South Carolina

SECTION 6-29-710. Zoning ordinances; purposes. (A) Zoning ordinances must be for the general purposes of guiding development in accordance with existing and future needs and promoting the public health, safety, morals, convenience, order, appearance, prosperity, and general welfare. To these ends, zoning ordinances must be made with reasonable consideration of the following purposes, where applicable: (1) to provide for adequate light, air, and open space; (2) to prevent the overcrowding of land, to avoid undue concentration of population, and to lessen congestion in the streets; (3) to facilitate the creation of a convenient, attractive, and harmonious community; (4) to protect and preserve scenic, historic, or ecologically sensitive areas; (5) to regulate the density and distribution of populations and the uses of buildings, structures and land for trade, industry, residence, recreation, agriculture, forestry, conservation, airports and approaches thereto, water supply, sanitation, protection against floods, public activities, and other purposes; (6) to facilitate the adequate provision or availability of transportation, police and fire protection, water, sewage, schools, parks, and other recreational facilities, affordable housing, disaster evacuation, and other public services and requirements. "Other public requirements" which the local governing body intends to address by a particular ordinance or action must be specified in the preamble or some other part of the ordinance or action; (7) to secure safety from fire, flood, and other dangers; and (8) to further the public welfare in any other regard specified by a local governing body. HISTORY: 1994 Act No. 355, SECTION 1. SECTION 6-29-720. Zoning districts; matters regulated; uniformity; zoning techniques. (A) When the local planning commission has prepared and recommended and the governing body has adopted at least the land use element of the comprehensive plan as set forth in this chapter, the governing body of a municipality or county may adopt a zoning ordinance to help implement the comprehensive plan. The zoning ordinance shall create zoning districts of such number, shape, and size as the governing authority determines to be best suited to carry out the purposes of this chapter. Within each district the governing body may regulate: (1) the use of buildings, structures, and land; (2) the size, location, height, bulk, orientation, number of stories, erection, construction, reconstruction, alteration, demolition, or removal in whole or in part of buildings and other structures, including signage; (3) the density of development, use, or occupancy of buildings, structures, or land; (4) the areas and dimensions of land, water, and air space to be occupied by buildings and structures, and the size of yards, courts, and other open spaces; (5) the amount of off-street parking and loading that must be provided, and restrictions or requirements related to the entry or use of motor vehicles on the land; (6) other aspects of the site plan including, but not limited to, tree preservation, landscaping, buffers, lighting, and curb cuts; and (7) other aspects of the development and use of land or structures necessary to accomplish the purposes set forth throughout this chapter. (B) The regulations must be made in accordance with the comprehensive plan for the jurisdiction, and be made with a view to promoting the purposes set forth throughout this chapter. Except as provided in this chapter, all of these regulations must be uniform for each class or kind of building, structure, or use throughout each district, but the regulations in one district may differ from those in other districts. HISTORY: 1994 Act No. 355, SECTION 1; 2007 Act No. 31, SECTION 3, eff May 23, 2007.