S.C. Heritage Trust Program — Heritage Preserves and Heritage Sites (SC)
Tracked preemption from the South Carolina overlay bundle.
Overview
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Effective
1976-06-04
Sunset
—
Authority
state
Scope
state:SC
Other South Carolina preemptions
S.C. Short-Term Rentals — No State Preemption (explicit non-preemption)S.C. ADU / Density / Design Review — No State Preemption (explicit non-preemption)S.C. Military Installation Compatibility — AICUZ / JLUS CoordinationS.C. §6-29-1145 — Manufactured Housing Zoning Parity RuleS.C. Brownfields / Voluntary Cleanup Program — §44-56-710 et seq.S.C. Local Government Comprehensive Planning Enabling Act of 1994 — Procedural FloorS.C. Scenic Rivers Act of 1989 — Designated Scenic, Recreational, and Natural RiversS.C. Beachfront Management Act — OCRM Baseline / Setback Line Overlay
Trigger predicate
When this evaluates true for a parcel, the law's preempted fields take precedence over base zoning.
OR
parcel.in_heritage_preserve==Trueparcel.in_heritage_site_registration==Truecity.in_heritage_corridor_region==True
Preempted fields
3 fields on the base district schema are rewritten when the trigger fires.
| Field | Op | Value | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
base_districts[*].heritage_preserve_dedication_covenant | override | perpetual_dedication_covenant_supersedes_local_zoning | §51-17-110: Heritage Preserves are perpetually dedicated by SCDNR Board and Heritage Trust Advisory Board; management plan required within 90 days; permitted uses limited to those compatible with preservation purpose. Local zoning cannot authorize uses inconsistent with the dedication. |
base_districts[*].heritage_site_registration_agreement | override | voluntary_owner_covenant | Heritage Sites are voluntary registration agreements that do not transfer property — restrictive covenant runs with the land per agreement terms. |
heritage_trust.eminent_domain_authority | waive | — | §51-17 expressly prohibits eminent domain authority and requires county delegation approval before SCDNR acquisitions. |
Citation
Authority source
S.C. Code Ann. §§51-17-10 through 51-17-320 (South Carolina Heritage Trust Program)
§ §§51-17-10 — 51-17-320
Research notes
Heritage Trust is dedication-based and largely operates outside zoning, but a Heritage Preserve creates a perpetual easement/covenant that overrides inconsistent local zoning on the dedicated parcel. Note: SC National Heritage Corridor (Congressionally designated 1996, 14-county tier of Upstate→Charleston) is a SEPARATE federal-state designation administered by the National Park Service + SC National Heritage Corridor non-profit — it carries promotional and grant-eligibility benefits but no direct land-use authority. ACE Basin (Ashepoo-Combahee-Edisto) is a partnership conservation area in Beaufort/Colleton/Charleston counties operated by SCDNR, USFWS, Ducks Unlimited, and TNC — managed via voluntary easements and Heritage Trust dedications, not a regulatory overlay.