Empowering Communities Through Thoughtful Planning.
Staff Experience
US 1 Annexation
In 2016, the City of West Columbia annexed roughly 730 acres, increasing the area of the city by 15% and the population of the city by 10%. As the Director of Planning and Zoning, Wayne Shuler played a role in communicating the benefits of annexing into the city and developed a draft zoning map to help answer questions about how the city’s zoning ordinance would impact residents’ properties. The annexation referendum was approved. Once it was completed, Wayne processed the zoning map amendment for the 730-acre annexation area.
Newberry County Comprehensive Plan
Wayne Shuler was instrumental in developing the first comprehensive plan for Newberry County which included all the municipalities in the county. Part of evaluating the existing conditions in the county was significant field work to collect land-use data county-wide in order to develop a future land-use map for the entire county and all the municipalities. Since there was no planning program established at the county level, an integral step in the process was creating and staffing a county-wide planning commission with representation from each of the municipalities. Wayne served as the staff support for the joint planning commission and was responsible for publishing agendas and taking the minutes of the meetings.
Fairfield County Park Plan
Wayne Shuler drafted a county-wide park plan for Fairfield County, starting with conducting extensive field work to collect existing conditions data for each park in the county. Wayne then used a park classification system to categorize the existing parks and provide context for future park recommendations. During the planning process, Wayne facilitated several public meetings to report the findings of the existing conditions and to seek comments on future recreation needs.
Municipal Comprehensive Plans
One of the most significant roles as a regional planner for a COG is drafting comprehensive plans for jurisdictions in the region. Over his 19-year career with CMCOG, Wayne Shuler wrote comprehensive plans for at least 15 jurisdictions. It was important for him to make each plan unique, while also taking the opportunity to introduce planning concepts, including pedestrian sheds, nodes and links, green infrastructure, complete streets, and form-based codes, to jurisdictions that would normally not have access to those concepts. One notable set of recommendations was developed for a small, rural town that is located near the entrance to a National Park, an access point to the Palmetto Trail, and the Congaree River Blue Trail. The plan identified opportunities for the town to be a recreational hub offering outfitter services plus restaurants and accommodations for travelers.
Zoning Ordinance Amendments
Wayne Shuler has been responsible for drafting several text amendments and shepherding the text amendments through the adoption process. Many of the amendments were designed either to facilitate new business opportunities or to streamline the review process for redevelopment projects. Some of the amendments include:
- Creating a food truck court use classification in the zoning ordinance to facilitate an economic development opportunity presented to the city. This amendment required conducting research on the food truck court concept and identifying the most appropriate conditions, including adding a Special Exception process in the city’s Gateway Overlay District to ensure that the character of the overlay district would be protected.
- Adding an artisan manufacturing use classification to the zoning ordinance which led to the city securing a brewery in the River District. The brewery was a catalyst for redevelopment of other properties in the vicinity.
- Adding an infill overlay district to the zoning ordinance to provide an opportunity for several property owners to redevelop their property when they did not have options under traditional zoning districts.
- Adding a Redevelopment Floating Zone to the zoning ordinance to facilitate the redevelopment of property in areas of the city designated by City Council. The Redevelopment Floating Zone was instrumental in the approval process for two mixed-use developments. One redevelopment project is already under construction with a 312-unit multifamily residence. Wayne Shuler developed the standards for the type of developments that could be considered for the floating zone designation, the guidelines for the application submittal, and the review and approval process.