Our view: Lady's Island citizens must focus on future

Many people are upset that a Walmart Supercenter is imminent on Lady's Island.

Who can blame them?

It means more traffic in a busy area. It means clearing a large tract near wetlands and hauling in 20,000 truck loads of dirt. And it means the further urbanization of the island.

But the 11th-hour activism needs to be focused on the future of Lady's Island. What is happening now on the tract owned by Fred Trask is not a surprise and has cleared numerous hurdles over many years.

Intense development of the tract along U.S. 21 known as Airport Junction has been in the works since at least early 2003. That's when Beaufort City Council annexed the land and signed a development agreement enabling 250,000 square feet of "highway commercial" space and another 340,000 square feet of limited industrial/general commercial space.

Between then and now, a lot has happened. The city challenged the landowner's interpretation of the agreement. In 2008, the city denied a proposed 195,000-square-foot big-box store. At least one legal challenge ensued, and the city lost. However, a 2011 settlement limited the size of the big-box store to 150,000 square feet.

Almost a year ago, Walmart confirmed it was going to build a 150,000-square-foot store. And it was widely reported it would be part of a planned 26-acre commercial complex that includes room for more than 30,000 square feet of additional retail space.

Buffers must lessen the visual blow, but who is minding the store when it comes to traffic flow? Lady's Island is largely in unincorporated Beaufort County, meaning responsibilities of city, county and state governments overlap. Citizens are owed an explanation on who is dealing with traffic congestion.

Besides Walmart, a Lady's Island airport master plan shows extensive growth, beautiful trees are in peril at the former Publix location, and land was recently clear-cut for a subdivision. Lady's Island residents deserve an overview of what the future holds so they can try to better influence the outcome.

This story was originally published February 4, 2016 at 9:07 AM with the headline "Our view: Lady's Island citizens must focus on future."