDE WHICH WOULD ALLOW A MAXIMUM OF 110 SQUARE FEET OF WALL AND WINDOW SIGNAGE ALONG THE ENTIRETY OF THE BUILDING ORIENTATION ON EACH SIDE. AS THE PROPOSED SIGNS MEASURE 332.5 SQUARE FEET ON EACH FACADE VARIANCES TO SECTION 514B1G2 ARE THUS REQUESTED TO EXCEED THE LIMITS FOR THE SQUARE FOOTAGE OF SIGNAGE PER LINEAR FOOT OF BUILDING FRONTAGE. Per section 773 of the city zoning regulations, the board must make the following findings to grant the variances. One, there are extraordinary and exceptional conditions pertaining to the particular piece of property. The application states that the extraordinary and exceptional conditions that apply to the property is that the property is being used as a Sarah Cannon Cancer Network affiliated location, and as such, proper identification is needed for the community to locate the facility. Staff does not agree that being affiliated with the Sarah Cannon Cancer Network is an extraordinary and exceptional condition pertaining to this particular piece of property. Staff also notes that alterations to proposed signage sizes and locations could allow for both the HCA and Sarah Cannon signage to be installed without the need for a variance. Number two, these conditions do not generally apply to other property in the vicinity. The application states the facility must be immediately and unmistakably identifiable from the surrounding roadway. Staff notes that the facility is part of a larger medical complex and that other buildings on site are also medical offices. Accordingly, staff finds that this is a condition that applies to other properties within the vicinity. Number three, because of these conditions, the application of the ordinance to the particular piece or property would effectively prohibit or unreasonably restrict the utilization of the property. The application states that the ordinance restricts the facility from safely and reasonably utilizing the property for its intended purpose, providing the community with access to the Sarah Cannon Cancer Network. Staff disagrees that the property is effectively prohibited or unreasonably restricted from being utilized as it has been used as a medical facility and may continue to operate as such. Staff also knows that the property may be advertised as being part of the Sarah Cannon Cancer Network with signage that meets the zoning ordinance. Number four, the authorization of a variance will not be of substantial detriment to adjacent property or to the public good, and the character of the district will not be harmed by the granting of the variance. The application asserts the granting of the variances and thus the installation of the proposed signage will not be detrimental to adjacent properties or to the public good. The application also states that the proposed signage would be beneficial to the public good based on the reasoning mentioned prior. Staff does not believe that the proposed signage, if approved, would be of substantial detriment to the adjacent properties or to the surrounding area given the isolated character of the hospital campus. As noted, staff disagrees the usage of the site should be considered an extraordinary and exceptional condition pertaining to this particular piece of property. Staff also knows the other properties in the vicinity are used for medical offices, and the condition stated in the application is applicable to other properties in the area as well. Staff finds that the property has operated as a medical office for a number of years and may continue, so the use of the property is not being prohibited or unreasonably restricted. Staff believes that the authorization of a variance would not be of substantial detriment to adjacent properties or to the public good. Staff notes that the signage may be approved and permitted without the need for a variance if the proposed signage were to be designed in a manner to be equal or less than the 110 allotted square feet on each facade. Accordingly, staff recommends denials of the requested variances from Section 514B1G2 to allow the proposed signage to exceed the limits for the square footage of signage per linear foot of building frontage and 15% of the building facade area. Additionally, a copy of the staff report was emailed to the applicant on Thursday, July 30th.

We have a four vote, what's the word I'm looking for? We have to have four votes from the board and we only have four people here. All of us have to agree to either deny or approve.

Just to approve?

Okay, all right. Just to approve it. There has to be four votes. All right. Are you Kathy Brazell? Okay. Are you ready to come up?

