By Ashley Fletcher Frampton
aframpton@scbiznews.com
Published Nov. 18, 2009
A public hearing Tuesday on the proposed Kiawah River Plantation project drew a handful of residents who are concerned about traffic, pollution and increased property taxes.
Others came to speak up for the benefits of The Beach Co.’s 2,000-acre Johns Island development, including the new hotels it would bring and housing that would be targeted toward people working there and on nearby Kiawah and Seabrook islands.
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The property is located at 3883 Betsy Kerrison Parkway and 2501 Mullet Hall Road on Johns Island, adjacent to Mullet Hall Equestrian Center and Kiawah River Estates. It is across the Kiawah River from Kiawah Island.
A traffic study submitted with the plans said that one-third of the planned development could be served adequately by existing roads.
But Johns Island resident Richard Thomas, speaking at Tuesday’s public hearing, said the roads on Johns Island are already congested.
“Any more traffic will be a major impact right now,” Thomas said.
According to plans, the developer initially would add turn lanes to Betsy Kerrison Parkway and add a traffic signal at the entrance. The developer would re-evaluate traffic conditions later, after public officials decide whether to build proposed major road projects in the area, including the extension of Interstate 526.
Thomas said he also worries about the project’s impact on the woodlands, creeks and marsh.
The portion of land subject to county permitting and zoning is 1,427 acres. An additional 600 acres included in the project is marshland fronting the Kiawah River.
People purchasing lots in certain areas of Kiawah River Plantation would be required to keep 50% of their lots in a natural state, meaning no lawns or non-native plants, said Scott Parker, a landscape architect and planner who spoke about the project on the developer’s behalf.
Parker said the developer plans to allow public access to marshfront property in the development; the land will be treated as public parks.
“This is not a gated community,” he said.
Bill Saunders, representing Concerned Citizens of the Sea Islands, said he and the group oppose the Kiawah River Plantation project. Saunders said longtime residents of Johns Island who want to stay on their land are being “crushed” by private development plans and public road projects in the area.
A member of the Wadmalaw Island Citizens Improvement Committee said the group is concerned about potential water pollution if the privately developed wastewater treatment facility isn’t kept up.
Also speaking in support of the project was Tammie Hoy, executive director of the Lowcountry Housing Trust, which promotes affordable housing. Hoy said The Beach Co. has been working with her group to include affordable housing in the development.
Plans call for 117 units of “work force” housing, with prices geared toward people working in Kiawah River Plantation and nearby resort communities; 15% of those would be priced affordably based on federally defined area median income levels.
She said Kiawah and Seabrook islands do not have affordable housing. The units planned for Kiawah River Plantation would allow people working in all three communities to live closer to work and help reduce traffic on the roads, Hoy said.
Heidi Ravenel, who lives in Charleston but said her family owns property near the project, said the development would be a boon for the area. She said proposed hotels would be convenient for out-of-towners using the Mullet Hall Equestrian Center.
Tuesday’s public hearing is the first of two. The second is scheduled for Dec. 3.
County Council members listened at the public hearing — and some engaged with those who came to speak — but they did not vote on the project. The council’s Planning and Public Works Committee will discuss the project at its Dec. 3 meeting and make a recommendation to the full council.
Reach Ashley Fletcher Frampton at 843-849-3129.
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