Rural land favored to win fight

County Council expected to vote to change back growth line on Johns Island A big chunk of Johns Island might be poised to keep its rural flavor after all. Late last year, Charleston County Council voted to redraw its growth line on the island so that almost 2,500 rural acres would be eligible for urban growth. The move caused an instant uproar because few islanders saw it coming and because many of them have waged a long battle to slow the forces of development. On Tuesday, council is expected to take an initial vote to change the line back, and the motion is expected to pass. That won't be the recommendation, however. Council's Planning and Public Works Committee voted 3-2 Thursday to recommend against changing the line back, with Barrett Lawrimore, Ed Fava and Fran Roberts in the majority. Curtis Bostic and Carolyn Conlon voted for it. Council members A.D. Jordan, Leon Stavrinakis and Charles Wallace also are expected to favor the change, making a majority on the nine-member council if the other votes hold. Supporters of the change were cautiously optimistic Thursday. "I'll have to wait until Tuesday night. That's what really counts," resident Sam Brownlee said. While the vote involves only a line on a county planning map, it potentially could translate into thousands more homes in the area bordered generally by the Stono River and Main, Patton, Fickling Hill and Brownswood roads. Brownlee, former County Councilwoman Cindy Floyd, who also lives on Johns Island, and others helped collect more than 240 signatures in favor of changing the line back. At a public hearing last week, 16 residents, many from the affected area, spoke in favor of the change. No one spoke against it. Lawrimore said the item would be on the council agenda Tuesday, even though the committee voted it down. Others were unsure if that would be the case. "The way it's supposed to work is if, in fact, it fails in committee, it's not supposed to go before council," Councilman Tim Scott said. But, "That does not make sense to me." Even if the line remains in place, County Council has not decided how the change would affect the area. The specific zoning allowed in the urban area was expected to be debated later this year during council's regular review of zoning and land-use rules. Changing the line back would simplify that debate. Development in the area also would be limited by the availability of water and sewer lines. The city of Charleston, which has annexed extensively on the island's northern end, has a similar urban-rural line, and its planners have asked the county not to change it. The fuss is part of a larger ongoing debate that pits those in favor of concentrating urban growth in existing urban areas with those who argue that all property owners, including those in rural areas, should have a right to use their land as they want. The line shift on Johns Island also has caused some to question the value of the line at all, if it's that easy to move. Those larger questions won't be resolved Tuesday when County Council considers the 2,500 acres on Johns Island, but Brownlee and other supporters simply hope their numbers prevail. "I think the council needs to vote the will of the people," Brownlee said.

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