Thank you. I did get the application that came in on Thursday and read over it or not the application but what was just read on Thursday and we actually have a different hardship than what Kathy described as the hardship. So I do want to also let you know that Chris Childress with HCA, he's the administrative director for the oncology department and has a lot of great information on the importance of the Sarah Cannon partnership with HCA and what that means for the community. But the biggest hardship we have is the architecture of the building. And if we can look back at that image, the HCA Healthcare head and neck specialist copy up there is in a linear format because if we were to stack that in that space, it would be too small to read. And then we can't put the Sarah Cannon copy immediately below it because of the window that's there. And so that's really the hardship that we have in this situation. It is important for the community to be able to recognize this and know where they're going when they're heading to the Sarah Cannon facility. But the hardship for the signage that we have is just the architecture of the building. In order to put both signs in the same space, it makes them too small to read. And I apologize that Kathy did not do a better job accurately communicating and describing this hardship that we were facing. When I noticed it on Thursday and I asked her to reach out to make the changes, that's when she told me she couldn't make any changes at that point.

And so, yeah. Unfortunately, she can. So you have to review the application.

and then if we eliminated the panel that's behind the sarah cannon copy and just counted the size of the copy itself and we were able to move it up closer to the logo then we are much closer than the 332 square feet that's noted there but due to the nature of the building and that there's a panel there, that's where we come to that copy. But the importance, I can't, I would really love for Chris to be able to speak to the importance of what Sarah Cannon brings to the community and the importance in easily signing the facility so that patients that are struggling with the medical issues they're struggling with can easily find this location because if it's only branded head and neck specialist, that's gonna be confusing to the patients.

All right, any questions, board members?

The other hardship, sorry, on this building is the back of the building is, okay. Okay, understood. Understood.

And did anyone, did you mention someone else? Is there, is this for this one? Okay, Joel Childress? Oh, okay. All right. If she's complete, are you? Yes. Okay.

Chair, board, thank you guys for having us here today. My name's Chris Childress. I'm the Oncology Administrator for HCA Healthcare. Been a member of the community for about 16 years now, living on Johns Island. I've been working with HCA for, of 15 years on the clinical side. I moved to the dark side of administration about two years ago and I've loved every second of it. Here today to kind of paint this picture for you guys as far as why this signage is important related to the care that we're delivering there. Sarah Cannon has brought, as you know, with the HCA Healthcare branding that we've had universally, the Sarah Cannon Cancer Network really has allowed us to functionally change the way that we are organizing our care delivery here locally. Our head and neck program has aligned with Sarah Cannon broadly to open up freestanding clinics in Grand Strand, Greenville, Beaufort. We have a lot of patients who are not from this area. So that regional footprint of the level of care that our head and neck team deliver isn't just a local care delivery model. Much like USC, they have signage all over the place, downtown. With ours, what we're really going for is that the level of care that we're providing for our patients, it really treats some of the most complex cancers in medicine. Many of our patients carry permanent physical impairments. I wanted just to bring you a little something.

This.

This is a prosthetic eye. that our surgeons and our maxillofacial team give to patients. This is the ear, magnetic, for cancer. We have to do these very highly complex surgeries on these patients.

They have to come from all over the region to see us so that we can follow up on these patients.

This signage isn't really about branding, about the HCA delivery. This is about a patient safety matter.

We need our patients to be able to see the signage.

When there's two big old oak trees right around the corner, that turn where the extraordinary and exceptional conditions pertaining to the property The way that that's set up, the way that that curvature is for the road, you have a split second to be able to see that. People with hearing impairment, they won't be able to listen to their ways. They won't be able to listen to their passenger, be able to say, hey, turn here. With the visual impairment, I think we can all say if I had cancer surgery and I was missing, I'd be tough to drive. We have patients that are driving 65, 70, 80 miles to see our amazing head and neck surgeons. From a clinical side, I come to the board to say this variance is not really a branding ask. This is a patient safety ask. This allows us to be able to have our patients see, to not have to get turned around to that medical plaza where there's 50 other clinical buildings that are there. So then be able to make that turn to see the Saracenic Cancer Network because all of our freestanding remote clinics are all branded ACA Healthcare and Next Specialist, Saracenic Cancer Network. We want to know we're delivering top tier cancer care. This gives us ability for our patients to be able to see that and know that they're getting top tier cancer care. So I wanted to do that. Do you see any questions? Would anybody like to see the aye? Aye.

So these are not two different uses. This is not two offices in the same building. This is the head of next specialists is the Sarah Cannon Cancer Network.

