Ah, Spring! The grass is green! The sky is blue! The pluff mud has that new smell of the emerging life cycle being born in our marshes - nature’s nursery, I call it! My sweet pups that were born last month are growing fast and love chasing the little mice around. Sadly, I could soon be hearing the sickening sound of saws, and smelling the sawdust as CONSTRUCTION of boardwalks, benches and viewing decks begins in the accreted land.
Yep, construction in our protected land. Town Council wants to “open up” our accreted land to the public. This Town Council, disregarding the amazing conservation work of previous councils, has chosen to keep all of us out of the loop of communication on this questionable development. Just 7 elected officials have unilaterally chosen to disregard the covenants of the Low Country Open Land Trust that have protected this land since 1991.
Town Council claims that all residents who live adjacent to the accreted land have been informed and notified. But Sullivan’s Island Community Impact can find no resident who received notification of these anticipated projects. Yet there are written plans for the construction of boardwalks, viewing decks, and benches from Station 16 to the Lighthouse. That’s about 85 acres--and that's just for Phases I and II! The plan is to go all the way to Station 26.
Did you know--When the Isle of Palms Town Council tried to do this very thing to their town in 2011, not only did the citizens rise up and protest and eventually get Town Council to reverse its decision, but 2 council persons lost their seats on Council for supporting it! And their beach front is not even protected in a land trust! Here is the link to the P&C article about the IOP debacle:
Do you want this to happen to our protected, pristine front beach? Were you adequately informed that this could be in the works on Sullivan’s Island? How about these issues: 1) parking; 2) trash; 3) crime; 4) vagrancy; 5) restroom facilities; 6) easier access to homeowner’s yards. I could go on and on, but you decide.It is not too late to voice your concerns to Town Council! I would encourage you to do so.
On another note, I hope you all read Richard Eckstrom’s article in this week’s Moultrie News. It’s entitled, “Watchdog Citizens Deserve Public Officials Respect.” AHWHOOH! Great article to howl about. He says that citizen watchdogs are worthy monitors of our governments and that they effectively sound the alarm to all voters when glaring wrongs are being committed by the government in power. He says that ordinary folks who take the time to get involved should be respected and cherished! You go, Richard! My only objection to his timely article is the use of the term “watchdog”. I am offended but proud to say, “I am a “WatchCoyote”!
Keep Reading… It only gets better and better….
At our Town Council meeting on Tuesday, my Island Friend and I heard a mouthful from fellow islander, Wayne Stelljes. Rumor has it that he has recently appointed himself “Attorney General of Sullivan’s Island”. I’m not so sure about that, but, man, does he have a strange understanding of our Constitutional rights. My all-time favorite right, the Right of Free Speech, was denounced by Mr. Stelljes at the meeting.
A.G. Stelljes unabashedly stood up and told Council that we must be silenced! “Enough is enough!” he said. He said my Island Friend and I are troublemakers who have taken it to the extreme. He said that we are aggravating. A.G. Stelljes said that if we wanted answers we could simply send an email to a council member. He referenced a comment in the last Whiney Coyote article in which I questioned why the Tree Commission played no part in the planned cutting of many oak trees in Stith Park to make way for the amphitheaterPerformance Lawn.
Oops! Looks like our very own Attorney General is clicking on our SI Community Impact website. I say, “Welcome Aboard!” Glad to have you as a reader on our site, where Freedom of the Press is another cherished right! Happy to have you join the vast and growing number of islanders who appreciate having important facts brought to light. In fact, I want to give Wayne a great, big, warm, and furry Whiney Coyote hug!
This is getting a little long, but I must whine a little bit more…..
· If you believe that Sullivan’s Island is a family friendly place to live then you may be interested to know that the St. Patrick’s Day festivities were a disaster. Mobs of young people gathered, got plastered, threw up, and urinated all over the place. Drinkers were brought in in buses and cars. There were a few fights and several medical calls. One SI police officer was assaulted. The crowd was described as rude and disrespectful. Someone tried to break into a nearby residence. Middle Street was closed, and getting on and off the island was a nightmare. How much more of this do islanders have to tolerate? Very few residents were in attendance. One very bright note was the childrens’ party at the park, which was well attended by islanders and reportedly a smashing success. Too bad it had to end at noon, to make way for the other revelers.
· Did you know that this Town Council was actually considering creating another Boardwalk on the island? This boardwalk would connect the Causeway with Patriot Street- for bicyclists! This neighborhood may well be the most fragile on the island. The residents put up with the Commercial District and all of their events. They are bombarded by off-island soccer and lacrosse teams beside the mound. They are impacted with heavy traffic going through their neighborhood at all hours of the day and night, and then there is the NOISE! Well, AHWHOOH! The people of this neighborhood spoke up!This project has been rightfully shelved by Town Council, with Mayor Perkis stating, “We heard you.”
But herein lies the problem: Why does Town Council not listen to residents in all neighborhoods? Why exclaim “We heard you” to one neighborhood but show complete disregard for another? The residents living next to the Accreted Land have been denied their voice because they were not properly informed of the plans of this council. These 7 council members have plans to change the lives of residents who live next to the accreted land - forever.
I say Congratulations to the neighbors who fought to keep a bicycle boardwalk out of their neighborhood!
I say Congratulations to the neighbors who fought over the summer and fall to keep their historic neighborhood at Thompson and Station 16 single family, in spite of this council’s effort to change it to multi-family.
Finally, I say to the neighborhoods of the Front Beach - Fight the good fight! It is not too late! Remember what happened on the Isle of Palms after residents discovered that their council was planning to put a passive park in the middle of one of their residential neighborhoods! As one of the new-elected IOP councilmembers stated in 2011, "We already have a big passive park on the island... It's called the beach."
Whiney Coyote (Karen Coste)
For more information about what is happening on Sullivan's Island and the impact to the
entire community, go to SI Community Impact.
entire community, go to SI Community Impact.
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