Lawsuit over hotel ends in settlement, project changes

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A hotel developer will adjust the scope of its project planned for Meeting Street in downtown Charleston after Historic Charleston Foundation settled a lawsuit over it against the Charleston Board of Zoning Appeals.

The appeal, filed in Charleston County Circuit Court in April, had asked the court to reverse the zoning board’s decision to approve construction of a 252-room hotel at 431 Meeting St.

The appeal argued that the board should have considered the state’s pending ordinance doctrine, which gives local governments the authority to refuse a zoning application when the use is not allowed under a then-pending and later-enacted zoning ordinance.

The board also did not properly apply the city’s existing zoning ordinance, the appeal said. The ordinance instructs the board to consider whether a hotel minimizes “potential negative impacts affecting residential neighborhoods … to the greatest extent possible.”

A news release from the foundation said while the appeal was pending, the city of Charleston reviewed, revised and strengthened the controlling ordinances that govern the board of zoning appeals.

As part of the settlement (.pdf), the hotel’s developer, OMS Charleston LLC, has agreed to comply with the new hotel ordinance amendment. The new hotel will not exceed 250 rooms and will offer full-service amenities such as meeting space and an independent restaurant, the release said.

Other terms of the settlement are:

• The hotel will comply with specific architectural details that the foundation required, including specifications regarding ceiling heights, window shapes and sizes, building materials and design details.
• The developer will pay an affordable housing fee of $5.10 per square foot of the entire building. The fees will be directed to the Charleston Redevelopment Corp. to build more affordable housing units in the area through its Palmetto Community Land Trust program.

Crayton Walters, president of Historic Charleston Foundation’s board of trustees, said the settlement is a win for affordable housing in Charleston.

“The end result is that now the BZA has the tools it needs to protect a diversity of uses on the peninsula, and as a mission-driven organization committed to protecting the cultural character of Charleston, the foundation is pleased with the ultimate outcome,” Walters said.

Litigation was a last resort for the organization, according to Walters.

“However, few would argue that there are simply too many hotels coming to the peninsula, and their concentration, generally accompanied by loss of residential, office and commercial space, presented an increasing threat to the vibrancy of our city,” he said. “In the end, we had no other option than to initiate legal proceedings.”