Letter: Why the Lowcountry is being paved over

Your Nov. 19 editorial ("Due processes needed in development cases") makes the point that "the Lowcountry ... is rapidly being paved over" and there is a reason.

Citing the old Indian tale, six blind men were asked to determine what an elephant looked like by feeling different parts of the elephant's body. The blind man who feels a leg says the elephant is like a pillar; the one who feels the tail says the elephant is like a rope; and so on and so forth. And so goes environmental protection and quality of life in the Lowcountry.

Historical preservationists, conservation organizations, legal advocates, planning commissions, county and city councils, planning departments, zoning boards, the development community, state representatives and senators and finally the judiciary all have their hands on our proverbial "elephant." That is why the "automatic stay" is so important.

The "automatic stay" (due process) prevents environmental damage until there is a determination of what impacts a project will have on the environment and whether the project meets regulatory requirements and standards, which are all critical to protecting that public interest. It is a much-needed safeguard in these complex processes.

And as Amy Armstrong of the S.C. Environmental Law Project emphasized, "Development interests cannot outweigh the public's interest in protection of South Carolina's iconic landscapes."

Unless we place this principle front and center in all our complex deliberations, our goal of conserving the Lowcountry is unachievable.

George Johnston

This story was originally published November 25, 2015 at 3:05 PM with the headline "Letter: Why the Lowcountry is being paved over."