By Mike McCombs
The Island News
The owners of Pine Island earlier this month withdrew one of their lawsuits against Beaufort County regarding a proposed golf course resort on the property.
The withdrawal of appeals on the state-level lawsuit was filed Dec. 12.
The subject of the appeal was the Beaufort County Planning Commission’s denial of three conceptual land development applications relating to Pine Island Golf – Courses A, B and C — three separate six-hole golf courses.
According to the withdrawal, the applications denied by the Planning Commission have been “superseded through revised land plans,” making the prior applications obsolete. The developers are no longer seeking approval of three separate six-hole golf courses, making the appeal pointless.
In its Monday, Dec. 8 meeting, Beaufort County Council, in a roll-call vote, voted 6-4 against Councilman Logan Cunningham’s motion to rescind a 10-1 vote from the Sept. 22 Council meeting that upheld the Cultural Protection Overlay (CPO) installed on St. Helena Island years ago and denied a Pine Island development agreement put forth by the representative developer Elvio Tropeano.
The decision once again dealt a setback to the developer in his efforts to put an 18-hole golf course and 49 houses on the property, which would ultimately be a gated golf resort.
The developers still have an active federal lawsuit against Beaufort County.
“A separate civil action involving causes of action arising under state and federal law asserted by Pine Island Property Holdings, LLC, and Pine Island GC, LLC against Beaufort County, South Carolina remains pending in the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina before the Honorable Richard M. Gergel. Appellants are proceeding with their legal claims in the federal action, which continues to present an active and justiciable dispute,” the Dec. 12 filing said.
Mike McCombs is the editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.
