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The state’s environmental protection board turned down a plan Thursday that
could make a narrow spit at Kiawah Island easier to develop for upscale
resort homes.
Developer Leonard Long said the board’s decision denying him permission to
build a wall to protect the land from coastal erosion likely will be
appealed.
Kiawah Development Partners II had asked the Department of Health and
Environmental Control for permission to drive a 340-foot long sheet piling
into the sand to safeguard the property from future erosion. The proposal
did not include plans for development, but DHEC board members said it’s
clear developers want to build on the property.
The board’s decision overturned staff approval for the sheet piling. Staff
members had said the protective wall would not lead to development.
“To say that this will not facilitate development, I don’t see how you make
that statement,” said DHEC board Chairman Bo Aughtry, who himself is a
developer. “I don’t see how you come up with that interpretation. I don’t
see any other rationale.”
Kiawah Development Partners has proposed building up to 50 homes at the
undeveloped southern end of Kiawah near the beach.
The seaside development project would be near one of the few public access
points at Kiawah Island south of Charleston. Opponent Sidi Limehouse said
the proposal could mean closing the existing beachfront park, which is
public, and moving it to another spot.
Developers have been fighting DHEC for months. They also have taken the
agency to state court over a proposal to build another wall to protect the
narrow land from erosion. DHEC has turned down that plan for a
half-mile-long wall.
U.S. Rep. Henry Brown, R-S.C., at one point tried to persuade Congress to
change federal law so that development would be easier. Brown backed away
after a storm of criticism erupted.
At Thursday’s DHEC board meeting, opponents said the wall is unnecessary,
would be a precursor to development of a $50 million project and would
threaten an endangered shore bird known to live in the area.
“The only reason they have to do all of this is money,’’ Limehouse said.
“Fifty million dollars, that’s a lot of money. That’s more money than could
fit in this room.’’
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