Developers Council History

The Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce formed the Developers Council during the 2002 fiscal year as a result of the work of its Housing Affordability Task Force.  The Chamber's membership called on the Chamber to study the increasing cost of housing in the Charleston region and was later asked to form a committee to study the issue.  The Housing Affordability Task Force spent several months looking at housing affordability in the area, particularly housing affordability affecting the income bracket of the middle tier residents of our community.

The task force recommended the formation of the Developers Council for the purpose of starting a dialogue between the development community and local government about growth regulations and their impact upon the business community and particularly housing affordability. 

The Chamber’s Developers Council was formed in 2002 to increase the dialogue among the public and private sector regarding regulations impacting residential and non-residential development.  The Council was expanded in 2003 to include any member of the Chamber involved in the development process.  Average monthly attendance is between 100 and 150 people.

In the fall of 2004, the Town of Mt. Pleasant was considering changes to a permit allocation program it had implemented five years prior.  The Town staff and Town Council members asked the Developers Council to look at the issue and make recommendations.  The Developers Council formed a Task Force and developed recommendations which were adopted by the Chamber board and submitted to the Town.  While the Town did not adopt all the proposed changes, many of the recommendations were implemented.

In November 2004, a consultant team hired by the City of Charleston to develop a process improvement system for the City, asked the Developers Council to serve as a focus group to discuss the process and quality of customer service associated with planning, zoning and building issues.  Following this meeting, all members were sent a survey to complete.  As a result, the City of Charleston asked two representatives of the Developers Council to serve on an internal, staff process improvement team to help develop new guidelines for improving service in these critical areas within the City of Charleston.

The Developers Council was also asked in early 2005 to participate on a newly formed regional land use planning organization formed by the BCD Council of Governments.  The group is comprised of planning directors from each of the counties and municipalities within the region.  The Developers Council representatives are the only private sector participants.  The purpose of the group is to discuss ways to more effectively address land use on a regional, rather than local perspective.

In December 2005, a special focus began on the issue of workforce housing in a continuing effort to address housing affordability in the region.  A study was conducted by the Lowcountry Housing Trust and the Chamber’s Center for Business Research and completed in spring 2008.  The study recommended a number of policies and strategies for local and state government and the business community to consider.  The Lowcountry Housing Trust and Chamber’s Development Council are now focused on promoting adoption of the various recommendations in order to address this critical issue.

For a copy of the full report, click here.