By Lolita Huckaby
BEAUFORT
An interesting headline recently in The Island Packet/Beaufort Gazette summarized a not-so-unfamiliar feeling being experienced in the Lowcountry.
“700 homes being planned on two Beaufort County Islands. Is Anybody Listening?” read the headline about the ongoing development on Upper and Lower Cane Island but again, the question as to “anybody listening” seems almost colloquial.
Local citizens have been complaining for at least the past decade about the deteriorating state of our local roads and intersections and their apparent failure to keep up with the traffic demand. But yet, wooded acres keep getting cleared, houses keep getting built and people to live in them keep moving here.
The cost of those houses are another constant subject of complaint, high prices that make homes barely affordable for the average working family and yet the building of “affordable” apartment complexes keeps on and we keep talking about the problem.
One exemption to that question “is anybody listening” could be the Pine Island development saga where developer Elvio Tropaano has been trying for the past three years to gain permission for an 18-hole-golf course and a gated resort community for what has now been proposed at 49 homes.
One can argue the Beaufort County Council members have been listening and truthfully point to the hours of public hearings held on the different aspects of Pine Island. Case in point: the September 2025 meeting where County Council members sat in their seats for four hours before an audience of more than 500 and LISTENED to citizens, both pro and con on the development.
If you remember that, the Council, by a 9-2 vote, agreed with the citizens who don’t want to see the Pine Island plan for a gated resort community and a golf course approved. But watching the politics of those councilmembers’ votes, one must wonder if the council really is listening to the people or was it something else, i.e., concern about their political futures, driving those votes.
In the case of the recent IP/BG story about Cane Island, it’s something of a reiteration of “how we got here,” since the plans for Cane Island were approved more than 30 years ago in a development agreement between the owner and the Beaufort City Council. It would be unfair to say the city council was, or was not, at that time “listening” to the citizenry because the prospect of as many as 700 new homes on that narrow causeway was still a developers’ dream and there was no public debate.
All this is to say the question of “is anybody listening” is a question raised in frustration, often by homeowners who might not have even lived here when the original Cane Island plans were approved. Same for residents who complain about the tremendous traffic on Sams Point Road, which is getting heavier and heavier as more homes are built on Lady’s Island.
It’s another testimony as to why it’s important to pay attention to what these governmental bodies are doing, in those planning meetings and review boards that appear to drone on and on and on. Their decisions are determining what this community is going to look like in 20 years.
“Paying attention” is not an easy solution and it’s why voters have to have trust their elected officials will “do the right thing.” But even for those who once again this year will be seeking our votes, it’s hard to follow their actions.
You have to “pay attention,” not just complain on Facebook.
Parris Island demolitions being questioned
PARRIS ISLAND — Another issue one might have missed recently was highlighted in a Jan. 18 edition of The Post and Courier.
The Marine Corps announced plans last month to demolish two historic structures on Parris Island Recruit Depot — Building 10 and Building 160, both considered “contributing structures” in the depot’s Mainside Historic District.
Built in 1897, the red-brick Building 10 was part of the original Naval Station and used as part of the dry dock operation. The building has seen a variety of uses but was abandoned in 2020.
Building 160 was built in 1942 and used as a power plant until a new facility was built in 2019.
The plans, according to Tony Kukulich at the P&C, have already drawn opposition from the Penn Center Board of Trustees, which points out the significance of the buildings to the legacy of Robert Smalls, who lobbied in 1873 for the establishment of the naval facility on Parris Island.
The Historic Beaufort Foundation has also weighed in on the proposed demolition questioning the Marine Corps’ argument that demolishing the historic structures wouldn’t run afoul of regulations in the National historic Preservation Act.
Let’s see if the Marine Corps officials are “paying attention.”
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. The Rowland, N.C. native’s goal is to be factual but opinionated, based on her own observations. Feel free to contact her at bftbay@gmail.com.
