Whose island is Johns Island?

A generation ago, Johns Island was largely a rural place just beginning to see the first suburban forces spilling out from Charleston. Today, islanders are witnessing a rapid succession of changes that many find unsettling. What will tomorrow bring?

JOHNS ISLAND--The paradox of preserving Johns Island is this: As the island continues to evolve into a suburb of Charleston, it gains a greater number of residents calling for its rural character to be preserved at all costs. In 1960, almost 6,300 people called Johns Island home. The most recent census showed the island has 10,227 residents, while another 2,400 people live on Kiawah and Seabrook, two barrier islands accessible only by crossing long stretches of Johns Island. And this is just a beginning: Even under the strict new zoning ordinance Charleston County Council passed five years ago, it would be possible to build approximately 22,000 more homes on the unincorporated part of the island without a single zoning change. During the past few years, the changes altering the face of the sea island include: -- New bridges are making the island more accessible than ever. A year ago, motorists couldn't reach the island without risking a delay waiting for a drawbridge to open and close. Today, the new $21 million Limehouse Bridge carries vehicles high above the Stono River, and the Stono River bridge, though not completely finished, is in use and does the same. -- A new water pipeline is planned across 12 miles of the island, and some say its large size will open up hundreds of acres to more intensive development. The line has triggered both a legal battle and a petition campaign. Expanded sewer service could follow. -- Swarms of subdivisions are popping up along the island's edges closest to James Island and West Ashley. New construction around Fenwick Hall is changing the environment around the 18th century mansion, which is considered one of the island's most historic sites. -- The island has seen or soon will see several new public investments: a new St. Johns High School, a new fire station, a large new branch library and a new regional park, Mullet Hall Equestrian Park. -- A Hollywood producer and the former head of the state's film office revived plans last year for a $45 million high-tech movie studio on 70 acres off Maybank Highway. -- Plans to extend Interstate 526, also known as the Mark Clark Expressway, across the island have been in the works for 25 years. If it is built, the new highway would tie Johns Island more closely to the Charleston metropolis and make it that much more attractive to developers. -- County Council recently voted to change the line between the island's rural zone and its urban zone so that 2,500 acres in the rural zone became urban, effectively making the area bordered by the Stono River and Main, Patton, Fickling Hill and Brownswood roads ripe for development. The council now is debating whether to reverse the change. The growth on Johns Island is visible in the form of new subdivisions, mobile homes and apartment buildings. It can be seen in the dwindling amount of farmland and the increase in the number of horse pastures. For those used to driving around the island, the growth might be most visible in the form of cars and trucks -- and traffic jams. The island still has only four traffic lights. For years, people who love the island have urged that its rural character be preserved, but doing so involves making hundreds of decisions, many of them small and many of them virtually unnoticeable by themselves. Three main roads crisscross the island: Maybank Highway, River Road and Main Road, which becomes Bohicket Road after it crosses Maybank. Between 1987 and 2002, traffic counts rose more than 50 percent on sections of each of those roads. Meanwhile, hundreds of new homes are in varying stages of planning or construction. The pace of development is picking up, giving some people a sense that the island's soils are shifting under their feet. Sam Brownlee spends about 20 hours each week battling the height of radio towers, problem traffic spots, litter and controversial land use requests. John Templeton and Charles Huff are planning to invest in the island by meeting the demand for new homes and neighborhoods but face increasing hostility. Nancy Butler marvels over the changes to the island where she was born and raised, but she worries that the island's growing popularity is pricing out black residents. Maria Bordallo loves the new bridges but notices that they are bringing more people than ever to the island, where she moved two decades ago to work in the fields. Adair McKoy, one of the few farmers left, had to take time out of his day, time he can ill afford because it's tomato planting season, to get his tomato packing shed rezoned from residential to agricultural use. These people all play a role in the island's future and, like most islanders, don't talk much. It's unclear whether they can create a common vision, much less a plan to make it happen. It's up to them and many others to create a place they can love and that can love them back. For many, the issue is not so much the evolution of Johns Island into a suburban area but the pace at which it is happening. One of the hundreds of zoning battles on the island brought out a Baptist church leader asking that Charleston County do more to prevent inappropriate development near the islanders' homes. "Mr. Gulledge and other residents voiced the opinion that the community was passing out of a purely rural category and was taking on a semi-urban character," a newspaper account read. Today, many Johns Islanders would agree with the Rev. James D. Gulledge, but they might be surprised to learn that he spoke those words before they were born. In 1958, to be exact.

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