Goodwyn Mills Cawood (GMC) recently participated in the South Carolina American Planning Association (SCAPA) Fall Conference in Columbia, SC. GMC was asked to present their 2025 Comprehensive Plan Update for Williamsburg County, SC.
The significance of this comprehensive plan is noteworthy in more ways than one. With this being the first plan for Williamsburg County since 2002, it’s giving the county a fresh start. The new plan reflects the current values, vision, data, and goals of Williamsburg County and its residents today, as opposed to an update to the 2002 plan. Perhaps even more significant is the funding through a state grant used to support this comprehensive plan. The Williamsburg County Comprehensive Plan was supported through unique funding from the South Carolina Office of Resilience (SCOR) using U.S. Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Community Development Block Grant-Mitigation (CDBG-MIT) funds. This is the first time this grant was applied to a comprehensive plan, which not only opens doors for Williamsburg County, but also does so for other counties that can see that this funding is possible.
This Comprehensive Plan is a guiding document for Williamsburg County’s future growth and development over the next 20 years. It was designed to be used by the Williamsburg County community – residents, leaders, county staff, local organizations, business owners, and workers alike. This document provides information and ideas to help the community reach individual and collective goals, pointing to resources and strategies that can support meaningful work along the way.
With external support, the planning team was able to push community engagement to a new level. With several stakeholder interviews, surveys, and multiple public open-house meetings, over 1,100 community members engaged throughout the planning process. The planning team made sure each resident felt included and that the process was accessible. One strategy to reach the population over the age of 65 was to create paper surveys in lieu of the online digital surveys. The county also worked with local churches on campaigns to carry out the plan’s message. This strong level of participation provided a valuable foundation for understanding public sentiment and was instrumental in shaping the plan’s goals, strategies, and recommendations.
Through the variety of community outreach and events, the residents shared perspectives from Williamsburg County’s diverse and vibrant community. The planning team captured what residents love about living in the county and what their biggest concerns are for the present and the future of their county. These insights are used with the information collected through the data analysis for each plan element to develop recommendations and a vision for future land use. With financial support from SCOR’s innovative use of CDBG-MIT funds, the professional planning guidance from the planners at GMC, and the enthusiasm of the entire community, it became a success. The county now has a blueprint for managing sustainable, resilient, and strategic growth and development in the form of the 2045 Comprehensive Plan.