Yeah, Sarah Cannon Cancer Network is the HCA cancer arm. So think of like GE. They have all these subsidiary umbrella companies. So Sarah Cannon is our clinical specialist in oncology care for HCA. So their clinical guidelines, their surgical procedures, their survivorship clinics, all those different aspects of it tie into the clinic. So that full scope of care and delivery is all facilitated by HCA Healthcare under the Sarah Cannon umbrella for surgical and cancer care excellence. You're welcome. Thank you guys for your time. Appreciate it very much.

Discussion?

I have one more question for the applicant. Oh, okay. Did you work with staff before making your application for this variance? Did you discuss this with?

It was my understanding that our permitting team did work with staff. And due to the situation where this building was gonna be occupied before this variance was taking place, that was the reason that the HCA Healthcare and next specialist copy went through just for permitting and it and the sarah cannon copy went through as a variance um those signs are going up they were supposed to go up today they're going to be going up tomorrow so if we had waited for the variance it's typically four to six weeks for production and then they would be operating in that we're not operating they would be doing business out of that building with no signage on there so that was the the reason HCA Healthcare had an ex-specialist was put through permitting and then advised to get the variance for Sarah Cannon.

Any other questions? Okay, thank you. Thank you. Okay, discussion?

Excuse me.

Oh, thank you. Motion on this variance request.

Motion to deny.

Do we have a second? Second.

All right. Oh, sorry.

You good? Okay. Jack, call the roll, or are you doing it?

No, I'm calling it. Do you guys have any discussion or anything before?

Discussion? Oh, I'm sorry. You're right.

Not really discussion. More of a statement. The application seems to be incomplete, and there's not much more to say about that.

Would you agree with that Zola? I guess I'm gonna go ahead and ask the question, can they reapply? Oh, for a year. Yes. Yes.

I want to request to withdraw and reapply for the next variance application. whenever that would come up. I do have a question, though. When you were talking about, and I don't know if we can talk about this now, but when you were talking about the square footage with the box and we would still be over, if, oh, is that, can we not talk about that?

Perfect, thank you.

So what do I need to do to officially withdraw so we don't get denied?

You have laid it on. Yeah. Yep. Thank you. Okay, next on the agenda, the Rivers Avenue appeal. Okay, and Jack, whenever you're ready.

So we have an appeal of a decision of a zoning official under Article 7, Section 7-6, related to a permitted use for the property addressed as 4221 Rivers Add. The appellant, Steele Schmelt, is appealing a decision of a zoning official under Article 7, Section 7-6, related to a determination regarding a permitted use at 4221 Rivers Avenue in the B2 General Business Zoning District, Rivers Avenue South Overlay District, and Council District 8. On May 22, 2026, the appellant sent an email to Planning and Zoning Deputy Director Andrew Brock describing the use as a low-intensity, premium retail and service hybrid. The appellant's proposed business, Optic Clear, specializes in the sale of auto parts such as windshield wipers, road kits, window shades, car cleaning supplies, car key reprogramming, and related supplies, as well as specialized services for glass repair and installation and camera calibration. After the appellant had exchanged emails with Mr. Bach and the zoning administrator, Tim McCall, it was determined by Mr. McCall on May 26, 2026, that the proposed use for the site was considered a prohibited use within the Rivers Avenue South Overlay District. Section 518C1D prohibits highway-oriented uses, including gas stations and related convenience stores, auto repair and parts stores and establishments, tire retreading establishments, paint and body shops, car and truck rentals, establishments selling used and new cars, motorcycles, boats, trailers, recreational vehicles, manufactured homes, and farm and industrial equipment and car washes within the overlay district. The appellant now appeals the decision characterizing the proposed use as a highway-oriented use. The appellant believes that the use of a windshield repair business should not be subject to Section 518C1D and instead should be considered an establishment selling primarily one-stop shop ONE-STOP SHOPPING ITEMS PER SECTION 5-4-A-5 OR AS AN ESTABLISHMENT OF A BUSINESS CHARACTER PROVIDING MAINTENANCE, INSTALLATION OR REPAIR OF SPECIALIZED EQUIPMENT TO INDIVIDUALS OR OTHER BUSINESSES PER SECTION 5-4-A-6. ACCORDINGLY, THE APPELLANT REQUESTS THE CURRENT RULING PROHIBITING WINDSHIELD REPAIR BUSINESSES WITHIN THE RIVERS AVENUE SOUTH OVERLAY DISTRICT BE REVERSED TO ALLOW FOR THE PROPOSED BUSINESS OPTIC CLEAR TO LEASE, OCCUPY AND CONDUCT BUSINESS AT 4221 RIVERS AVENUE. Per Section 773A1, the Zoning Board of Appeals has the power to hear and decide appeals where it is alleged that there is error in an order, requirement, decision, or determination made by an administrative official in the enforcement of the zoning ordinance. Per Section 76, any decision or determination by the zoning administrator or other administrative official may be appealed to the ZBA. The appellant has filed the attached appeal of the finding, arguing that the proposed use should be considered in establishments selling primarily one-stop shopping items per Section 54. A5, or as an establishment of a business character providing maintenance, installation, or repair of specialized equipment to individuals or other businesses per Section 54A6. Both sides will present their respective positions at the Zoning Board of Appeals meeting of August 3, 2026. At that time, the Board may reverse or affirm the staff determination wholly or in part, or may modify the order requirements, decision, or determination. To that end, it shall all... It shall have all the powers of the officer from whom the appeal is taken per Section 773E. Additionally, a copy of the staff report was emailed to the appellant on Thursday, July 30th.

