Regional planning is answer to many shared problems

Our tri-county region is socially, physically and economically connected. If we are sincere in the desire to address issues challenging Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester counties — such as uncontrolled growth, traffic congestion, air quality, infrastructure needs, as well as green space and historic preservation — we must move beyond independent interests to find a shared vision we can all champion.

As chairman of the tri-county partnership titled "Our Region, Our Plan," I want you to know that the region's elected officials recognize the importance of working together. Through our membership in the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments (BCDCOG), the 12 member executive committee and 51 board members representing outlying rural areas, the city centers, each of the three counties and community organizations have made regional planning a priority.

Federal and state mandates require BCDCOG to prepare and update the Charleston Area Transportation Study, the Rural Transportation Management Plan, and the tri-county's 208 Water Quality Management Plan. The BCDCOG staff also assists most of our region's counties and municipalities in shaping their comprehensive land use plans and updates.

Last year, the BCDCOG was one of several funding partners for Neil Pierce and Curtis Johnson's Citistates Report published in The Post and Courier and now found on its website at http://www.charleston.net/news/citistates/.

BCDCOG also co-sponsored "Reality Check" with the Urban Land Institute last November, and many of its members participated in the November, day-long, leadership planning exercise.

The BCDCOG is not currently required by any outside authority, at the state or federal level, to create a regional land use plan, but its leadership recognizes the value of creating a broad-based community vision to provide direction and momentum for a sustainable, regional future.

"Our Region, Our Plan" is a two-year commitment to envision the future of Berkeley, Charleston and Dorchester County led by the BCDCOG Regional Land Use Planning Committee.

But it cannot be accomplished without insight and involvement at all levels.

In today's paper, you will find a four page survey asking questions about growth, transportation and land use issues. Your answers to these questions will inform the planning process and guide its direction. Results from the survey will be shared at our all day, public regional forum on July 26 at the North Charleston Convention Center, which is open to anyone interested in the future of our region.

We are regional citizens. We cross jurisdictional lines daily on our way to work, to shop, to recreation and to cultural events. Our region likes its independence and differences, but we can come together.

Our new Emergency Response Center, for example, exemplifies the savings and efficiencies that are found when we share common needs and responsibilities. In August, a new commuter express bus service using the Tri-County Link Express and CARTA Express commuter bus networks will begin from Moncks Corner and Goose Creek and from Summerville/Ridgeville. With rising gas prices and construction planned for Interstate 26, this regional service will reduce commuting costs for its passengers to North Charleston and Charleston and reduce morning and afternoon rush hour congestion.

We can begin to share data and studies. As a part of "Our Region, Our Plan," the BCDCOG staff and consultants have collected the available plans and supporting data from member local governments and from partner organizations and associations, including the chambers of commerce as well as state and federal agencies located in our region, such as NOAA's Coastal Services Center.

We are not the first region to recognize the importance of regional thinking and the need for a multi-county vision. We will learn from plans of others and go to the next level by connecting with regional transportation, water and sewer planning. We will consider the quality of "place" that defines each of our unique communities, and then finding ways to transfer those qualities to new development in ways that balance growth with infrastructure needs and the fragile Lowcountry environment.

We have interest and involvement from our region's political leaders, community groups, and business community, but we cannot be successful without public participation.

I invite you to join us in the launch of "Our Region, Our Plan." Complete your community survey on paper or on-line and pre-register for the regional forum on July 26, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

For more information, log on to the Web site www.OurRegionOurPlan.org, or contact Andrea Kozloski or Alec Brebner, the staff at the BCDCOG at (843) 529-0400.

Larry Hargett is a member of the Dorchester County Council, representing District 4.