Something green is coming to Charleston, and we’re not talking about St. Patrick’s Day. A new state park is in the works at the tip of James Island. We spoke with SC State Parks Director Paul McCormack for the latest on the project.

The waterfront park will be located on 23 acres at the end of Fort Johnson Road, adjacent to the Fort Johnson historic site. The parcel is managed by the SC Dept. of Parks, Recreation & Tourism.

In 2021, the state purchased the land from the Sisters of Charity of Our Lady of Mercy for $23 million. The May Forest Convent located on-site is expected to be converted into an event venue that will be the main component of the new park. Funding has not yet been secured for the venue construction project.

Charlestonians can look forward to a day-use recreation and picnicking area with views of the Charleston Harbor, the Ravenel Bridge, and Fort Sumter. There is an existing gazebo and bench swing. Conceptual images are not yet available, but stay tuned.

An event space, lodging, and a dock may be added in the future. A structural assessment of the property is expected to determine park features down the road. What would you like to see this new park offer? Let us know.

In addition, there is a master plan that envisions the entire ~100-acre Fort Johnson area that is separate from the state park project.

The park is expected to open this spring or summer. There is currently no timeline for potential future amenities, but keep an eye on the newsletter for updates. The plans for Fort Johnson, which surrounds the state park area, are long-term.

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — Ninety acres on Johns Island are now being protected. The Oakville-burden Creek area is right by the Charleston executive airport and was set to be turned into hundreds of homes.

The Charleston County Aviation Authority, Lowcountry land trust and several other conservation groups came together to protect the land.

"It's just under 100 acres of forested land. It's at the headwaters of burden creek and flows into the Stono River," said Ashley Demosthenes, president, and CEO of the Lowcountry land trust.

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The Charleston County aviation authority purchased the land, and the Lowcountry land trust purchased the conservation agreement.

"We didn't pay full value. They donated the lion's share of the value. We paid for the easement interest via funding from South Carolina conservation bank and Charleston county green belt program," said Demosthenes.

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Conserving the land is important for everyone involved. For some, it's about keeping the unique character of Johns Island.

"80 percent of Johns Island is incredibly rural. Farmland, forest land, and old settlement areas. Where we are sitting today is right at the line of the interface of the urban and rural area," said Michelle Sinkler, Open space institute.

Some say the project is about finding a balance between development and conservation.

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"It's security related, it provides resiliency in terms of flooding, it provides wildlife habitat. It provides numerous public benefits associated with the protection of this land," said Demosthenes.

The conservation will also benefit the Charleston Executive airport. They will extend their runway from 5,000 to 7,000 feet.

"Not only does it protect JZI and our airfield. But it protects River Road, Johns island, and the resiliency issues we have with flooding here off the Stono River," said Elliott Summey, CEO Charleston County aviation authority.

The group calls land preservation a win-win for everyone.

"Economic development and conservation can both co-exist together. We live in one of the most beautiful places in the world," said Summey.

"More open space on Johns Island is a win for the community," said Sinkler.

Charleston County has received a reduced cost estimate for the long-planned and controversial Mark Clark Extension project, but it’s a price tag that would still leave the county responsible for paying $1.78 billion.

That’s about five times the county’s yearly general fund budget.

Several council members who support finishing the Interstate 526 loop said the most likely path toward paying for it would be another half-percent sale tax increase that would require local voter approval.

“We just have to be willing to move forward and do it,” Councilwoman Jenny Honeycutt said. “Every day I get more and more calls.”

The project would create a 9½-mile, four-lane road from the current end of I-526 in West Ashley, to Johns Island and then onto James Island with a connection to the end of the James Island connector at Folly Road.

Most of the road would be elevated, with a proposed speed limit between 35 and 45 mph.

The marginally better cost estimate was delivered by S.C. Department of Transportation Secretary Christy Hall in a letter to the county. The previous price tag was estimated at $2.35 billion, while the new estimate that followed a consultant’s study came in at $2.2 billion.

“I think initially there was some thought that maybe we have overinflated the numbers,” Hall said.

When the higher cost estimate came out in May, Bradly Taggart, co-founder of Charlestonians for I-526, told County Council members that a temporary spike in commodity prices was likely to blame. He predicted that “we could be looking at a project that costs half as much in six months’ time as the market rebalances.”

