Sullivan's Island Town Hall was filled to the brim for the September Town Council meeting. The issue for most was the issue of the accreted land.
Over 30 Sullivan's Island residents signed up to speak to the accreted land issue during the public comment period. Of the 30 who spoke, all but 3 spoke in favor of the compromise position, under which the protected land would be maintained and managed by professional biologists and ecologists, under a management plan developed specifically for the accreted land on Sullivan's Island.
The accreted land issue is emotional and complicated, and has starkly divided neighbors and friends throughout the SI community ever since the lawsuit was filed 5 years ago. The lawsuit is challenging Town rules for beachfront homeowners who want to cut back trees, shrubs, and other vegetation on public land. The lawsuit is endorsed by the owners of about 118 lots on Sullivan's Island. Of the total, 64 of the lots are not on the front row of houses closest to the Atlantic Ocean. To put those numbers somewhat in perspective, there are about 1,050 or so households on all of Sullivan's Island.
A judge has ordered mediation to resolve the lawsuit. As reported by Prentiss Findlay in the Post and Courier, many residents are concerned about the mediation, and would much prefer a jury trial. The concern is that the issue will now be decided out of the public eye. The court-ordered mediation was scheduled for Wednesday, September 17.
No vote related to the accreted land was taken at the September Town Council meeting. Town Council did take a vote at the Town Council meeting on May 20. Many islanders attended the May meeting and were surprised and alarmed by the manner in which that vote was handled by several council members. Here are the minutes of that meeting: http://www.
Interestingly, the Post and Courier article quoted council member Jerry Kaynard as saying that there is no majority opinion one way or the other on SI about how the accreted land situation should be handled. Given the vocal support at the last Town Council meeting for professional management of the land, that is a somewhat curious comment! The article also noted that the state Department of Natural Resources has said that the forested area of the beach offers protection for the nesting and hatching sea turtles, provides habitat afor nesting and migrating land birds, and supports more than 125 plant species.
The accreted land issue has been much in the news lately. In addition to the Post and Courier article, there was recently a letter to the editor , and a thoughtful article by former Town Council member Penn Hagood.
For information on many other issues impacting the SI community, go to Sullivan's Island Community Impact .
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