Charleston City Paper
Turf Wars
October 10, 2005
By: Neal Sakash

In recent years, developers have been devouring parts of the Lowcountry as if it were a cheap buffet, littering the landscape with the cookie-cutter markings of urban sprawl.

As large-scale land transfers make local headlines and redevelopment proposals are bandied about, the region faces a new wave of domestic growth — and also a chance to change current patterns and trends. At the center of this issue is the use of the half-cent sales tax, passed by county voters almost a year ago.

Since the plan to spend the half-cent funds hasn’t been completed, many county citizens remain in the dark as to exactly how the funds will be spent. The Charleston County Transportation Committee (CTCC) has already added at least a dozen more provisions onto what the public voted for last November. Knowing that the tax’s final plan is still in limbo, some citizens have begun to question the committee’s ability to slow development.

James Island Public Service District Commissioner Eugene Platt sponsored a resolution that would institute a county-wide moratorium for any residential developments exceeding three units until a careful implementation of half-cent funds is devised.

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