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County halts work at Daufuskie Island development

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A Daufuskie Island developer who allegedly was filling in a wetland and working without a permit has been forced by Beaufort County to halt the project.

County senior codes enforcement officer Audra Antonacci said the owner of a 9-acre lot on Old Haig Point Road, JJK Realty Associates, received a warning for building without a development permit.

She said her office has been investigating the allegation that the company, which is registered to Daufuskie builder Jamie Karabinchak, was filling in a wetland. Code officers received the complaint and responded Aug. 19.

Altering a wetland in some cases can require permits from the federal Army Corps of Engineers.

Karabinchak did not respond to messages left Thursday and Friday at his home.

Roger Pinckney, a Daufuskie resident who is outspoken on preservation issues, said he got a call from a few residents about the project. He advised them to alert the county, but also checked to see if the contractor had filled in the wetland.

"I went over and looked at it ... and what I saw I always thought was wetlands," Pinckney said.

"I don't think (the developer) would do anything wrong intentionally," he said.

However, because of the isolated nature of Daufuskie Island, builders in the past have been able to move forward on projects without getting the required approvals, Pinckney said.

Pinckney is hopeful that standards for getting permits have tightened.

In a recent incident, a contractor started installing a community dock and erosion control device at Brown's Bluff,overlooking the May River, without county permits. Land owner Larry Brown received four citations from the county.

In recent weeks, Beaufort County administrator Gary Kubic had stern words for his employees after three projects at Sun City Hilton Head were completed without county approval.

In terms of county enforcement of code requirements, Pinckney said there's a "new regime."

"If a land owner ... hires someone to alter his land, that person he hires ought to inquire about whether he has the permits," he said.

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