Page 20 - Florence County, SC Florence County 2032: Connecting Our Past, Defining Our Future

FUTURE LAND USE AND of buildings on sites.
CHARACTER MAP It is this combination of basic land use and the

characteristics of the use that more accurately
determines the real compatibility and quality
Character Classifications
of development, as opposed to land use alone.
A character-based approach to community planning Aesthetic enhancements such as the design of
looks beyond the basic designation and use of buildings, landscaping and screening, sign control,
land (residential, commercial, industrial, public / and site amenities also contribute to enhanced
institutional, etc.) to consider the scale, placement community character.
and design of buildings and associated planning
of sites, as well as the aggregation of uses within Character Themes
neighborhoods, districts, and corridors. Whether
new development or redevelopment, and whether Each of the following community character types
private or public construction, the pattern of land use described below is present within the County with
– including its intensity, appearance, and physical varying degrees of significance. The more readily
arrangement on the landscape – will determine the identifiable character categories include:
character and will ultimately contribute to the image • Auto-urban to urban (general) character of
of the entire community over the long term. commercial development along U.S.-24 corridor
and other arterial routes;
In the community character spectrum, the four
main character designations are Rural, Suburban, • Industrial character near Jeffrey Energy Center
Auto-Urban, and Urban. These are common terms and along Union Pacific Railroad and quarries;
that should bring immediate images to mind as one • Urban (general) residential character of
thinks of traveling from the center to the outskirts of neighborhoods in Green Valley Area
a typical community. Over the years, and particularly • Areas of Suburban Residential character,
since the advent of widespread automobile particularly along the U.S.-24 corridor and south
ownership in the 1920s-1930s, sizable portions of of Luning Road;
many communities have developed in an “Auto-
Urban” pattern, which falls in the range between • Areas of larger lot Rural (Estate) Residential,
Urban and Suburban. generally north of U.S.-24 corridor and within
one mile of an existing paved road;
Community character accounts for the physical • Urban Impact Area, roughly one mile outside
traits one can see in an area which contribute to its of each incorporated city (with the exception
“look and feel.” A character-based approach to land of Manhattan) where development should be
use planning focuses on key variables, including encouraged and coordinated and;
development intensity, which encompasses the
density and layout of residential development; the • Undeveloped, rural agricultural character largely
scale and form (bulk) of non-residential development; outside of the incorporated areas and Green
and the amount of building and pavement coverage Valley, northeast Pottawatomie County.
(degree of impervious cover) relative to the extent of The range of community character classifications
open space and natural vegetation or landscaping. and their land use categories are as follows:
How the automobile is accommodated is a key
factor in distinguishing character types, including
street design, parking, and the resulting arrangement

16 | Plan Pottawatomie County 2040 Adopted - August 19, 2019