Extending along 90 miles of the Atlantic coast, Charleston County encompasses much of the scenic South Carolina Low Country, including barrier islands, wetlands, forests, and remnants of former plantations. Over the past decade, the regions strong economy and attraction for tourists and retirees have stimulated growth, resulting in what many residents perceive as unwanted sprawl. In the first comprehensive plan to be developed for the county, WRT led the community through a visioning process that recognized the need for managing growth. The plan establishes an urban growth boundary, directing growth to undeveloped areas adjacent to the city. It reinforces the existing settlement pattern within the surrounding rural area, using innovative land development controls to encourage growth around existing rural communities and to preserve large tracts of farm, forest, and conservation land.