Residential Building Permit Allocation System (BPAS) — currently in effect

IN EFFECT as of the date checked (September 4, 2026). Mount Pleasant caps the number of residential building permits it will issue each year — a growth-control device that is rare among U.S. municipalities. Codified in Chapter 156 (Zoning Code), Subchapter O, at §§ 156.1690 through 156.1702 (§ 156.1690 Title; 156.1691 Authority; 156.1692 Purpose and intent; 156.1693 Jurisdiction/applicability; 156.1694 Implementation and administration; 156.1695 Availability and allocation; 156.1696 Permit allocations; 156.1697 Application requirements; 156.1698 Commencement of construction; 156.1699 Exemptions; 156.1700 Monitoring; 156.1701 Appeals; 156.1702 Liberal construction). CURRENT NUMBERS, as adopted: the ordinance establishes 'the annual number of available residential permits. at a total of 600 dwelling units to yield a more manageable average annual growth rate of approximately 2.1% over the duration of this program.' Table 1 (Dwelling Type Categorical Allocations, 2024-2029): Single Family Dwelling Units 240 Jan-June + 240 July-Dec = 480/year; Accessory Dwelling Units 10 + 10 = 20/year; totals 250 + 250 = 500/year. Table 2 (Program Totals, 2024-2029): Single Family 2,400; Accessory Dwelling Units 100; Multi-family 500; Total 3,000 over the five years. Multi-family is allocated as a single 500-unit pool for the whole program term rather than annually. ALLOCATION METHOD: permits are issued semi-annually in chronological order of receipt (first come, first served) by the Building Inspections Division; one-half of the allocation is released January 1 and one-half July 1; each six-month period is an allocation cycle. Unissued permits from a cycle carry over to the next cycle. If applications exceed supply, a submittal is accepted and held first-in-line for the next cycle. Two anti-hoarding limits: an applicant may file no more than 10 building permit applications in any 24-hour period, and 'no more than 25 Single Family homes (attached or detached) can be applied for in any one six-month allocation cycle for a single family development/subdivision or combination of phases in a larger development/subdivision.' Time limits: an applied-for permit not picked up and paid within 180 days is void; construction must commence within 180 days of issuance; construction must be maintained in any rolling 180-day period or the permit is void. Administration is the responsibility of the Director of Planning, Land Use, and Neighborhoods (§ 156.1694); no separate allocation application is required prior to a building permit application. Authority cited: S.C. Local Government Comprehensive Planning Enabling Act of 1994 (Title 6, Chapter 29), the Home Rule Act (Act No. 283 of 1975) and S.C. Code § 5-7-30.