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Brown, R-S.C., said he introduced the bill last month at the behest of the
town of Kiawah Island, and that "I had no idea there was a developer"
connected with the legislation.
His bill would remove 84 acres from the Coastal Barrier Resources System.
The bill said a developer plans to build homes on the land, which is next to
the county's Beachwalker Park.
Congress created the coastal program in 1982 to discourage development on
barrier islands. Land inside this zone — 3 million acres from Maine to Texas
— is not eligible for federal flood insurance, though development is still
allowed.
A Post and Courier Watchdog story this week discussed Brown's bill,
prompting numerous e-mails and phone calls from people concerned about the
legislation and developers' plans.
Brown said he was concerned, too, though not because of the bill's contents.
Past story: Planned Kiawah development would affect
county park
"When we read the article, we thought it sounded like we were involved
because of a developer," Brown said, adding that the developer's plans were
a "surprise," and that "I don't have any personal agenda in this."
Leonard Long, executive vice president of Kiawah Development Partners, said
his company approached Brown about the legislation earlier this year.
Long said he and his partners support the bill because they believe future
homeowners on the spit should qualify for federal flood insurance just like
other homeowners on Kiawah Island.
He said his company plans to build 50 homes on 20 acres. Most of the
remaining undeveloped land will be protected by a conservation easement.
Asked whether Long had approached him about the bill, Brown replied, "Who's
Leonard Long?" and then said that Long contacted his staff. "I know he had
an interest in it; I thought he was an agent of the city."
The bill doesn't mention Kiawah Development Partners but does say the spit's
landowner wants to do a low-density development, and that because of this,
the bill would improve the area's ecological health.
Big bucks are at stake - for the developers as well as future homeowners.
People with houses in the Coastal Barrier zone must buy flood insurance from
private companies. That can cost $40,000 a year or more for a $900,000 home,
compared with less than $2,000 for government-backed flood insurance.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says the Coastal Barrier
Resources System saved taxpayers $1.3 billion by preventing government
spending on land at high risk from storm damage and erosion.
Brown said the main intent of his bill was to bring federal law in line with
state law.
For years, state law prohibited development on the land by Capt. Sam's Inlet
on Kiawah, but in 1999, the state removed that development prohibition. "We
were under the assumption that we were complying with South Carolina law ...
that we were adopting South Carolina's boundaries," he said.
Brown also said his bill would add land to the Coastal Barrier system. The
bill calls for the inclusion of 25 acres of high ground farther inland,
including a spot where the Kiawah Island Parkway cuts through, and 153 acres
of marsh.
Brown said a public hearing will be held Sept. 10, in Washington, D.C., on
the legislation.
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