Comprehensive Plan Update----What Town Council Has In Store for SI

Town Council updated the Sullivan's Island Comprehensive Plan at the July 15th Town Council meeting.  It is very enlightening to scroll through the Plan and see all of the ways this Town Council plans to CHANGE Sullivan's Island. Here is a link to the updated Plan, with all of the proposed changes in each section shown in red: bit.ly/1kimGU1.  

Particularly noteworthy are the population projections for Sullivan's Island. See pages 25-27 of the Comp Plan, showing the very negligible population growth projected for the island through 2030.  As shown on the charts, the SI population is expected to grow by only 1.56% over the next 15 or so years.

Analyzing the SI population by age, the greatest growth  between  2000 and 2010 ​​
 was in the 55-75 year-old age group.  According to the charts, the number of residents in that age group increased  by a whopping 66%.

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By contrast, the charts show that the number of residents in the 25-54 year-old age group declined by28% over the same period and the number of children residing on SI declined by 13%.  (All of which raises the question: How many residents, including children, would be sliding down the huge slide Town Council apparently wants to install at the park?)

Another interesting CHANGE to the Comp Plan is shown in the Natural Resources section, on page 63. Town Council added an entire section to the Plan to describe what the Town is doing to "enhance and develop new pathways for the public to enjoy the beachfront, deed-restricted conservation land tract (aka Accreted Land)." 

And Town Council is not yet through with these "enhancements!"  The Plan states that, "the Town continues to pursue county, state, and federal funds to assist with these expenses," noting that the Town has already been awarded almost $200,000 in Urban Greenbelt and DHEC funds. Town Council's plans include building nature trails and boardwalks that run parallel to the beach, some with benches and viewing stations. Minutes from the LUNR committee meeting in April show that many islanders attended the meeting and expressed serious concerns about Town Council's plans to build beach paths and boardwalks parallelling to the beach.

So for any islanders who may have been under the impression that the Town was out of funds to build boardwalks, paths, and viewing stations throughout the accreted land, THINK AGAIN! The Town apparently plans to apply for even more! 

Again, given the extremely low projected population growth on Sullivan's Island, can there be any doubt that these "enhancements" in the accreted land would largely be for visitors to the island? And even though the initial construction would be funded by grants, SI residents would be responsible for funding ongoing maintenance and security.  And what about the loss of privacy and security for beachfront property owners, not to mention increased traffic and congestion all over the island?

There are many, many more changes proposed in the Plan, particularly under Community Facilities (Water and Sewer) and Transportation. Scroll through the Plan and see what you think...

Another item approved at the July meeting was the $14,000 engineering study for the Mound.  

• As mentioned in an earlier SI CI, Town Council is considering making massive changes to Stith Park and the Mound, including terracing and lighting, and installing a huge slide on the south face of the Mound that would be visible from Middle Street.

Town Council also approved the First Reading of the very controversial ordinance that would allow more eating establishments in the commercial district. Town Council approved this ordinance, in spite of vocal and island-wide concerns expressed by residents concerned about increased traffic and congestion.

Be sure and contact Town Council members and let them know about any other questions or concerns you may have about the many ways Council is proposing to change our island community.  Contact information for Town Council is shown on Sullivan's Island Community Impact (sicommunityimpact.com).