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Community protests destruction of wetlands
By Kathleen Dayton
Staff Writer
A beleaguered 6,000-acre parcel along a highway that began as a Native American footpath may yet welcome nearly 5,000 homes if it can be annexed into North Charleston, which does not have the development limitations recently adopted by Dorchester County.
Watson Hill, the proposed development that would bring homes, a golf course and possibly some commercial uses to S.C. Highway 61 near Middleton Place, could put an estimated 48,000 additional cars on the two-lane thoroughfare. At present, the property lies in Dorchester County, which would limit development to 900 homes as part of the newly adopted Ashley River Historic Overlay District.
Developers who proposed the Watston Hill development three years ago are still waiting for the outcome of lawsuits pitting the town of Summerville against the city of North Charleston over jurisdiction of land that would allow North Charleston to annex the Watson Hill tract.
Developers sought annexation of the parcel into North Charleston as efforts to create the overlay district gained momentum and made it likely development would be limited. North
Charleston’s lawsuit contends that Summerville did not observe the required 30-day time frame for public notice of the petition.
Summerville contends that its petition was filed first, invalidating North Charleston’s petition.
While the two municipalities wrangle for jurisdiction of the property, its owners have moved forward with a request to fill in 138 acres of wetlands for development. The application includes a mitigation plan that would preserve more than 2,000 acres of the project site, including wetlands and buffers. The 138-acre fill, however, would be the largest single portion of wetlands ever filled in the state for residential development.
Officials with the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control held a public hearing on Aug. 28 regarding the application to fill in the wetlands. Of the more than 100 people who attended the hearing at Dorchester County Council Chambers, none spoke in favor of the proposal.
“It was obvious that public sentiment is firmly in opposition to this wetland fill,” said Hamilton Davis of the Coastal Conservation League. “There were 125 people in that room and the only people that were in favor were the attorneys for the developers. It’s unfortunate when you get these developers from out of town who really don’t take into consideration the natural and cultural resources of a community.”
DHEC has until March 2008 to announce a recommendation on the wetlands fill request.
S.C. Property Holdings LLC purchased the Watson Hill property for $34 million in 2004.
The holding company has a Wichita, Kan., address. Developers could not be reached for comment, but said in 2005 they had resubmitted a plan for 1,200 units with a mix of condos and single-family homes.
“We’ve met with them on numerous occasions and tried to come to some sort of compromise as to what they could do that we would be OK with. Those conversations have not gotten us anywhere at this point,” Davis said.
Dana Beach, executive director of the Coastal Conservation League, said he is not aware of any other request to fill in wetlands that approaches the level of the Watson Hill project.
“We agree with the regulations that essentially state that wetlands shouldn’t be filled in without overriding public benefit being demonstrated and no alternatives being available,” Beach said. “In this case, these guys own 6,000 acres of land and a little over half of that is high ground, so there is no rationale, no justification for them to have to fill in another 138 acres. They’ve got plenty of land.”
Beach said his organization has been in conversations with the developers to suggest conservation easements that would help them profit without destroying wetlands and creating high-density development.
“It’s surprising to me that a supposedly savvy investor would allow a huge investment like this to be dragged down year after year,” Beach said. “They are almost delusionally optimistic with what can be done with the property and also with what the market is. The market for 4,500 homes on this property is marginal, on a two-lane road with no water and sewer and overcrowded schools. I’m puzzled more at the illogic at proceeding on this path from a financial point of view even as I am discouraged at the environmental implications of it.”
Watson Hill is at the southern tip of what U.S. Census Bureau figures show is the state’s fastest-growing county and 48th fastest growing nationally. The rapid multiplication of rooftops in Dorchester County has spurred the proposal of an adequate public-facilities ordinance, which would require that developers prove that area roads and schools can handle proposed development.
Some feel the proposal would put the brakes on development, which also helps pay for roads and schools and provides a significant portion of area jobs.
North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey said if development is limited at Watson Hill, then housing will be more expensive.
“How many people do you know who work for municipal government that can afford to buy three acres of property to build a house on in an area that’s going to have very expensive homes?” Summey said. “Dorchester County is saying, those who work to protect you and who teach our children aren’t good enough to live on this historic property.”
Summey said if his city annexes the property, it would support a high-density development.
“I think one of the answers to urban sprawl is more density,” Summey said. “They’re talking about building a community, not just housing. They’re talking about retail for people so they don’t have to leave their community. That’s what creates all the traffic on the highways.”
Summey also said he did not think developers should be granted a permit to fill in more wetlands than anyone else has ever been granted.
“I think it should be something that is reasonable, based on history,” he said. “Wetlands filling for access and roads is different than for building.”
If Watson Hill is won by North Charleston, the city will have to fund water and sewer to the development, Dorchester County Planning Director Harold LeaMond said.
“Dorchester County has no lines in there and none planned to go in at this point in time,” he said.
Part of the proposed wetlands fill would be for an extension of Glenn McConnell Parkway from West Ashley to Summerville, and that highway project is not yet funded.
“There’s no funding to build the road. Why denude the landscape for a road that might not actually go there?” LeaMond said.
The planning director also foresees other problems with filling in 138 acres of wetlands.
“I think it will create issues for the water quality in the Ashley River and will create additional storm water runoff,” LeaMond said.
Dorchester County councilman Kenneth Waggoner, who represents District 3, which includes Watson Hill, said he does not like the idea of filling in wetlands.
“I’m waiting to see what the lawsuit is going to do,” Waggoner said. “I don’t think we ought to fill in any wetlands, one acre or 138 acres.”
Emily Pack, the Ashley River region coordinator employed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, which owns Drayton Hall Plantation on Highway 61, said most people who voiced concerns at DHEC’s recent public hearing on the wetlands proposal were concerned about traffic. They also wanted to know why DHEC would entertain a proposal regarding a piece of property embroiled in a lawsuit.
“It kind of flew in the face of a lot of hard work people in this area have been doing with regard to the Ashley River Historic Overlay District,” Pack said. “Most people were frustrated with why DHEC would even consider a permit for a piece of land that’s in litigation and where the densities are in question.”
Drayton Hall received more than 50 e-mails from area citizens in response to a letter sent to local newspapers by Drayton Hall Executive Director George McDaniel prior to DHEC’s public hearing.
“They weren’t just from people who live next door to Watson Hill,” Pack said.
McDaniel said those protesting the wetlands fill came from all walks of life, including outdoorsmen, conservationists and political leaders, including Dorchester County Council Chairman Larry Hargett.
“The sad thing is that DHEC has to go through all this permitting process for a proposal that’s contrary to what Dorchester County ordinance would even allow,” McDaniel said.
Kathleen Dayton is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail her at kdayton@charlestonbusiness.com.
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