The fate of 68 of the smaller marsh islands strung
like beads through Lowcountry rivers came down to golf carts or cars. The
decision is expected to be fought out in the state Legislature.
The 1- to 5-acre islands would be eligible for single-lane bridge permits
under a compromise hammered out Tuesday by consensus among a committee of
development and environmental interests. The committee is recommending new state
regulations governing access to 2,400 of the islands across the state.
As part of the compromise, development on the islands would be limited to one
building on 1-acre islands, two buildings on 2-acre islands and three buildings
on 3- to 5-acre islands. The committee previously had agreed to limit access to
1- to 3-acre islands to golf cart bridges.
The compromise, broached by attorney and Coastal Conservation League
representative Will Cleveland, satisfied Mitchell Bohannon of the South Carolina
Tourism Council, who had bristled Tuesday during the golf carts-or-cars
discussion.
"The people I represent are getting closer to the point of 'no more,' " he
said. "If you (other panel members) want to, press on. We'll wait until it gets
to Columbia and the Hill."
The agreement angered Dana Beach, Coastal Conservation League director, who
said density restrictions are no protection and the compromise was less
restrictive than current zoning for the islands. "We are nowhere near a
consensus, and I don't think we'll get there," Beach said, adding the
conservation league would fight the compromise in Columbia.
The recommendation is headed for a vote by the Department of Health and
Environmental Control board Oct. 13, then would go to the General Assembly for
its January session.
Marsh islands are the no man's land of the coast, traditionally thought of as
open to boaters and often with uncertain ownership. The waters and marsh around
them are public waterways. The dispute is over bridges crossing those waterways,
opening the islands to private use.
Environmentalists say development opened by the new rules would destroy an
emblem of the Lowcountry.
"From the scientific end, anything that's developed (on these islands) will
have an adverse impact on South Carolina natural heritage," said John Brubaker,
South Carolina Native Plant Society president, speaking to the committee.
Developers say access limits infringe on property owners' rights. Bohannon,
who proposed opening the smaller islands to single-lane bridges, said, "I feel
our interests have given and given and given and not gotten a single concession
back from the other side."
The committee was formed by the Department of Health and Environmental
Control to set new guidelines after the state Supreme Court threw out the old
regulations governing marsh islands earlier this year.
The guidelines would open to bridge access about 258 islands of at least 1
acre. It would require development buffers, dock restrictions, wetlands
protection and other restrictions but allow flexibility for property owners who
make extra concessions in return for waivers.
Bo Petersen can be reached at (843)745-5852 or bpetersen@
postandcourier.com.
