City of Charleston coronavirus April 6 update

April 7, 2020

The city of Charleston remains at OPCON 1 and continues to enforce the Stay at Home ordinance citywide. In compliance with the ordinance, citizens are asked to continue to heed the stay at home orders and make only essential trips.

Tonight (April 6), Charleston City Council passed a temporary ordinance to move forward with virtual public meetings during the state of emergency, while continuing to allow for robust public participation in the process. The ordinance follows an order today by SC Gov. Henry McMaster that called on state or local governments to “utilize any available technology or other reasonable procedures to conduct such [public] meetings and accommodate public participation via virtual or other remote or alternate means.”

The City ordinance allows for public input to take place during virtual meetings of Council, boards and commissions. Meetings will be conducted using Zoom Webinars, with board members on camera and able to speak freely or as allowed by normal board operating rules. Members of the public may attend by logging into any computer with an internet connection, by any mobile device, or by audio with any telephone.

For those who do not have an internet connection at home, a computer with a camera and microphone linked to the Zoom webinar will be set up in a public building with proper social distancing precautions in place, for use during the public input period.

In addition, public comments will be taken in writing and during the public input period of hearings, during the times allocated under normal procedures. During the hearing, administrators may open public input to individuals who will have their microphone enabled by the administrator, and participants will state their name and give input just as a regular in-person hearing. All public input will be recorded live.

Hearings will also be broadcast live on other platforms such as the city’s YouTube channel or other media.

Submissions and exhibits that city staff or the applicant will reference will be posted to the city’s website at least seven days in advance of the hearing.

All meetings will be noticed in the same manner and time frame they are normally noticed, and will include the proper information for virtual attendance.

For all city of Charleston Coronavirus updates, visit the “Coronavirus Disease 2019 Information” page on the city’s website, here: https://www.charleston-sc.gov/COVID-19.