By Rev. Kenneth Hodges
My name is Rev. Kenneth Hodges, and I am a former State Representative for House District 121 (Beaufort and Colleton Counties). I am the pastor at Tabernacle Baptist Church in Beaufort, and I have heard from many community members about their concerns related to the luxury golf resort development proposed on Pine Island. This project would defy the Cultural Protection Overlay (CPO) zoning on St. Helena Island.
Golf course and resort developments have historically displaced Sea Island communities from North Carolina down to Florida. For more than two decades, the CPO has safeguarded St. Helena Island’s living Gullah/Geechee culture from this fate by prohibiting this type of development. The policy was written by and for the people and has kept the Island rural, allowing important cultural activities like farming, fishing, and hunting to continue thriving.
In June, Beaufort County upheld the CPO by denying a request to remove Pine Island from the CPO’s boundaries. Plans for three 6-hole golf courses were also denied by staff and the planning commission. The County Council listened to their constituents and arrived at these correct and logical decisions. The developer is now appealing those decisions and trying to negotiate a settlement.
Many Gullah/Geechee people have called St. Helena Island home for generations and continue to fight for their land. From my perspective, the community has made it clear through hours of public meetings, community gatherings, and testimony that golf courses, resorts, and gated communities do not mesh with St. Helena Island’s Gullah/Geechee culture and Sea Island heritage.
Moreover, we live in a society where everyone is expected to follow the laws, which are designed to protect the public at large. We do not enact these laws only to rewind them when it becomes inconvenient or because what is being proposed is not allowed. The County Council should hold the line and not waiver in their support of the CPO and Gullah/Geechee culture.
Finally, I leave you a verse from the gospel. Mark: 36-37 says “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
Rev. Kenneth Hodges is the pastor of Tabernacle Baptist Church and the owner of LyBensons’ Gallery on St. Helena Island. He is the former State Representative for House District 121.
