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Happy 2023!
We started The Johns Island Advocate in February 2022 with 464 subscribers and ended 2022 with 1,455 subscribers. It was because of those of you who actively engaged with the City and County that we had a positive impact on our future.
If you haven't already, in 2023 we encourage each of you to become actively involved with the City, County, and Community. It's easy to think that someone else will do it, but the reality is the future of Johns Island is in your hands.
Please ask your family, friends, and neighbors to subscribe to The Johns Island Advocate. The future of Johns Island depends upon an informed citizenry.
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Below are some highlights of Johns Island events since our last newsletter.
Funding for the Mark Clark Extension (aka 526): County Council voted 5 to 4 to defer until January Staff's request to authorize $75M funding for the Mark Clark Extension (MCE). Only Councilmembers Honeycutt, Moody, and Sass, along with outgoing Councilmember Johnson, voted against the deferral.
Johns Island Community Association (JICA): JICA decided to disband. The other Johns Island community groups, including the Johns Island Council, the Johns Island Task Force, the Progressive Club, and Rational Roads for Johns Island, will continue their activities.
Upzoning for Townhome Apartment Complex on Southwick Drive: The City of Charleston held a public hearing for this upzoning. Despite a large turnout of Johns Islanders at the Planning Commission meeting, we were very disappointed that only one Johns Islander spoke at the hearing. We want to thank Councilmember Karl Brady for requesting that the upzoning be deferred until the developer looks at using current zoning, including adding affordable housing, rather than upzoning.
MUSC Facility on Seabrook Island: The planned medical facility on Seabrook Island Road will need a second ingress/egress from the site which would be located on Andell Bluff Road. This is a private road owned by the Bohicket Marina. MUSC is awaiting approval from the Marina. Once MUSC receives consent, they can proceed with the project. Once started, they expect it will take up to 18 months to build.
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There are several upcoming events that will impact Johns Island and are worthy of your attention. These include:
Jan 3 (Tues) at 6: pm: Swearing in ceremony for elected officials, including newly elected Joe Boykin of District 8 which includes most of Johns Island. The meeting will be held at 84 Meeting Street, Charleston, and will be livestreamed here.
Jan 5 (Thurs) at 11:15 am: The City of Charleston Technical Review Committee (TRC) will hold an early site plan review of the proposed new Low Tide Brewery which consists of a restaurant and bar. This is a virtual meeting and can be viewed here. The access code is 682487, [See the "Details of Upcoming Events" section of this newsletter for additional information.]
Jan 5 (Thurs) at 7:00 pm: The Johns Island Council will hold their monthly meeting. There will be a presentation by the Lowcountry Land Trust on the Angel Oak Preserve Project. The meeting will be held at the Berkeley Electric Coop building at 1135 Main Road.
Jan 12 (Thurs) at 10:45 am: The City of Charleston TRC will hold an early site plan review of the proposed South Station Commercial Phase 2 which consists of 8 buildings. This is a virtual meeting and can be viewed here. The access code is 682487. [See the "Details of Upcoming Events" section of this newsletter for additional information.]
Jan 12 (Thurs) at 5:00 pm: The Andell West development (aka the new Harris Teeter by Freshfields) is on the agenda for the Charleston County Council Planning and Public Works Committee. However we have heard that this request has been deferred for 60 days and will not be heard until at least March. You can read more about it here.
We also anticipate Staff's request to authorize $75M funding for the Mark Clark Extension will be on the agenda. You can read more about it here.
The meeting will be held at 4045 Bridge View Drive, North Charleston, and will be livestreamed here.
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We encourage you to actively engage in the local political process by attending the following meetings and speaking up for Johns Island.
Technical Review Committee (TRC)
On the agenda for the next two TRC meetings are two interrelated projects. The first project is a new Low Tide Brewery facility shown in green above. The second project is the South Station project shown in red above. As a point of reference, these projects are located across Maybank from Estuary.
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2022/2023
Land Use & Developments
Community and History
Conservation
Housing
Resilience
Infrastructure
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The Johns Island Advocate is a free biweekly email newsletter that seeks to inform Johns Islanders of significant meetings and events that will impact our Island today and in the future.
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