Awendaw

The small rural town of Awendaw, in northern Charleston County, is located between the Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge and the Francis Marion National Forest. Almost completely rural, some of the elected leaders in recent years have zoned the town for urban development and annexed massive parcels of timber land, also zoning them for urban-style densities.

Urban development in this remote and rural area would adversely affect the historic African-American community which has been there since after the Civil War. It would bring traffic, congestion, lights, noise and pollution into an area that is wild and beautiful. The many endangered species and ecosystems which now flourish here would be displaced.

For sprawling development to take hold in this area, it will require several public policy decisions that would support it—decisions to run water and sewer lines into the area, to subsidize public services, to raise taxes to support the new, proposed developments. If you live East of the Cooper, you can tell your elected officials not to support any actions which push sprawl into this area.