Massive development on Cainhoy fails to balance growth, environmental protections

Recently, former Mayor Joe Riley commented that Charleston’s continuous growth requires careful and deliberate planning. As conservation leaders, we are mindful of the balance between preserving our community and its natural resources while acknowledging that growth will happen. Mayor Riley believes that the proposed Cainhoy development strikes this balance. We respectfully disagree.
 
The proposed development is a sprawling 9,000-acre plan, which sites nearly half of the proposed 9,000 homes within the floodplain — exposing future residents to the costly flooding problems already facing communities downtown, in West Ashley, and on James Island.
Their plan will destroy 180 acres of pristine wetlands, which play a critical role in protecting communities from the flooding and stronger storms that have become more common over the past decade. The City of Charleston is currently considering building a billion-dollar seawall around the downtown peninsula for resilience purposes. It is counter-productive to these resilience efforts to simultaneously allow developers to build almost 50% of the Cainhoy project in wetlands and the floodplain in another part of the city. 
 
Nestled between the historic Jack Primus community and the Francis Marion National Forest, the Cainhoy peninsula boasts unique ecological assets, as well as historic African American settlement communities and cultural resources. The proposed development site provides important habitat for endangered species and a bounty of other wildlife, as well as a buffer for the Francis Marion National Forest. Charleston cannot afford to disrupt or displace these resources. 
 
We are also especially concerned that the current plans threaten historic communities like Jack Primus and Huger. We feel strongly that these Gullah communities should be insulated from the damages that often come with nearby sprawling suburban development. That includes harm that will arise from adding thousands of additional cars going to a massive neighborhood more than twice the size of Daniel Island. Clements Ferry Road, S.C. Highway 41, and Interstate 526 are struggling to handle current traffic congestion. The proposed development will have even greater impacts on traffic and roads in the area. These are the types of impacts often considered in an Environmental Impact Statement—the gold standard for environmental review. But the Cainhoy development did not receive that level of scrutiny, which is typically required for projects of this magnitude.
 
Conservation leaders have invested a great deal of time and resources to demonstrate how a mixed-use development could be built on the Cainhoy peninsula while avoiding the most severe environmental impacts. We’ve shown that far less harmful alternatives are available that would provide the same number of homes but fill far fewer wetlands and place fewer homes in the floodplain. Conservation leaders have also urged the government to conduct the highest level of review required under the law so that local communities have a meaningful opportunity to understand and inform the final proposal.  
 
All of these reasons are why we challenged the ill-advised federal permits for the Cainhoy development. With the dangers of sea level rise and more powerful storms, achieving a balance between smart growth, environmental protection, and community preservation is critical. The planned Cainhoy development is an unsustainable way to proceed; we can, and should, grow in a much smarter and safer way.
 
Faith Rivers James is the executive director of the Coastal Conservation League and Chris DeScherer is the South Carolina office director for the Southern Environmental Law Center. 
 
This commentary also was signed by Andrew Wunderley, executive director and waterkeeper at Charleston Waterkeeper, and Sara Green, executive director of the South Carolina Wildlife Federation.
 

Daniel Island Publishing

225 Seven Farms Drive
Unit 108
Daniel Island, SC 29492 

Office Number: 843-856-1999
Fax Number: 843-856-8555

 

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