Population: 3,885,736
Counties: 46
Governor Jim Hodges

Key Laws/Administrative Actions
Organizations/Media/Calendar

Key Laws:
For an overview of South Carolina planning and zoning statutes, see a summary provided by the American Planning Association.
To learn about proposed legislation in the South Carolina Legislature supporting smart growth, visit the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League Legislative Action Center.

South Carolina Local Government Comprehensive Planning Enabling Act of 1994
This law essentially enables local and regional bodies to set up independent planning agencies to coordinate land use and transportation planning activities.  The law does not mandate the creation, but specifically allows for their creation.  The city council of each municipality may create a municipal planning commission. The county council of each county may create a county planning commission. The governing body of a consolidated government may create a planning commission.  Any combination of municipal councils and a county council or any combination of municipal councils may create a joint planning commission. 
http://www.scstatehouse.net/code/t06c029.htm

HR 3782  Conservation Easements (2000)
This bill increases the income tax deduction for willing landowners who sell a conservation easement to the state or to non-profit land trusts to 25%. 

Administrative Actions:
Heritage Trust Program
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources' Heritage Trust Program was created in 1976, the first such program in the nation. It was to preserve those natural features and cultural remains which are quickly disappearing as the state's population increases in size. The program's purpose is to inventory, evaluate and protect the elements considered the most outstanding representatives of our state heritage. 

The Heritage Trust Program, part of the Wildlife Diversity Section, is funded by appropriations, the Endangered Wildlife Fund, the Endangered Species License Plate and by a small portion of revenue collected from the real estate documentary stamp tax. The income is deposited into the Heritage Land Trust Fund and used for acquisition of significant natural and cultural areas. 
http://www.dnr.state.sc.us/wild/heritage/preserve.html?Heritage+Trust#first_hit

Media:
"Billboard Battle Heats Up in Richland," The State. March 6, 2001

"Chamber Opposes Urban Sprawl," Beaufort Gazette. June 8, 2001.

"Affordable Housing on S.C. 170 Proposed," Beaufort Gazette. June 11, 2001

Organizations:
South Carolina Coastal Conservation League
The South Carolina Coastal Conservation League is a grass-roots, non-profit conservation advocacy organization backed by more than 4,000 members. The Conservation League is working to protect the environment and traditional landscapes of the South Carolina Coast through its programs in Land Use, Water Quality, Forestry, and Education. The Newsletter of the Conservation League is published quarterly and reports on the work of League staff and members. The Conservation League maintains offices in Charleston and Beaufort.
P.O. Box 1765
Charleston, SC 29401
Tel: 843-723-8035
Fax: 843-723-8308
E-mail: scccl@charleston.net

CALENDAR OF EVENTS