This virtual town hall presented the first round of strategy recommendations for the City of Clemson’s new strategic plan, led by Development Strategies and the city’s steering committee.
The team shared the rationale behind proposed strategies, key priorities from survey feedback, and an overview of six major strategic areas addressing growth, housing, transportation, public realm, and economic development.
Community input via a new survey is essential for refining strategies before the final recommendations are provided to city council.
The recording and survey will be posted on clemsonnext.com, with the survey open for the next ten days.
Action Items
Tonight – Development Strategies: Post survey on clemsonnext.com.
Within the hour – Development Strategies: Upload meeting recording to website.
In the next 10 days – Public/Stakeholders: Complete online survey and provide input.
Ongoing – Development Strategies and City Staff: Monitor and incorporate survey and chat feedback into plan refinements.
Next month – Development Strategies: Prepare and refine scenarios and provide final plan recommendations based on community feedback.
Process Update and Community Engagement
The city is nearing the end of the second phase of its strategic planning process, having already gathered community input through surveys and focus groups.
High participation (~3,000 responses) has informed the current set of draft strategies, which are now ready for broader community review.
Next steps involve collecting additional feedback through a new survey and using it to shape the final recommendations for city council.
Key Priorities Identified
Inclusivity:
Prevent displacement in communities of color.
Improve housing quality and stability in lower-income neighborhoods.
Expand affordable housing options for Clemson’s workforce.
Place and Quality of Life:
Address traffic concerns related to new development.
Preserve and enhance the downtown area.
Improve pedestrian and bike infrastructure.
Resiliency:
Support local businesses, innovation, and startups.
Create a distinct Clemson community identity, independent of the university, to attract year-round visitors.
Presentation of Strategic Approach
Emphasized that managing growth is unavoidable and the focus must be on shaping it intentionally rather than attempting to halt or ignore it.
Cautioned against failed strategies seen elsewhere (e.g., halting growth, widening roads, or costly bypass projects) and recommended investing in people-oriented solutions.
Recommended focusing denser student housing in limited areas to control speculation and protect traditional neighborhoods, thus making more land available for workforce and affordable housing.
Encouraged multimodal infrastructure and targeted redevelopment of underutilized commercial sites to offer more diverse housing and economic opportunities and mitigate traffic impacts.
Six Core Strategies Outlined
Address Housing Affordability
Broaden permitted housing types, especially “missing middle” options.
Prevent student housing expansion into established neighborhoods.
Create and preserve affordable/workforce housing.
Target new housing to non-students using planning and policy tools.
Enhance the Public Realm
Improve lake access and green space.
Upgrade comfort and character along commercial corridors.
Integrate quality public space into new developments.
Cultivate Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Support small and local businesses via ecosystem-building and possibly a business improvement district.
Encourage university collaboration and a storefront presence for startups/incubators.
Preserve Community History and Character
Develop neighborhood plans, especially for historically African-American areas.
Refine zoning/design guidelines downtown.
Leverage development for public amenities and arts.
Move People, Not Cars
Invest in protected bike and pedestrian infrastructure.
Enhance transit through city-university partnerships.
Address downtown parking and encourage “park-once” strategies.
Establish Development Opportunities
Identify nine potential catalyst areas for redevelopment, each with tailored mixes of housing, commercial, and public amenities.
Exercise regulatory control to ensure development aligns with community goals and mitigates negative impacts.
Development Areas Overview
Nine specific areas identified for targeted growth and redevelopment, with each zone having particular priorities—student vs. non-student housing, workforce housing, retail, office space, and public amenities—distributed across campus-adjacent, uptown, and underutilized commercial sites.
Decisions
Proceed with six outlined core strategies and nine catalyst areas — based on community feedback, survey results, and planning team expertise, to create a balanced approach to growth and resilience.
Open Questions / Follow-Ups
Final details and implementation steps for each strategy will be developed after additional public input via the upcoming survey.
Specific policies and funding mechanisms (e.g., for affordable housing) to be defined during plan finalization.
Ongoing need for city-university partnership commitment, especially around housing and transit improvements.