Charleston City residents approve $70mm in Park Bonds

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City of Charleston voters overwhelmingly approved the $70 million parks bond referendum on the Nov. 7 ballot.

Unofficial results put the turnout at about 80 percent voting for it and 20 percent against. It passed in both the Charleston and the Berkeley county portions of the city’s footprint.

The bond program will fund a series of parks projects and upgrades throughout Charleston. The target list includes a recreation and aquatic center on Johns Island, new parks for Daniel Island and the Cainhoy peninsula, a new recreation center on James Island and a new park on a 207-acre property on Bear Swamp Road in West Ashley.

 

It also includes upgrades to the existing James Island Recreation Complex and the McMahon Playground and Corrine Jones Playground. A new pool is proposed at the Bees Landing Recreation Center in West Ashley and a new aquatic center at Forest Park in West Ashley.

The list is still subject to adjustments from City Council.

The bond will be paid off using property tax revenues.

Following are examples of how much taxes would go up annually for residents living in Charleston city limits in both counties.

 

Charleston Co. residents

$42 on a $350,000 owner-occupied home. (4 percent)

$63 on a $350,000 rental home. (6 percent)

Berkeley Co. residents

$60 on a $500,000 owner-occupied home.

$90 on a $500,000 rental home.

Those figures could decrease over time as the city’s tax base grows.