Don't rush Calhoun plan past concerned residents

A preliminary plan for a $100 million makeover of Gaillard Municipal Auditorium, and for offices in new buildings along the streets surrounding the auditorium, is the latest big plan for east Calhoun Street. It's also another reason why the city of Charleston should pause before making a decision about the equally ambitious proposal for the Calhoun Street East/Cooper River Waterfront Area.

To move forward with a plan that would pave the way for a hotel at the northwest corner of East Bay and Calhoun streets (almost catty-corner from the auditorium), change traffic flow on East Bay and prescribe architectural codes for the area would be irresponsible at this point. There is no good reason to hurry such critical decisions.

Unfortunately, the plan was approved by the city's planning commission with little discussion last week, despite the opposition of both adjacent neighborhood associations -- Mazyck-Wraggborough and Ansonborough -- and the Preservation Society of Charleston.

City Council should heed their complaints about potential traffic problems and the lack of adequate traffic data. They also should recognize that there are now, within blocks of the Gaillard, multiple other planned projects that need to be considered in context.

The Calhoun/Cooper plan calls for new development mostly east of East Bay, an idea that area neighbors generally endorse. But the plan also calls for an extension of the accommodations zone to allow a hotel at the northwest corner of East Bay and Calhoun.

Meanwhile, a 100-room hotel across from the parking garage for the S.C. Aquarium already has been approved. The former IMax is expected to become a hotel.

And just south on the Cooper River, the State Ports Authority has plans to renovate its passenger terminal. The larger plan for a 15-acre tract also includes retail, restaurant and residential buildings. Just across the street from the terminal, the city Market will be extended from East Bay to Concord streets.

And now, the city has introduced the plan for the Gaillard Auditorium and the surrounding area.

The impact of all these pending and proposed projects on traffic, parking, congestion, noise and livability must be considered as a whole before moving forward.

Two decades ago, City Council wisely refused to allow a Sleep Inn to be built on Calhoun just across from the Gaillard where the County Library now stands. Neighbors and preservationists ask why it is more appropriate now to build a hotel in that area than it was then.

Vangie Rainsford, president of the Garden District Mazyck Wraggborough neighborhood association, tells us that within a four-block square from the Francis Marion Hotel to the waterfront, there are 1,300 hotel rooms that exist or are planned.

There is a reason for allowing neighbors, preservationists, business owners and others to comment on projects such as those that are pending, and the reason isn't simply to check it off a list of required hurdles to clear before construction can commence. The reason is that people with varying perspectives, experience and knowledge can help the planning process and ensure that projects are appropriate for the community.

Advocates for the various development proposals on the drawing board suggest that they will attract tourists, tame traffic, provide new jobs and bring in business and services that will be attractive to residents.

But residents -- particularly those in the very shadows of some of the planned development -- need convincing. Already, traffic on East Bay Street backs up when a cruise ship is in port.

If the Calhoun/Cooper plan is worthy, proponents should be able to convince neighbors that their quality of life will be richer, not poorer, if the plan is approved. So far, they have failed to do that.

City Council, scheduled to consider the plan in mid-December, should send this plan back to city planners until traffic data is available in the context of the multiple projects being planned -- and until citizen concerns about the plan are adequately addressed.