{"id":9845,"date":"2017-11-29T16:33:52","date_gmt":"2017-11-29T16:33:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.coastalconservationleague.org\/?page_id=9845"},"modified":"2017-11-29T16:33:52","modified_gmt":"2017-11-29T16:33:52","slug":"kiawah-land-swap","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.coastalconservationleague.org\/kiawah-land-swap\/","title":{"rendered":"Kiawah Land Swap"},"content":{"rendered":"
Kiawah Partners and the Kiawah Island Community Association (KICA) negotiated a trade involving land on and around Kiawah Island. The proposal was to exchange a 4.6-acre oceanfront parcel, roughly adjacent to the Beachwalker County Park, for two fingers of land extending on the left of the entrance road into the marsh of the Kiawah River. These are the first two fingers of high land after you cross the bridge. This exchange also included a proposed option to buy another finger nearby.<\/p>\n
The Kiawah Conservancy supported the swap because of their interest in protecting the entrance of Kiawah from visual blight they feel would result from the potential development of the two swap parcels.<\/p>\n
Dick Fishburn, with the Conservancy, explained their rationale for supporting the swap. Dick emphasized that the Conservancy did not view this proposal as having anything to do with Captain Sams Spit. Rather, he noted, it was about protecting the entrance to the island along the Kiawah Parkway. Dick suggested that the League read the letter from Mayor Craig Weaver and frame our response in light of Mayor Weaver\u2019s explanation of the Town\u2019s supportive position.<\/p>\n
The first point we would like to make is that we have the deepest respect for the work and time the Conservancy members have put into this proposal. However, after our conversation with Dick and other Conservancy members, after reviewing all available information on the proposal, and after reading Mayor Weaver\u2019s letter, we let our members know that we felt confident that the swap was not necessarily in the best interest of the island or the environment.<\/p>\n
The following is how\u00a0we came to this conclusion:<\/p>\n
In summary, based on everything we know, we did not believe the swap was a good deal for Kiawah residents and the environment. In monetary, aesthetic and natural resource terms, the value received is almost certainly dramatically less than the value given away.<\/p>\n
We respect the point of view of the Conservancy and the Mayor, and we appreciate the thoughtful deliberation they have applied to this challenging question. But given the evidence, we came to a different conclusion than they did.<\/p>\n
We believe the best possible outcome would have been for KICA to donate the oceanfront parcel to the Kiawah Conservancy, to be held in trust in perpetuity.\u00a0 This would be a wonderful legacy for the Conservancy, and for the community it serves.<\/p>\n
On September 22, the land swap passed, thus allowing the exchange of the parcels between Kiawah Partners and KICA. Before that, Tropical Storm Irma took place, bringing with her strong winds and rain that had significant impacts on some of these areas in question. You can check out those pictures here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Kiawah Partners and the Kiawah Island Community Association (KICA) negotiated a trade involving land on and around Kiawah Island. The proposal was to exchange a 4.6-acre oceanfront parcel, roughly adjacent to the Beachwalker County Park, for two fingers of land extending on the left of the entrance road into the marsh of the Kiawah River. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n