Instead, the estimate dropped by less than 7 percent.

Hall said the estimated $150 million reduction came mainly from reducing the cost of potential “risk elements” — surprises during construction, such as unplanned conflicts with utilities or unexpected poor soil conditions — and partly from reducing expected cost inflation.

“This estimate has built into it every possible contingency for things that could go wrong,” said Honeycutt, who said she thinks the actual cost will be lower.

Hall asked the county to develop “a financial plan that is rational and realistic” for the entire road project, which would be required in order to get final approval for an environmental review from the federal government. She also asked the county to approve $150 million in preliminary work, with the county paying half that cost, to keep the plan moving forward.

Honeycutt and Council Chairman Teddie Pryor both said they favor a new half-percent sales tax referendum as the best way to pay the cost. County voters previously approved two such sales tax increases, mostly to fund road projects.

Pryor said if there were another referendum, it could be entirely dedicated to funding the Mark Clark Extension. The most recent sales tax increase, following a 2016 referendum, was expected to raise $1.89 billion for specified road projects in the county, over 25 years.

The county received the new cost estimate for the Mark Clark Extension on Dec. 2, a spokesperson said, and has not had time to discuss it. The earlier higher estimate was delivered to the county in May.

“I don’t know whether to laugh or to cry,” Councilman Henry Darby said at the time. “I would never, ever go with this.”

The Mark Clark Extension has lots of support, including the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, the city of Charleston and the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors, but also lots of opposition. The Coastal Conservation League said in May that the multibillion-dollar price tag “is a perfect opportunity for Charleston County Council to walk away from this project.”

A community organization called Nix 526 has also been fighting the extension, and Charleston Waterkeeper and the S.C. Wildlife Federation have raised objections.

Supporters say it’s necessary for traffic relief and possible hurricane evacuations, while opponents say it will increase development on Johns Island and harm the environment while providing little traffic relief at great cost.

New roads tend to provide traffic relief for a time but also spur development. The existing portion of I-526 from North Charleston to Mount Pleasant initially provided traffic relief and a new hurricane evacuation option, but it also accelerated development in northern Mount Pleasant and on Daniel Island. The state is currently planning to spend about $4 billion to widen that part of the interstate.

Here are some numbers to put $1.78 billion in context:

The S.C. Department of Transportation assumes that if the Mark Clark Extension project goes forward, litigation could delay it by two or three years.

Pryor blamed opponents for the rising costs of the project, and said it could have been built for far less years or decades ago. In 2015, the cost estimate was $725 million.

Unlike the even-more-expensive plans to widen and improve the existing sections of I-526 — for about $7 billion — the state in 2019 limited its contribution to the Mark Clark Extension project to $420 million and the county agreed to finance the rest.

“Our interstate program is focused on upgrading our existing interstates,” said Hall, and those plans are focused on moving freight and aiding commerce. The state is pursuing plans to widen all or portions of interstates 526, 26 and 95, and to redesign multiple interchanges.

County Council is expected to discuss options for the Mark Clark Extension at a future meeting. Hall did not put a deadline on her request for action.

A Johns Island family who lost everything in a house fire wants to thank their community for the love and support shown to them during the hardship.

Published: Tue Feb 14 2023

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - A Johns Island family who lost everything in a house fire wants to thank their community for the love and support shown to them during the hardship.

The fire happened on Dunwick Drive on Johns Island just before 5 a.m. Sunday.

The Barnett family says they are the “luckiest unlucky people.”

Homeowner David Barnett said he’s just glad his family is alive. The family was celebrating their children’s birthdays over the weekend and had family and friends visiting. Seven people staying at the home the night of the fire escaped, and no one was injured.

Looking at the exposed structure of the house covered in black ash, son Parker Barnett said that’s not what’s important.

“I mean the house doesn’t matter. Everyone is alive, that’s the biggest part. I could care less about the house,” Parker said.

The family was able to rescue one of their dogs, Ellie. Daughter Laurel Barnett held the small dog while she talked about the night. She said their Doberman Lilly didn’t come out with them, but a few hours after the blaze was put out, firefighters found Lilly alive among the rubble.

“It took a lot of pressure off of me for sure because she just used to follow me everywhere and it did not feel right without her but it’s much better now,” Laurel said.

