Large development along SC 170 could worsen environment, traffic problems, advisory group says
Drive east on S.C. 170 from Bluffton to Beaufort, and just as you pass Oldfield Equestrian Center and a road veers off the highway to the left toward Ridgeland, you see two large tracts of land, mainly untouched.
It’s a rural area, marked only by a long stretch of trees and a few gas stations. It’s also less than a mile from the marshes of the Okatie River.
That tree-covered land — a total of 136 acres divided by the highway — could soon be developed into a sprawling community of over 200 homes and commercial buildings.
The proposals for the Cooler and Shining Ivory tracts in unincorporated Beaufort and Jasper counties are planned in an area rife with development. That stretch of S.C. 170, plagued with potholes and torn-up pavement, is home to Saint John Paul II Catholic School, Beaufort-Jasper Academy for Career Excellence and Okatie Elementary School.
Neighbors already are concerned about the environmental and traffic impacts of the 660 single- and multi-family homes planned just down the road at Malind Bluff and River Oaks.
At 10 a.m. Wednesday, the City of Hardeeville’s Planning Commission will consider several proposals from the two landowners seeking to annex the 136 acres into Hardeeville’s jurisdiction. The annexations would change the properties’ zoning and allow Village Park Homes to develop a master planned community of 200 single-family homes on one side of the highway and a mix of commercial development on the other.
Planning documents for the development say it will produce a “high quality mixed-use development that raises the quality of life and development standards in the area” while also helping workforce housing issues.
Others dispute that assessment.
Juliana Smith, south coast project manager for the Coastal Conservation League, said she and her team are worried about the project’s potential impact on the area’s already worsening traffic and environmental problems.
“Municipalities should use annexation to bring properties under their control in areas of the county where it makes sense. [This] isn’t one of those places,” she said. “Far from the city center of Hardeeville, the proposed development ... will strain city taxpayers’ dollars by stretching thin the city’s utilities, producing more sprawl, threatening natural resources, and compounding traffic issues at an intersection of Highway 170 that’s already failing performance standards.”
So, what’s planned?
Village Park Homes, under applicant Tim Franks, is asking Hardeeville to annex 136 acres along S.C. 170 at its intersection with S.C. 462.
The two properties are owned by Robert Dismuke of Shining Ivory LLC and Richard Cooler of Cooler’s Corner LLC, according to city documents.
Forty acres of the proposed annexation are in unincorporated Jasper County, while the remaining 95.64 acres are in unincorporated Beaufort County, according to city documents.
Dismuke and Cooler initially declined to comment on the proposal before Wednesday’s meeting.
In a text to a reporter late Tuesday night, Dismuke said he is only seeking to annex and rezone his portion of the property and that no development plans are currently proposed for his land.
Planning documents indicate the properties are expected to be incorporated into a mix of residential and commercial uses.
But before that can happen, the City of Hardeeville has to accept the annexation proposal.
Development in the area
The proposed annexation draws comparisons to the 2018 debacle when the owners of Malind Bluff and River Oaks along S.C. 170 attempted to be annexed into Hardeeville.
Beaufort County later sued the developers of those properties for breaking their development agreements with the county. The county argued that the development agreements, which were set to expire after five years, were valid through 2022 because two state resolutions passed by the S.C. General Assembly in 2010 and 2013 postponed the expiration date of development agreements through Dec. 31, 2016.
However, the county and the developers reached an agreement in September 2019: The developers would not annex into Hardeeville, and their development agreements would be valid through Jan. 1, 2022. Both developments moved forward.
Also in the vicinity of the Cooler and Shining Ivory tracts is the massive commercial and residential East Argent development five miles east of I-95. It is projected to more than triple the city of Hardeeville’s population.
Since its inception, the planned development project — touted as the largest in Hardeeville’s history — has received mixed reviews from officials and nearby residents who worry about its potential effect on traffic and on the headwaters of both the Okatie and New rivers.
This story was originally published September 15, 2020 at 3:21 PM.
