By Lolita Huckaby
In respect for the holidays … and the fact that local government bodies have closed shop for the end of the year, I am using the excuse to look back at a previous end-of-the-year column and reflect on where we are now. Happy New Year!
From December 2022 …
BEAUFORT
Last week we were focused on book bans; this week, let’s focus on trees.
The Port Royal Town Council came close to giving their tree-hugging citizens an early Christmas gift when they brought up for consideration a revision to the existing tree protection ordinance that would have tightened regulations. The ordinance was similar to the town of Hilton Head Island’s which is considered relatively restrictive in the world of tree protection.
Port Royal’s actions was prompted by the controversies this summer when a developer wanted to remove two significant oak trees from a tiny parcel on 12 th Street to accommodate several townhouses. That activity followed on the footsteps of a permit earlier in the year when development plans threatened a 300-year-old tree that had already been designated landmark in South Carolina’s tree world.
Folks got upset and halted plans for the property off Paris Island Gateway and went to court to mediate the damage at the lot on 12 th street. But the movement had started and the need for more protection was obvious when considering the pending development Port Royal faces with plans for the Battery Creek acres ripe for new home construction, not to mention other large parcels dotted with “for sale” signs.
Par for the course, a citizens committee was formed, worked quickly to craft an ordinance and get it to the Town Council as soon as possible. The first of two readings to pass the ordinance cleared council, a public hearing was held last week but…second and final reading (which means it becomes the law) was not to happen. That Christmas present was not to be delivered.
Council members were hesitant to give the ordinance a final blessing, although supporters pointed out it could be edited, over time, if “issues” were found. The Council did agree to impose a moratorium on any more tree removal permits until the proposed ordinance can be put into place.
It’s no diamond ring for those hoping for more but at least they’re still talking.
Port Royal Town Council did give “final blessing” to that tree ordinance at the first of 2023 and went a step further in 2024, doing what they promised to do – re-evaluate that ordinance – and opting to leave it as is, with a few tweaks, that means it remains one of the most protective in the state.
Trees were also on the Beaufort City Council’s final meeting of the year last week, the same meeting the elected officials welcomed a new member and announced a new city manager.
This time is was Dominion Energy with more plans for more tree removal, all in the name of making sure the community doesn’t lose power when those storm winds blow.
At least the power company was giving future notice, unlike past massacres, aka, tree-trimmings, when the contract killers showed up and start whacking. The company even provided a nice, color-coded map where the trimming will take place, available on the city’s webpage when time for the work to begin gets closer.
The city has a project director assigned to monitor the activity – the ever-steady Neil Pugliese – with a game plan all lined out on how citizens should be warned of the coming activity. The process is still going to be painful to watch but until those in charge figure out a way to pay for putting those lines underground, well, we apparently have to grin and bear it.
Neil Pugliese has retired and the new manager — Scott Marshall – is running the show now, with the assistance of his able-bodied assistant JJ Sauve who was brought in this past year from Polk County, N.C. to help steer the ship of municipal Beaufort, which survived an election in November with all incumbents being returned to office and news that 2024 will be busy dealing with Safe Harbor, lease-holders of the city-owned Downtown Marina … and the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park which has structural damage down below.
Then-Councilman Phil Cromer opted not to seek a third term on Council which opened the seat for Josh Scallate to win. Interestingly enough, Cromer was elected in 2023 in a special election to the Mayor’s office after Stephen Murray resigned and in 2024 when he had to run again, for a full term as mayor, he was challenged by Scallate.
And Dominion Energy, they’ll be back, whacking more trees and making tree-lovers furious. The public call for underground wiring came up again when Hurricane Helene swept through the area in September although damage to power lines was relatively minimal compare to the damage in the astern part of the state.
Will Pine Island plans be the 2023 poster child for citizens’ angst?
BEAUFORT – Staying on the topic of trees versus development, talk last week of a proposed 500-acre residential golfing community on St. Helena Island included concerns not just the removal of trees but the alteration of a historic rural community.
The Coastal Conservation League brought what has been discussed privately for quite some time, the proposed project into the public arena with a community meeting to discuss the Pine Island buyers’ plans to build a resort-like golfing community with fewer than 100 homes off Eddings Point Road.
Plans for the development which might require a change in area’s conservation district zoning have not been presented to the county yet but opposition is already in the works, including petitions which have drawn hundreds of signatures.
The issue of environment and development is, of course, not unlike what’s been playing out in Beaufort County for the last several decades. There was the fight over Bay Point Island, on the other end of St. Helena Island that tied up attorneys since the county zoning board rejected those development plans two years ago.
There is some hope that the special “Green Space” sales tax voters approved in November will be used to purchase some of these special undeveloped places targeted for new homes, shopping centers, car washes and storage units.
But it’s going to take some time for those dollars and the regulations on how those dollars will be spent, to be worked out. In the meantime, TIMBER….
Was it only two years ago we were just starting to hear about this rural spot on St. Helena called Pine Island? After hundreds of hours spent at public meetings debating the pros and cons of the proposed gated community with golf course, 2024 ended with the future of the project … in court.
Efforts to push the proposal through the county’s zoning process failed, despite several months spent in closed court litigation. The merits of the case are now before the U.S. District Court. As a new year begin, it’s unfair to call the Pine Island plans a “poster child for citizens angst” since the public seems to have moved onto other issues with their frustrations against the Beaufort County Council and its lack of transparency.
Some odds and ends
BEAUFORT – A few other “news” items you might have missed, in the hurry-flurry of the season (again, this is 2022 column).
Beaufort County Council made it illegal to use storage containers as residences, even for those cute little “tiny homes” you might see on TV.
Port Royal Council made it illegal to dig holes at The Sands deeper than a foot while using a metal shovel. While you can use a plastic shovel, you still are required to fill the hole up so some innocent person won’t fall and break a hip. Unfortunately, some “bad apples” are ruining it for others who enjoy looking for sharks teeth at what used to be a “locals” spot.
PS. There’s a $500 fine for violators.
Across the street, in the county government center, good-byes were said to County Council members Paul Sommerville, Stu Rodman, Brian Flewelling and Chris Hervochon. The four provided a total of 47 years of service; Rodman and Sommerville started together in 2007, spending a lot of time brainstorming at that wooden dais.
The outgoing Council members were replaced by David Bartholomew, Tab Tabernick, Paula Brown and Tom Reitz. They’ll be up for re-election in 2026.
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.
