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I mean looking at Labor force growth YOY as of the end of June (I'm fairly positive estimates are from July 1st of the year)
Charleston 408.4k to 433.4k +25k
Myrtle beach 215.2k to 224.5k +7.3k
Columbia 403.8k to 410k +6.2k
Greenville 442.7k to 456.1k +13.4k
Spartanburg 166.2k to 171.9k + 5.7k
The P&C’s premise is that the state legislature should stop giving tax breaks for companies to create more jobs in areas with already low unemployment rates, places the P&C deems too congested. I say go after the state legislature to make them get on the side of local leaders who are trying to reign in sprawl for better designed communities. Developers have had state-level politicians scratching their backs for too long, developing mostly communities that contribute to sprawl and worse traffic.
In theory this makes sense for Industrial Development assuming the industry doesnt have specific needs like it has to be at a port or large rail yard though things like water/sewer and power grid may also be considerations. The problem is the politics.. If XYZ industry wants to come to Charleston and wants incentives and the State and Charleston folks say "No" but we will support you going to Orangeburg or Allendale... The industry may say No Thanks and go to Georgia. Then there would be all kind of fall out likely driven by the sectors/chamber of commerce types that would have benefited from that relocation.
I think the PC is correct when applying this to housing and retail developers as the state plays little role and the control lies in the hands of the local government via zoning and infrastructure development. Maybe they dont offer direct financial incentives for these types of development but not charging impact fees or obtaining larger community benefits would slow down this type of development. If the developer is hell bent on moving forward they should pay more $$ and the funds use to mitigate the worse impacts, (i.e. Roads, Schools and related infrastructure or potentially work force housing) as opposed to it being absorbed by the broader population. In the case of workforce housing , they could be obtained as apart of the development if it is a large more upscale project or the can write a check and had it to the local government for it to be put in a fund that can be granted or loaned to workforce housing developers to create the housing elsewhere. Again, only suggesting this if workforce housing is an issue.
The P&C’s premise is that the state legislature should stop giving tax breaks for companies to create more jobs in areas with already low unemployment rates, places the P&C deems too congested. I say go after the state legislature to make them get on the side of local leaders who are trying to reign in sprawl for better designed communities. Developers have had state-level politicians scratching their backs for too long, developing mostly communities that contribute to sprawl and worse traffic.
It should come as no surprise to anyone that the left leaning P&C holds no sway with the legislature in the state.
I mean looking at Labor force growth YOY as of the end of June (I'm fairly positive estimates are from July 1st of the year)
Charleston 408.4k to 433.4k +25k
Myrtle beach 215.2k to 224.5k +7.3k
Columbia 403.8k to 410k +6.2k
Greenville 442.7k to 456.1k +13.4k
Spartanburg 166.2k to 171.9k + 5.7k
This is from June '22 to june '23
Different thing from the census estimate. We'll see when the next one comes out. The last one was Horry followed by Greenville.
Status:
"dreaming of Glacier National Park"
(set 9 days ago)
721 posts, read 341,550 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Charlestondata
The P&C’s premise is that the state legislature should stop giving tax breaks for companies to create more jobs in areas with already low unemployment rates, places the P&C deems too congested. I say go after the state legislature to make them get on the side of local leaders who are trying to reign in sprawl for better designed communities. Developers have had state-level politicians scratching their backs for too long, developing mostly communities that contribute to sprawl and worse traffic.
If you live in or near the city, why do you care about traffic in suburbs and rural areas?
St. George doesn't have a Walmart yet, it is odd that you are concerned about sprawl out there. It really doesn't have a legit downtown.
It is hard to make the case Summerivlle and Mt Pleasant have been ruined by suburban commercial and residential growth.
The traffic will get worse in downtown Charleston if it adds more residents on top of the tourists.
We don't have a chance of slowing down growth if immigration into the country is not significantly reduced. The US is the third most populated country. It seems like people who are upset about suburban "sprawl" and traffic are opposed to any limits on immigration and want more of it.
Last edited by LakeMan45; 01-05-2024 at 04:34 PM..
If you live in or near the city, why do you care about traffic in suburbs and rural areas?
St. George doesn't have a Walmart yet, it is odd that you are concerned about sprawl out there. It really doesn't have a legit downtown.
It is hard to make the case Summerivlle and Mt Pleasant have been ruined by suburban commercial and residential growth.
The traffic will get worse in downtown Charleston if it adds more residents on top of the tourists.
We don't have a chance of slowing down growth if immigration into the country is not significantly reduced. The US is the third most populated country. It seems like people who are upset about suburban "sprawl" and traffic are opposed to any limits on immigration and want more of it.
I have the ability to empathize. It’s not about me. St. George does have a legitimate downtown, small as it is. It’s the original downtown, although a fire destroyed some of it years back. The stuff built between downtown and I-95 in the last few decades isn’t the downtown.
You must not follow the St. George Facebook page. A proposed housing subdivision had residents making all the typical anti-traffic and overcrowded statements.
It is not a hard case to make that the pattern of growth in Summerville and Mount Pleasant have threatened quality of life in both. Again, follow a Facebook page on either community and you’ll see that comments about proposed new construction are met overwhelmingly with negativity. Mount Pleasant has basically brought all development to a halt due to the traffic issues that have been caused by suburban sprawl. And the use of land between downtown Summerville and I-26 was pathetic. It is ugly with huge swaths of paved parking in front half defunct big boxes. And the traffic! OMG!
On the peninsula, the new multi-story housing being built includes ground-level retail and restaurants. The more of that style development we have, the more residents can walk to their destinations within their neighborhoods. That decreases traffic. A city isn’t supposed to be a massive slab of suburbia, and towns weren’t founded and settled to one day be run over by it.
Status:
"dreaming of Glacier National Park"
(set 9 days ago)
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The reality is people who live in downtown Charleston drive to those big box stores in the suburbs. There's no Best Buy or Costco on King Street. The idea a resident in downtown Charleston should be able walk to everything doesn't make sense. There's no room for big stores there.
There's very little grass in downtown Charleston. It is mostly concrete and asphalt with many buildings that aren't attractive.
Last edited by LakeMan45; 01-06-2024 at 09:22 AM..
Status:
"dreaming of Glacier National Park"
(set 9 days ago)
721 posts, read 341,550 times
Reputation: 238
It is silly to complain about big box stores. They have to be located somewhere and require big parking lots. You should be happy the big box stores are located in the suburbs rather than in it or near downtown.
Most of the newer shopping centers have decent aesthetics and landscaping. Older developments can be improved with landscaping.
Much of the traffic in Mount Pleasant is beach traffic and some people driving through to downtown Charleston and other places south and north. Downtown Charleston tourism and Patriot Point tourism contributes to Mt Pleasant traffic.
You said something about suburbs having fake downtowns but a downtown is just restaurants, retail, bars, entertainment venues, office buildings, government buildings, parks, etc. If a suburb has those things in a town center like the one in Mount Pleasant, they aren't fake. I like the aesthetics of that town center more than King Street, and the stores in there like Barnes and Noble and Belk with the movie theatre. There are a lot more trees in the Mt Pleasant town center than on King Street plus quaint fountains.
I had thought there was a traditional movie theater in downtown Charleston but I'm not seeing it on Google maps. Seems like a lot of downtown residents are driving to the burbs to see a film. If there was way to block downtown residents from visiting the burbs, that would help traffic in the burbs.
Last edited by LakeMan45; 01-06-2024 at 09:19 AM..
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