North Charleston wins Chamber 1773 Award

For the third year, the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce honored 12 dynamic businesses and industries that make up the Charleston region’s economy and best reflect the vision, mission and core values of the Chamber through the 1773 Chamber Awards. The winners were announced at the Chamber’s Annual Meeting June 3.

The 1773 Awards is named for the year of the Chamber’s establishment. Awards were given to organizations that best reflect the core values of the Chamber; Leadership, Relevance, Integrity, Diversity and Innovation. Winners of each category will be vying for the 1773 Chamber of the Year Award being presented at the Annual Gala on July 9.

North Charleston received the Public Sector Award. The Chamber wrote:

PUBLIC: City of North Charleston
This past December, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded the 2009 Environmental Justice Achievement Award for the Mitigation Agreement Commission and the Lowcountry Alliance for Model Communities (LAMC). A large part of this important effort was due to the tireless and inspirational efforts from the City of North Charleston’s involvement with the LAMC revitalization master planning work and the ongoing collaboration with the South Carolina Ports Authority on the community mitigation for the port expansion. This partnership was one of 5 in the U.S. to receive the 2009 award.

The City of North Charleston has spent a lot of time, talent, effort and dedication by collaborating in a truly exceptional community‐City partnership. The City of North Charleston has distinguished itself through its work and service for its residents in the face of tremendous economic and social challenges and reached out to other universities such as the University of South Carolina and other partners in its approach to community revitalization. These multi‐disciplinary and multi‐partnership efforts move beyond excellent work to what is exemplary and remains a model for cities not only in South Carolina but in the U.S.

Read about other 1773 Award winners

Community Input Sought on LAMC Revitalization Plan

The Lowcountry Alliance for Model Communities (LAMC) is holding a public meeting and open house on Saturday, November 7, 2009 from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon, at the Military Magnet School, located at 2950 Carner Avenue in the Chicora/Cherokee neighborhood, to gather input on its Revitalization Plan. The revitalization study is funded from the South Carolina State Ports Authority Community Mitigation Plan.

Attendees will receive information regarding the Plan and have an opportunity to make written or verbal comments. EDAW/AECOM will provide a brief, formal presentation of the Plan development process and proposed implementation strategies. Displays highlighting the Plan will be set up in the school auditorium with project team members from EDAW/AECOM, LAMC, and the City of North Charleston to answer questions.

Over the past eight months, LAMC and the City have worked to create a unified community vision and implementation strategy for long-term growth and equitable development in seven neighborhoods in North Charleston’s Neck area, including Liberty Hill, Accabee, Union Heights, Howard Heights, Windsor, Five Mile, and Chicora/Cherokee. “Neighborhoods deserve to participate as partners with policymakers, service providers, regulatory agencies, industry, and developers to improve the community,” said Coakley Hilton, LAMC President. “The LAMC Revitalization Plan gave us an opportunity to do that. How we act on that opportunity is up to us.”

The Revitalization Plan identifies a number of strategies and goals for economic development, housing, community facilities, and land use. Issues of concern include affordable housing, improving neighborhood appearance, increasing parks and greenspace, preserving existing neighborhoods, redeveloping vacant and dilapidated properties, and identifying traffic and transportation improvements.

The community was involved early in the planning process to help formulate the vision for the LAMC neighborhoods. More than 25 organizations and business leaders were interviewed to gain various perspectives about the future of the LAMC neighborhoods, followed by a series of public community visioning workshops that involved hands-on exercises and discussions.

LAMC is a non-profit organization founded for the purpose of advocating environmental justice and promoting community development, education, quality housing, and community involvement. The LAMC Revitalization Plan is a component of the Community Mitigation Plan between LAMC, the South Carolina State Ports Authority, and the City of North Charleston to mitigate potential impacts of the new port terminal development at the former Navy Base in North Charleston. LAMC now serves as the primary community liaison between elected officials, public agencies, planners, private developers, and the neighborhoods it represents.

More information on LAMC can be found on its official website http://lamcnc.org/.