Are We at a Tipping Point? | Blame it on the Trees | Betsy Kerrison "Medical Village" | Mark Clark Extension

Commentary: Are We at a Tipping Point?

It seems every day there is more frustration with traffic and development on Johns Island. There also seems to be the slow realization that roads, development, the environment and our culture are all intimately intertwined. Any solution must take a big-picture, holistic view.

These recent Post and Courier articles, editorials and letters-to-the editor reflect this frustration.

Have we reached a tipping point where we no longer accept empty promises, settle for short-sighted solutions, or tolerate kowtowing to North Charleston-based special interest groups? It sure feels like it.

We have seen more Johns Islanders turn this frustration into action by calling their local and state representatives, attending governmental meetings and rallying their fellow residents to important causes.

We encourage you to join your fellow Islanders and make a difference for this place called Johns Island.

Making it Easier to Cut Down Grand Trees Along Roadways

On October 9th the Charleston County Planning Commission recommended disapproval of proposed ordinance changes that would have significantly reduced the oversight of the County's road department by allowing them to circumvent checks and balances for tree removal and site plan reviews for road projects. You can read more about it here.

Unfortunately, the Planning Commission only makes recommendations. It is County Council that makes the final decision on proposed changes.

This is an issue not just for Johns Island, but for all of Charleston County.

Due to the adverse impacts of these proposed changes, County residents have setup a website, Charleston Speak Up. They have also started a petition, "Halt Charleston County's Fast Lane to a Concrete Jungle".

We encourage you to sign the petition, call or email all Councilmembers, and attend the upcoming public hearing on November 14th at 6:30 pm. Mark this date in your calendar!

High Density Development on Betsy Kerrison Parkway

A high density planned development is proposed for Betsy Kerrison Parkway near Kiawah Town Hall. The development ... which would allow professional and medical offices, general services, retail, restaurants, and multi-family housing ... goes by the name "Island Park Place Health & Wellness Village". You can read the planned development document here.

Under current zoning, no more than 53 houses could be built. Due to the location of the wetlands, it is likely that the actual number of houses would be less than that.

Although some of the occupants of the development could be medical in nature, this is not an actual medical facility such as the Trident Medical Center to be built on Maybank Highway or the MUSC medical facility to be built near Freshfields.

As is abundantly clear in the site plan graphic above, this would be a very high density development. It would consist of 14 two and three story buildings, a parking garage, a private wastewater treatment plant, roadways and parking for 557 vehicles. To accomplish this the developer proposes to fill in up to 2.5 acres of wetlands and cut down 12 grand trees.

The remaining parcel would primarily consist of the required buffers, stormwater ponds and what remains of the wetlands. This does not remotely resemble the bucolic wellness campus the developer had described in the past.

It would be a 159,846 sq-ft mixed use development, which would include 18 multi-family units (e.g. apartments). In comparison, Freshfields is 192,000 sq-ft, which would make this development about 83% the size of Freshfields.

If the developer cannot make a go at it, it would revert to General Office (GO) zoning. This zoning would allow even more by-right uses, including hotels and motels. It appears that it is solely up to the developer to decide that they cannot make a go of it.

We want to hear your thoughts on this development. Please take this short survey and give us your views. We will publish the results and our recommendation in the next newsletter.

The proposed development is expected to go before the Charleston County Planning Commission on November 13th at 2:00 pm. Mark this date in your calendar!

Mark Clark Extension

The State Infrastructure Bank (SIB) approved $75M of matching funding for the permitting phase of the proposed Mark Clark Expressway. This funding request must now go to the Joint Bond Review Committee. You can read more about it here.

SCDOT Secretary Christy Hall previously requested that Charleston County provide "a reasonable financial approach to the entire project" where "reasonable" was defined as " a financial plan that is rational and realistic". Despite this, the only plan the county presented at the meeting was the hope that a new sales tax would be approved by voters.

It should be noted that the sales tax could be voted on in 2024 but, if approved, revenues would not be forthcoming until 2027. Also note that the permits would be good for 20 years, so that there is no real rush to put the referendum on the 2024 ballot.

It was interesting that Charleston County lined up officials from Dorchester County to speak in favor of the SIB matching funding. These officials did not offer to provide any funding from their own governments to help pay the $2B bill for the project. They appeared to be very happy with Charleston County footing the entire bill.

Early Voting Has Started

If you live in the City of Charleston, early voting has started for the Mayor and City Council. You can also vote on the parks bond referendum. We support this referendum which could bring a recreation center and an aquatic facility to Johns Island.

Early voting takes place from Oct 23 (Mon) to Oct 27 (Fri) and Oct 30 (Mon) to Nov 3 (Fri) from 8:30 am to 5:00 pm: You can vote at any of the following locations:

West Ashley Seacoast Church: 2049 Savannah Highway, West Ashley
Charleston County Board of Voter Registration and Elections: 4340 Corporate Rd, N. Charleston
Downtown Main Library: 68 Calhoun St, Charleston
Mt. Pleasant Seacoast Church: 750 Long Point Rd, Mt Pleasant

In-person voting will be on Nov 7 (Tues) from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm. You can find where to vote by going here and clicking on "Find my polling location".