Hello. I've got a brief statement, but my name's Dale Shumwold, and I'm the owner of the Optical Air franchise that's appealed the ruling from about a couple months ago. So, first of all, thank you all for being here. Upon receipt of a rejection for my business opti-clear at 4-2-2-1 Rivers, I looked into the language and purpose of the overlay. After review, to speak plainly, it seems that the spirit of the overlay is to improve the curb appeal, pedestrian friendliness, and support of transit-oriented development, local bus routes, et cetera, on that strip of rivers. I understand why that overlay exists and I respect the judgment rendered by the zoning department. I put forward an appeal though because I acknowledge that while most of the work we do is on cars, nothing about the business OptiClear inhibits any of the objectives set out in the overlay. And as my email said, we do specialize in window and camera repair primarily for vehicles. We do work mobily and on site at 4221 or Wood. And we'll retail certain auto related items like windshield wipers and other items that relate to our services and our customer base. But to conduct business, we're changing nothing material about the current structure externally, which is currently in clean and well-manicured shape. We'll continue to ensure a clean and well-preserved exterior to our piece of the building. Additionally, the entrance, so where the garages are, while visible, is on the side road, Beaufort. Any work done on vehicles is done indoors. No cars are stored overnight. No waste is produced that isn't what would typically be disposed of in the trash and immediately disposed of outside of public view where the dumpsters reside. So in summation, As a new small business owner entering North Charleston, we're intending to bring jobs necessary to consumer services to a convenient and accessible location while keeping net neutral or better in appearance of the existing structure and without causing any disruption to improving local transit or pedestrian areas. So for these reasons, I hope my business will not be viewed as an example of why the overlay exists, but rather the type of progress and commercial use the overlay is meant to yield.

Thank you.

Thank you. Any questions?

Thank you all.

Thank you. Do you have any witnesses to call? Mr. Lewis?

Thank you, Board. Just briefly, as you know, this is an appeal regarding the permitted use at 4221 Rivers Avenue. In a short period, you will hear a testimony from Tim McCall regarding the basis of his denial of the applicant's request for his requested use at that address for his business OptiClear. We think you will hear this testimony and it will be pretty clear and convincing to you to uphold Mr. McCall's decision. And so when you're ready, we'll call Mr. McCall for testimony.

My name is Tim McCall.

I work for the Planning and Zoning Department. I am the Director of Planning and Zoning, as well as the Zoning Administrator. Oversee the operations of the day-to-day operations of the department, and also I am responsible for administering and making decisions and interpretations of the zoning ordinance when they come up in regards to where businesses are located, whether or not permits should or should not be issued, et cetera.

Could you just briefly, as for background, tell us what...

