AIKEN — The effort to update Aiken County’s Comprehensive Plan is continuing, and the Aiken Standard recently received a schedule for what is expected to happen in the near future.
The Aiken County Planning Commission, which is being assisted by county staff, “aims to complete a draft and open it for public comment before the end of the year,” wrote the county’s chief development officer, Joel Duke, in an Oct. 1 email.
A Comprehensive Plan work session for the Planning Commission is set for Oct. 22 and will coincide with the panel’s monthly 6 p.m. meeting in the Sandlapper Room of the Aiken County Government Center.
During that work session, the Planning Commission will “review the goals and objectives from the 2014-2024 [Comprehensive] Plan, analyze public input received earlier this year and start reviewing the full analysis of conditions,” Duke wrote. “We anticipate a series of sessions in late October and early November, to be held in the Sandlapper Room at the County Government Center. Exact dates will be announced soon. The public is encouraged to attend all sessions.
“After finalizing the draft plan, the [Planning] Commission will schedule several public presentations similar in format to those held in January and February.”
The Comprehensive Plan needs the approval of County Council, and Chairman Gary Bunker anticipates doing that through an ordinance with three readings.
Bunker has told Duke he would like County Council to be able to consider the first reading in December.
“I believe first reading in December is feasible,” wrote Duke, who also is an assistant county administrator.
State law requires the county to update its Comprehensive Plan every 10 years.
The Comprehensive Plan “seeks to balance the desire for growth and development with protection and preservation of the county’s unique natural resources,” according to aikencountysc.gov.
County Council adopted the most recently completed update “of the Aiken County Comprehensive Plan on Aug. 16, 2016, with an effective date of June 6, 2016,” Duke wrote. “The designated time period of the current plan is 2014-2024. The [County Planning] Commission is maintaining the same 10-year span (2024-2034) with the update.”
The Planning Commission’s original goal was to complete its work on the 2024-2034 Comprehensive Plan “by the end of 2024, aligning with the 2024-2034 timeframe,” according to Duke.
But “unexpected delays such as Hurricane Helene occurred,” he wrote. “We expect to submit a final draft of the plan to County Council well before June 2026.”
In his email, sent in response to questions from the Aiken Standard, Duke also wrote about what had been accomplished so far in the latest effort to update the Comprehensive Plan.
A Demographic and Economic Inventory Report and a Market Analysis Report have been completed.
Duke described the Demographic and Economic Inventory Report as “a summary of the economic and market trends and an analysis of population, households and employment trends of Aiken County and the region.”
The Market Analysis Report provides “a review and analysis of employment and real estate trends and projections in the housing, office and retail markets,” Duke wrote.
Public information and listening sessions were conducted at four locations in the county in January and February of this year.
There also were citizen surveys that included open-ended questions and an interactive map. More than 300 responses were received, Duke wrote.
“Additionally, the [Planning] Commission is integrating relevant parts of transportation planning documents recently adopted by ARTS (Augusta Regional Transportation Study), Aiken County and others,” Duke continued. “The [Planning] Commission also is using extensive data collected by [two of the] river basin councils established by the state.”
Duke provided a list of information sources that included the Whiskey Road Corridor Study, Bettis Academy Road Corridor Study, S.C. 118 Intersection Analysis and U.S. 78 Intersection Analysis.
During County Council meetings this year, some members of the public have expressed frustration with what they perceive as a lack of progress on the Planning Commission’s part in the completion its work on the latest Comprehensive Plan update.
The Aiken County Government Center is at 1930 University Parkway.
