S.C. county again rejects proposed golf course on Gullah Geechee land
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Hundreds attended the Beaufort County Council meeting Monday. Photos: Courtesy of Open Land Trust and the Coastal Conservation League
A property owner's controversial bid to build a golf course on a South Carolina island that offered Martin Luther King Jr. and other civil rights legends a place to plan their work was shot down once again by Beaufort County leaders.
Why it matters: St. Helena Island, near Georgia's border, is home to significant Gullah Geechee and civil rights history.
- It's also home to the Penn Center, which in the 1860s became the first school in the South established for formerly enslaved Black people.
- During the 1960s, the campus served as a planning center for the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., John Lewis and other members of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
The latest: The Council on Monday voted 10–1 to reject a proposed development agreement for the 437-acre property on the northeast side of the county.
- Property owner Elvio Tropeano of Pine Island Property Holdings wants to build an 18-hole golf course and 49 homes on the property.
- He also sought to remove the land from the county's cultural protection overlay — which prohibits certain new developments, like golf courses — but withdrew the request after the council's decision.
What they're saying: Tropeano's attorney, Kevin Dukes, told the Council before it took action that the project was "truly unprecedented" and would maintain the rural character of the county.
- "The positive impacts of this plan extend far beyond the boundaries of St. Helena to every corner of Beaufort County," he said.
The other side: David Mitchell, chair of the Penn Center board of trustees and executive director of the Atlanta Preservation Center, said the council's decision "affirms emphatically that Beaufort County has something very special."
- "This stands as a glowing example of what courage looks like," Mitchell said.
Catch up quick: Tropeano in 2023 proposed a similar plan that was rejected by the Beaufort County Council.
- This year he submitted his revised proposal for the county to consider.
The big picture: Kristin Williams, executive director of Open Land Trust, a nonprofit that advocates for the conservation of natural habitats and open spaces, said St. Helena is one of the last sea islands along the Georgia and South Carolina coast with a thriving Gullah Geechee community.
- The Gullah Geechee people are descendants of Africans enslaved on plantations along the Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina and Florida coasts.
Threat level: Over the last few decades, developers have encroached onto Gullah Geechee land, constructing large vacation homes and other projects that attract wealthy people to the coast.
- On Georgia's Sapelo Island, residents in the Hogg Hummock community are fighting a rezoning proposal that would allow larger houses to be built on the island.
- The Georgia Supreme Court is expected to decide whether a referendum on the question can proceed.
The bottom line: Williams told Axios the cultural protection overlay has allowed St. Helena to steer clear from the redevelopment path taken by Hilton Head Island.
- "It is a place that you feel … still has a soul, and that is because it hasn't turned into Everywhere, USA," she said of St. Helena Island.