So B2 is the city's general business district zoning. Land that is designated B2 general business district is established to provide areas where general business uses can be located. These areas are intended to support citywide and regional commerce along major arterial corridors. So an overlay district is a zoning tool that's used in designated areas to apply additional rules or requirements above the base zoning requirements established within the zoning ordinance. Most common overlay districts that most people are aware of are historic districts, but they can be used for other purposes such as aesthetic purposes or transit-oriented districts. or developments, those are common uses as well. That's the primary characteristic of an overlay. You have your base zoning and that overlay district then is on top of the base zoning. So the base zoning dictates the uses and the overlay district will typically address how those uses can be established. In Rivers Avenue South, yes, there are prohibited uses within that overlay district. They include open storage, yard sales, storage facilities as a primary use, freight terminals, depots, and drop yards, and container storage and stacking, highway-oriented uses including gas stations and related convenience stores, auto repair and parts stores and establishments, tire retreading establishments, paint and body shops, car and truck rentals, establishments selling used and new cars, et cetera. There are others included in that district. Correct. Yes, so they came in with a request for this OptiClear business at 4221 Rivers, as we stated, is located within the Rivers Avenue Overlay District. They were looking to, they have not yet established operations at this location, they want to operate their auto glass repair business at this location. Yes, so They inquired about the business and whether be permitted at that address based on the description provided by the appellant I determined that the use opticleer would be classified as an auto repair and parts store and The business offers services that include windshield and auto glass replacement, headlight restoration, windshield calibration, windshield repair, and door motor regulator replacement. This use is specifically prohibited in that overlay per Section 518 . And I felt that this really fell under auto repair and parts stores in our discussions The gentleman also stated that there would be auto parts, you know, windshield wipers, other various things that are auto-related, and that would fall under parts store, in my mind and classification.

Okay.

It could be, yes, if it meets the conditions. Auto highway-oriented uses are also conditional uses. If they meet those conditions as stated within 5.4, it would be a permitted use if it meets those conditions. So the overlay supersedes those minimum conditions and as such the prohibited nature of the use within the overlay district supersedes those that permitted ability for it to be a permitted use.

Any questions?

Call on Mr. Lewis for summation. Mr. Schmell. I'm sorry.

Thank you. In closing.

I believe that Mr. Schmell goes first.

Do we need...

Thank you.

So I think as I acknowledge there's like an auto focus component to the business but in general the spirit of the overlay is meant to improve that district for certain purposes and I don't believe that the type of store where opening inhibits any of what that overlay is meant to achieve. So that's, I guess, the closing for me.

Thank you.

Thank you. In closing, you've heard the testimony. We feel it is very clear and convincing. We're not here to discuss any type of interpretations. It's nothing about the spirit of The ordinance is a clear black and white ordinance of what you can and what you cannot do. We've heard testimony that this address is in the overlay district and you are prohibited from using the property to sell auto parts and services. In his own email that y'all have had in your packet, he's indicated to the applicant what part of the purpose of his business was to do and it is to sell car parts and services. There's nothing to interpret. We feel that it's pretty clear that, again, the property is in the overlay district, and as such, Mr. McCall was within his rights to fairly interpret to deny his request, and we hope that y'all will see fit and to uphold his decision and interpretation. Thank you.

Call for a motion to reverse affirm or modify staff decision?

Motion to affirm staff decision.

Discussion, board members?

I appreciate the very articulate argument put forward by Mr. Schemmel, but it's spelled out here pretty clearly. So that's all there is to it.

All right. Anything you would like to add?

One thing is that when you first started on that area, I guess he didn't kind of figure out, find out from you guys what he could open up business-wise in that area before it happened. His application, he never kind of figured out what business he could open up in that overlay area before.

Any other comments, questions? All right, Jack, we have a motion to affirm. We have a second. Would you call the roll?

Ms. Harper? Motion to affirm the staff decision.

Affirm, yes.

Mr. Callahan?

Yes.

Mr. Simmons?

Yes.

Ms. Morrow?

Yes.

All righty, the staff decision affirmed by the zoning board.

So the board has affirmed the denial. And with that, we are closed. We are adjourned.