Council says ‘no’ for a change
By Lolita Huckaby
BEAUFORT
County Council took an unusual step Monday, opting to stop “kicking the can down the road” at least for one major development south of the Broad River.
Pretty much all of the 11 county elected officials ran on a platform of concern about development. But for all that expressed concern, they’re often accused of not doing enough.
That was the case Monday when a rezoning request on Cherry Point Road, next to Okatie Elementary school, would have allowed the addition of 400-plus new homes on 72 acres. The area has already seen the construction of two new developments – Malind and River Oaks – in the past decade, all dumping out onto S.C. 170.
Some of the council members became more receptive to the project when lawyers for the potential buyer said they would consider making 20 percent of those new homes “work force” housing. More affordable housing for the community’s middle-class is another one of those favorite buzzwords politicians throw around.
But the dozen or so Cherry Point residents who turned out for the discussion, and have for the past decade every time a new development comes in that needs some type of variance, weren’t having it. They wanted to hear their elected representatives just say “NO.”
And that’s what they got, this time. The rezoning request was not approved which means it will be at least another year before the property owner/developer can come in with more plans.
The same request – just say “no” – is certainly nothing new. The county council members heard it enough this summer from the folks on St. Helena Island who hope to stop Elvio Tropeano’s plans to build an exclusive golf course and gated residential community on Pine Island.
Interesting enough, that movement is showing some signs of shifting as groups have appeared before Council at the last two meetings to say “wait a minute. Let’s talk about this.”
A more organized group even had a press conference last Friday to urge the County Council to negotiate with Tropeano to possibly come up with some compromise for an “all or nothing” alternative. They contend the idea of a limited development, with fewer homes and fewer docks, even with a golf course would be preferable to the 160 homes the developer can build now without a zoning change.
Since Tropeano has filed lawsuits against the county challenging the constitutionality of the Cultural Protection Overlay zoning and the county Zoning Appeals Board’s decision to uphold the rejection of his plans, that’s exactly what’s going to happen – negotiations, in the form of mediation talks which are required by law prior to certain types of cases going to trial.
It’s also interesting that more and more speakers at county council meetings are saying “that group doesn’t speak for me.” Based on how the public comment sessions during council meetings are going, everyone wants to speak for themselves. And, to make it worse, some seem to think the louder they speak, the better their chances of being heard.
School district trying to educate voters on bond referendum
BEAUFORT – One of the numerous objections to whirlwind development is the impact on schools, an issue the county school board has been racing to keep up with, much less get ahead of.
To that effect, the school board has scheduled a bond referendum for this November’s ballot. The district proposes to raise $439 million to build several new schools including a replacement for Lady’s Island Middle and expansions of other facilities.
In an effort to educate voters as to this coming vote, school officials are conducting public discussions around the county. The turnout, thus far, has been less than the turnouts for book-banning discussions at school board meetings BUT there are still opportunities to take advantage of the sessions:
– Oct. 2, May River High School, Bluffton.
– Oct. 5, Whale Branch Early College High School.
– Oct. 9, Spanish language session, Hilton Head Island High School.
– Oct. 12, Spanish language session, Bluffton Middle School.
– Oct. 16, Spanish language session, Robert Smalls Leadership Academy.
All sessions begin at 6 pm. Information about the referendum can also be viewed at www.beaufortschools.net.
Lolita Huckaby Watson is a community volunteer and newspaper columnist. In her former role as a reporter with The Beaufort Gazette, The Savannah Morning News, Bluffton Today and Beaufort Today, she prided herself in trying to stay neutral and unbiased. As a columnist, these are her opinions. Her goal is to be factual but opinionated, based on her own observations. Feel free to contact her at bftbay@gmail.com.
