Whose island is Johns Island?

Part Four

New homes are sprouting up on Johns Island. Those developing them see their job as providing a chance at a better life. But there is ambivalence over change. As Charles Huff maneuvers along a bumpy dirt road that cuts through some 300 acres of undeveloped land on Johns Island, he scoffs at those who would seek to keep the island "rural forever." That's partly because he is driving past large piles of shingles, abandoned refrigerators, mattresses, old car batteries and an abandoned, rusting metal shipping container riddled with bullet holes. It's partly because a set of transmission lines slices through a corner of the property. "It's not any aesthetic, beautiful thing," Huff said of these woods. "It's just got a power line going through it and a bunch of tires. "There's nothing rural about Johns Island." Huff is a real estate developer with Special Properties. He finds himself caught in a bind created by the clash of visions for the island's future. Last year, Charleston County Council moved its rural-urban zoning line outward, converting from rural to urban some 2,500 acres of Johns Island bordered by the Stono River and Main, Patton, Fickling Hill and Brownswood roads. It's an area about the size of peninsular Charleston. Huff already had an option to buy a 300-acre tract in that area, a parcel known as the Brickman tract. Once the county made theand other work, figuring its new urban classification would help him get the zoning he needed to make the deal work. County Council debated moving the line back; and while it decided to keep the area urban, island residents are expected to push again to make it rural. "We're into this thing at least 200 grand. Now all of a sudden, the rug has been pulled out from my feet," said Huff, whose rezoning request received initial approval earlier this month. Opponents say they don't question the number of homes -- Huff and his partners are seeking to put about 735 homes here -- so much as whether the neighborhood will have an urban or rural feel, intangible things like whether residents can keep chickens in their yards. Huff noted how the tract borders Morris Acres, a relatively dense set of homes on one side, and added, "This could be a good, affordable area for people to buy. When you see this area, you realize it doesn't have to stay rural because it isn't." To build his case before county planners, he has talked to nearby residents and sheriff's deputies about problems on the property, including a few cases of pets being killed by stray bullets. He is not the only one. Chuck Bennett is a Mount Pleasant contractor who owns a 54-acre undeveloped parcel in the 2,500-acre zone. Bennett said he doesn't plan to develop it, but he wants a zoning that will give him that option. "My main concern is just protecting the value of the property," Bennett said. "This is a huge issue for someone like me who needs this large piece of property to keep its equity so I can borrow against it and put kids through school." For Huff and Bennett, the issue cuts much more deeply than the 2,500 acres at issue. The "crux of the biscuit," as Huff likes to say, is whether local government should restrict the amount of developable land. "We believe that people are smarter than governmental planners and people ought to be able to make their own decisions where to live," Huff said. His business partner at Special Properties, John Templeton, goes even further. "I think sprawl is good because it provides choice for people, affordable housing," said Templeton, co-founder and chair of the S.C. Landowners Association, a property rights group. Affordable housing lets more people gain wealth, he said, adding, "Charles and I started our business with equity lines on our homes." The county's Unified Development Ordinance and its effort to create a rural zone, or greenbelt, around its metropolitan core, "is gentrifying the rural areas that much more. It's the government restricting the availability of land, which raises its price. I call it 'Gucci sprawl,' " Templeton said. Templeton noted that their company has done conservation developments, such as Ravens Point Plantation, where the density was low and large chunks were placed off limits for future development. More than a decade ago, someone could have bought three acres on Johns Island for about $25,000, or about the same they would spend on a quarter acre lot on James Island. Those days are gone. Today, a single acre on the water can go for more than $300,000. "People could afford to move out to the country then. Now, they can't. The price has gone up too much. It's a gentrification process of sorts," Templeton said. "What's happened over time is that James Island has filled up," and owners of its remaining large tracts aren't inclined to sell. If county residents are serious about protecting rural land, they should buy development rights or should encourage voluntary conservation easements, Templeton said. With development rights, a property owner receives a sum of money in exchange for agreeing to binding, legal restrictions on future development there. Property owners also can put similar restrictions on their land by donating conservation easements, which can give them property and income tax breaks. Unfortunately, the UDO makes the latter more difficult, Templeton said. Several years ago, Huff and Templeton bought 400 acres off Edenvale Road and were planning a conservation development similar to Ravens Point, but when the county began passing its UDO, the potential for developing the land dropped and the tax breaks vanished. Because the county's new zoning lowered the allowable density, the owners couldn't claim as large a tax deduction for placing it off limits to development. Templeton said they still were able to develop the property as planned, "but we lost over $1 million in tax deductions." "We're going to have a Charleston County that no one can afford to live in, and they're going to have to drive 50 to 60 miles out," he added. "People are going to end up living in Walterboro and driving to Charleston to go to work." As home building slows in Mount Pleasant as that town increasingly limits building permits, some expect the market on Johns Island to heat up still more. Templeton said even without zoning, there are limits to how developed Johns Island can become, limits not understood by many people. He notes that much of the land within the urban boundary on Johns Island is either in small chunks, limited by marsh or freshwater wetlands or has owners who won't sell. The figures seem to bear him out. Of the 46,736 acres on Johns Island, only 53 percent are in tracts of 30 acres or more, but that acreage can include marsh and freshwater wetlands. About 35 percent are in tracts of at least 100 acres. About 97 percent of the island's parcels are less than 30 acres. "Johns Island is riddled with little pieces of land that won't ever be developed because you could never assemble them," he said. A modest development needs at least 50 acres and needs a few hundred acres if it's going to include features like tennis courts or swimming pools. "All we do is respond to the market," Templeton said. "We had a good quality of life before the UDO came along. We don't need any help to fail. We can do that on our own."

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