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Developer seeks permission to fill 138 acres of wetlands for Watson Hill development
By Dan McCue
Staff Writer
South Carolina Property Holdings LLC is seeking permission from state and federal regulators to place fill material in 138 acres of freshwater wetlands for the construction of the proposed Watson Hill Plantation development on Highway 61 in Dorchester County.
If approved, it could be the largest single swath of wetlands ever filled in the Charleston region for the purpose of building a residential development, said Megan Desrosiers, a program director for the S.C. Coastal Conservation League.
Written comment on the proposal will be accepted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers until noon on April 16.
The proposed plan filed with the corps and the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control on March 16 is for a mixed-use development comprised of 4,995 homes with land set aside for golf, tennis, swimming, equestrian and hunting activities on approximately 6,670 acres in the Ashley River historic corridor.
Developer Richard Lam purchased the property for $34 million in December 2004.
An alternative plan would reduce the number of homes by 500 if commercial development is included.
Either way, the holding company said, the project would be developed in phases over the next 25 years.
The proposal to develop what has long been known as the Barry Tract has inspired vocal opposition from members of the public and from groups such as the Coastal Conservation League in recent years, as well as a battle of annexation rights between Summerville and the city of North Charleston.
The project has been on hold since Summerville and the city of North Charleston became embroiled in an annexation lawsuit in 2004.
Last year, a Dorchester County judge ruled that Summerville’s attempt to annex land to halt construction of the Watson Hill development fell 12 hours short of the public notice requirement. The two sides continue to wrangle in the courts.
Environmentalists fear that if North Charleston prevails, officials would approve the development, which could put as many as 48,000 new cars on roads in the vicinity of U.S. Highway 61, the Coastal Conservation Alliance said on a Web page specifically devoted to the development.
If Summerville ultimately wins the lawsuit, the development would fall within Dorchester County’s Ashley River Historic Overlay District and would likely be limited to a density of no more than one home per four acres under a rezoning currently in the works.
“To me it simply seems premature for the developer to seek approval for 4,995 homes when the future of the tract is still in litigation and jurisdiction over the land is still very much in doubt,” Desrosiers said.
Since the notice was posted on the corps’ Web site, the SCCCL has received a number of telephone calls and e-mails from concerned residents, she said.
“It’s early yet, given that the notice has just been posted, but I think you’ll get an idea of the continuing opposition from the number of letters that are eventually sent in,” Desrosiers said.
Of the land to be impacted by the fill, approximately 107 acres would be absorbed into the actual development, while roughly 31 acres would be dedicated to the developer’s future placement of right of way, presumably for use for an extension of Glenn McConnell Parkway.
The holding company, which has a Wichita, Kan., mailing address, included a mitigation plan in its filing that involves the preservation or enhancements of 2,725 acres, roughly 40% of the project site, including 2,304 acres of wetlands and 422 acres of adjacent upland buffers.
The mitigation areas will be preserved in perpetuity by restrictive covenants to be held by a master property owners association.
The proposed mitigation does not include mitigation for the right-of-way because, the holding company said, it currently has no plans to build on it.
The holding company has requested that the required restoration component of mitigation be waived as the proposal provides a 19:1 ratio of preserved and buffer enhanced wetlands, exceeding federal credit requirements.
Lam could not be reached for comment. Connie Gillette, a spokeswoman for the corps, said the review of the permit could take nearly a year, depending on public comments received on the proposal.
Dan McCue is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail him at dmccue@charlestonbusiness.com.
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