'Our hands are tied,' Beaufort leaders say as Lady's Island Walmart construction looms
Bill Chatfield walked to the edge of his Distant Island property while on the phone Thursday and watched two bald eagles over the creek.
He has seen ospreys, dolphins and minks nearby. He wonders how the local ecosystem might be affected by the large box-store neighbor set to build nearby off Sea Island Parkway on Lady's Island.
"Everybody is 100 percent upset and disgusted with this Walmart idea," Chatfield said. "We've known it was probably coming. But as most people are, when they see the urgency, that's when they get upset -- and that's what's happening now."
Chatfield, an attorney from Cincinnati, is hardly alone in his apprehension about Walmart, which could begin site work at Airport Circle within a week.
Beaufort staff and elected officials have been inundated with questions and concerns about the project, which has been years in the making. Their response has been that there is little they can do and rules are being followed.
Beaufort city manager Bill Prokop warned residents this week that what they see adjacent to the Beaufort County Airport in the coming weeks won't be pretty.
"What the public is going to see is clear-cutting, and it's going to be ugly for many weeks," Prokop said.
Most of the trees on the site will be cleared. About 20,000 truckloads of dirt will be required to raise the 26-acre site by six feet to satisfy federal flood requirements.
Much of that fill is expected to come from St. Helena Island. Work is expected to begin within the week with trees being cleared.
Anticipating a fresh round of calls when work begins, Prokop said the developers have complied with all local tree and stormwater laws.
Beaufort County stormwater management engineer Eric Larson reviewed the site's stormwater plan as a courtesy to the city last summer. After Larson pointed out concerns, the city worked with Ward Edwards to revise plans and ensure the site retained the required amount of rainfall.
The planned-unit development includes a 15-foot buffer around the property. Trees will be removed in some of the buffer to allow the site to be filled and then will be replanted.
Beaufort leaders have reminded critics of the project that the city initially refused to allow a Walmart on the property, saying a big-box store wasn't allowed under the development agreement. But a settlement was reached after property owner Fred Trask sued the city.
"We had our hand on the switch and did the right thing," City Councilman George O'Kelley said Tuesday.
Chatfield said area residents have scrambled to catch up on local zoning rules, ordinances and development agreements as construction has drawn closer. He has found, as Mayor Billy Keyserling wrote a resident recently, that "our hands our tied."
"We may be too late to the game to stop a Walmart, but we just thought we could get some concessions or promises from them to make it look more natural," Chatfield said.
Follow reporter Stephen Fastenau on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Stephen.
Follow reporter Stephen Fastenau on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Stephen.
Related content:
- Lady's Island Walmart construction to start soon, Jan. 20, 2016
- Walmart Supercenter to bring 300 jobs to Lady's Island, company says, March 4, 2015
- Lady's Island, city of Beaufort in talks on area once slated for Walmart, June 22, 2011
This story was originally published January 28, 2016 at 9:46 AM with the headline "'Our hands are tied,' Beaufort leaders say as Lady's Island Walmart construction looms."