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Web posted Sunday, August
3, 2003
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Sharing dreams for port property important
Carolina Morning News
Since
1958, the State Ports Authority has operated a
commercial shipping port at the end of Paris
Avenue, running through the heart of the town of
Port Royal.
And almost that whole time,
some residents of the town have complained about
the noise from the loading and unloading, the dust
that came with the handling of dry kaolin clay and
the increased truck traffic.
True, the
town, incorporated in 1874, has a commercial
sea-going history and the shrimp docks, also
located on the SPA waterfront property, are a
popular testament to that culture.
It is
preservation of the town's culture that several
citizens attending a public work session Friday
said is important. It looks like, after years of
complaining about the negative impact of Pier 21,
the facility may be closed once the General
Assembly rewrites legislation mandating three
commercial ports in South Carolina - the one in
Charleston, Georgetown and Port Royal.
Gov.
Mark Sanford, who's looking hard for ways to make
state government more efficient, suggested the SPA
close the facility since it's losing approximately
$58,000 a year. And while SPA officials concurred
with the governor, CEO Bernard Groseclose told
town officials his agency is still interested in
the 22 acres "for higher and better
uses."
Now what those uses may be is not
known yet but that's why the Port Royal Town
Council called the work session, to get input from
the citizens and to reassure people it intends to
include the public in the planning
process.
How much input the Town Council
will have into the future land development on the
ports authority property is not clear. It didn't
have much luck stopping construction of a
high-rise dry-stack boat storage facility, which
blocks the view of the waterfront at the end of
London Avenue.
Groseclose closed his
message to town officials by promising to work
with the town officials "for the benefit of the
state and her citizens" but if the SPA decides to
lease the property to a private developer for
condos and waterfront retail shops, thereby
maximizing the "under-utilized asset" as the
property is being called, will that make the
citizens happy?
Some would like to see the
tract developed as a waterfront park and open
space. Others think condos and more homes are the
way to go. Town officials say they've been getting
lots of suggestions on what should be
done.
Friday's work session was a starting
point and obviously, a number of questions still
need to be answered. But the Town Council is wise
to get as much input as possible and then work
with the SPA to develop the area into a real
asset.
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