Friday, March 1, 2024
Your voice made a difference! On Tuesday night, Charleston County Council cast their third and final vote on the tree amendments bringing to end a long fight to uphold tree protections. Ultimately, their approach settled on the inclusion of meaningful tree mitigation and public input.
After months of speaking up at meetings, writing to council members, signing and sharing a petition that yielded close to 10,000 signatures, Charleston County Council members heard you and voted…
Friday, March 1, 2024
South Coast Newsletter, February 2024
Despite the cooler temperatures, the month of February got off to a hot start as our South Coast team partnered with community members from St. Helena Island and Jasper County to rally against incompatible development threats.
Our corner of the Lowcountry and the people that call its beautiful landscapes home are worth fighting for. From the stately longleaf pines of Jasper County to the expansive St….
Friday, March 1, 2024
Today, the Coastal Conservation League stood beside partners at the Penn Center to officially relaunch the Penn School for Preservation.
In February, the Penn Center received a $650,000 grant from the Coastal Community Foundation to relaunch the Penn School for Preservation, using courses to address land loss and development pressures in Beaufort County by providing training in civic engagement, citizenship, and community-based planning.
The Conservation League will…
Friday, March 1, 2024
Charleston County is seeking to tax residents to pay for the outdated, overpriced Mark Clark/I-526 Extension by asking voters to extend a transportation sales tax for 25 years. Nearly half of all the money that would be collected until roughly 2050 would go to pay for one 9-mile-long road that would damage the environment, displace homes and businesses, and only be used by a fraction of Charleston County residents. That’s a bad deal…
Thursday, February 29, 2024
On February 28, IHG Hotels & Resorts announced intentions to build an “eco-conscious resort, spa, and residential community” that would span Hilton Head Island, Daufuskie Island, and Bay Point Island.
Any reference to development on Bay Point Island, a vulnerable barrier island at the mouth of the Port Royal Sound, is extremely concerning. The island has no infrastructure—no roads, water, sewer, or power—and is only accessible by boat or air. It is a dynamically shifting…
Monday, February 26, 2024
Stop House bill 5118! We must rally together to tell our legislators we must choose better action for our state’s future.
On Tuesday, February 27, the Public Utilities Subcommittee of the House of Representatives will be discussing Bill H.5118. This is a dangerous bill that would green-light building huge new fossil fuel projects and then turn a blind eye to the implications it would have on ratepayers and natural resources.
Put…
Tuesday, February 20, 2024
Welcome to Annexation 101!
The Town of Ridgeland voted to accept an annexation petition for 3,000 acres of land along Snake Road that abuts Hazzard Creek and the Port Royal Sound watershed. The annexation request is tied to a master plan and development agreement that would permit over 2,000 dwelling units and 500,000 sf of commercial development.
What is annexation?
Annexation is the legal process used by towns and cities (aka municipalities) to expand their borders and…
Monday, February 19, 2024
The 3rd and final reading to rezone the Conway Medical Center (CMC) property across from Lewis Ocean Bay Heritage Preserve is on the agenda for Tuesday’s Horry County Council meeting.
We need your help! Please attend the meeting to show the council that smoke and hospitals do not mix and the best outcome for this parcel is for CMC to sell it to SC Department of Natural Resource so that it can be conserved.
Friday, February 16, 2024
Utilities have not disclosed cost or location of gas pipeline projects needed
Yesterday, the South Carolina Public Service Commission unanimously approved Santee Cooper’s long term power plan (Integrated Resource Plan, or “IRP”), greenlighting a new gas-fired power plant that would be jointly financed and owned by Dominion Energy South Carolina. The approval ignores concerns from intervenors and an independent consultant to the case about the gas plant that would be located…
Monday, February 5, 2024
We’re continuing our journey to the depths of the Blake Plateau and its fascinating deep-sea coral ecosystem by diving into the ecology that supports life at extreme depths and at the surface. No need to have a background in ecology, just your excitement for all things Under the Sea is required!