The family said the past few days have been difficult and a whirlwind as they assess the damage and try to understand what their future holds.

It didn’t take long for the community to jump into action, ready to help the Barnetts with whatever they need. A neighbor started a fundraiser that earned more than $30,000 in a few days. People are also collecting clothes in the family’s sizes.

“We’re grateful that we live in such a community that in time of need comes together and lifts everyone up, we’re just so thankful,” David said.

David is a chef at Stono Market and Tomato Shed Café. Restaurant owner Barbara Ambrose said she knows the family well.

“Dave’s been with us for 15 years almost. So, we’ve watched his children be born, grow up... We learned to love his wife, Jen, they’re really wonderful people,” Ambrose said.

Ambrose shared the ways to support the family on the restaurant Facebook page and said she shared a message for them from the team and their friends.

“We love you. We are so glad that y’all are OK. And that’s the most important thing, but everybody wants to know what they can do to support you and to help your family get back on their feet again. So let us know,” Ambrose said.

The Barnett family wished to thank everyone who has donated money or clothes to their cause. They say it’s amazing to see family and friends care about them and it puts things into perspective for them.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

The South Carolina Environmental Law Project is urging people to request a public hearing for a potential bridge to be built over Pennys Creek.

Published: Tue Mar 07 2023

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - The South Carolina Environmental Law Project is urging people to request a public hearing for a potential bridge to be built over Pennys Creek.

Pennys Creek separates a portion of land from Johns Island between the creek and the Stono River. The two-lane bridge would be 33-feet-wide by 570-feet-long.

Conservationists say that kind of construction work would affect the water quality and health of the salt marsh ecosystem. Betsy LaForce is with the Coastal Conservation League.

“We’re thinking about- runoff from cars and stormwater runoff that would go right into the marsh, but also just some of the shading and then the impacts from the piling,” she says.

The applicant is Mike Blanchard of Charles Blanchard Construction Corporation. The proposed name for the bridge is the Blanchard Family Bridge. The application is to build at Fenwick Plantation Road and St. Paul’s Parish Lane. That intersection sits inside a quiet Johns Island neighborhood. According to DHEC’s public notice, the purpose is to provide car access to private property where “access to public roadways is otherwise infeasible.”

South Carolina Environmental Law Project is concerned that the bridge will impact the estuarine ecosystem including some marsh habitat. The organization is also submitting a letter on behalf of the Coastal Conservation League. While the private bridge would access private property, the project argues that the negative impacts to the public waterway and ecosystem held entrust by the state are not worth it.

LaForce says there are a lot of questions about this bridge.

“There are kind of more questions than answers that have been provided in the application in the letter of intent as to why the applicant really needs this bridge to this island that’s already been under the same ownership for quite a long time and access via a separate bridge hasn’t been needed to date,” LaForce says. “So that’s part of the reason why this public hearing will be so important…to ask them to ask the applicant to provide a little bit more background on why this access is needed to the tip of this marsh island.”

The letter argues that there already is access to the land via Rushland Road. “The applicant does not appear to have detailed why this is an infeasible route for access” and that “their proposed access is not a necessity,” according to the letter. The applicant says he has been denied access through that avenue.

In a statement, the applicant explains his family has owned the land since the 40′s and sold off most of it reserving six remaining acres for their grandchildren to use. He says there used to be more bridges and causeways that fell into disrepair and have not been replaced. He says they have secured a permit in the past, but let it expire before being able to build.

Part of the statement reads:

“This property is landlocked and the only available access is by a bridge. We tried for 50 years to get access through the neighboring land between our property and Rushland Landing Road to no avail. We have met all of the regulations and were granted a bridge permit 3 times. If we can’t build a bridge, we cannot access our land.”

LaForce says they are also worried about development pressure.

“Some of the infrastructure that’s being proposed for such a sensitive ecosystem…so on our Sea Islands, we want to be really cognizant of these piecemeal kind of applications that are being considered whether it’s for new roadways, new bridges, and sort of the cumulative impacts that each of those individual budgets has on the bigger picture,” LaForce.

South Carolina Environmental Law Project urges people to submit a request for a public hearing to learn more about the reason for the bridge and potential impact to the environment. Neighbors say they are confident they will meet the 20-request requirement for a public hearing.

Public comments end on March 8th. For more information, click here.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.