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Some marsh islands can't cross bridge to development

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When Hannuman Bull goes to the hardware store, he uses three modes of transportation -- boating, driving and walking -- to make the 25-mile journey.

He lives and works on Pritchards Island, a research facility owned by the University of South Carolina Beaufort, which is about 200 yards from Fripp Island, the nearest piece of land with a road.

"During summer, I have a pretty busy schedule, so in some cases I won't come in (to the mainland) for two weeks to get groceries and supplies," he said.

Bull has lived on the 1,600-acre Pritchards Island since May.

Under a South Carolina law enacted in May, though, about 1,800 of South Carolina's approximately 2,000 marsh islands without bridges are now ineligible for bridge permits. The regulations deny permits for marsh islands smaller than 2 acres, except those that are larger than 1 acre in size and within 100 feet of the mainland. The law also restricts bridge lighting and the number and length of docks on islands with bridges.

Bill Anderson, an owner of Beaufort-based Town & Country Real Estate, said those regulations make it extremely difficult to sell certain properties.

"It's just about impossible to sell an island without a bridge," Anderson said. "There's just not a big demand."

For the past year, Town & Country has been trying to sell Capers Creek Island, a 28-acre island with no bridge, which could be turned into 10 lots. The property is listed for $3.5 million, but there have been no takers, Anderson said.

Anderson, however, said he doesn't think the new law will greatly affected the real estate market because few people would develop an island smaller than 2 acres, even if they could build a bridge to it.

Nancy Vinson of environmental watchdog group, the Coastal Conservation League, disagreed, saying she saw bridge-permit applications for islands as small as 1/4 of an acre before the regulations were passed.

Vinson said bridges and large developments dump storm water runoff into the marsh, introducing oil, gasoline, antifreeze, pesticides and other chemicals into the environment. Bridges also create shade that can kill marsh grasses and alter the ecosystem, and they obstruct the natural views that she said are a "public resource."

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