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FALL 2016 COASTAL CONSERVATION LEAGUE n3 526: Opportunity Knocks n14 Shoreline Victory n22 Notes From the Field FALL 2016 VOL. 27 • NO. 2 Staff Dana Beach, Executive Director Programs Lisa Turansky, Chief Conservation Ofcer PROGRAM DIRECTORS Hamilton Davis Alan Hancock Natalie Olson Katie Zimmerman PROJECT MANAGERS Emily Cedzo Jason Crowley Berry Sosa SOUTH COAST Kate Parks Schaefer, Ofce Director Reed Armstrong, Project Manager NORTH COAST Nancy Cave, Ofce Director COLUMBIA Merrill McGregor, Director of Government Relations Kenneth Sercy, Utility Regulation Specialist GrowFood Carolina Sara Clow, General Manager Jackson Cauthen Jessica Diaz Nina Foy Benton Montgomery Alison Pierce Jake Sadler Nate Toth James Vardell Development Nancy Appel, Director of Development Kristy Collins, Membership & Events Manager Nora Kravec, Data Manager Shannyn Smith, Senior Development Ofcer Administration Tina Allen, Chief Financial Ofcer Erin Crouse, Staf Accountant Christine Gallina, Receptionist Offices Tonnia Switzer-Smalls, HR and Administration Jeanne Snell, Bookkeeper/Ofce Manager Charleston 328 East Bay Street Board of Directors Charleston, SC 29401 Margot T. Rose, Chair 843.723.8035 Berryman Edwards, Vice Chair Johnston C. Adams Columbia Joel A. Berly III 1202 Main Street, 3rd Floor Ceara Donnelley Columbia, SC 29201 P. Steven Dopp 803.771.7102/803.758.5800 Katharine Hastie Cynthia Kellogg Deborah Kennedy Kennard Beaufort Jef Leath 1212 King Street Pierre Manigault Beaufort, SC 29902 Jim McNab 843.522.1800 Richard Schmaltz Jefrey Schutz Georgetown Charles M. Tarver 709-B Front Street John Thompson Georgetown, SC 29442 David Westerlund 843.545.0403 Stephen Zoukis GrowFood Carolina 990 Morrison Drive Cover Photo: Sunflower Field, Magazine Charleston, SC 29403 Lisa Turansky & Virginia Beach, Editors 843.727.0091 Johns Island, by Dana Beach Julie Frye, Design Dana Beach FROM THE DIRECTOR INTERSTATE 526: THE POLITICS OF IMAGINATION & A NEW FUTURE FOR THE LOWCOUNTRY Dana Beach Dana Beach River Road, Johns Island. nterstate 526, I-526, 526—these three other 526 opponents saw the interstate extension as a numbers fueled a three-decade battle over conduit for sprawl and a threat to indigenous com- I the future of the South Carolina Lowcountry. munities. They understood 526 for what it was: a Supporters were certain 526 would eliminate diversion of scarce transportation funds from prior- trafc congestion on Savannah Highway and Folly ity needs in the region like I-26, and a boondoggle to Road. Some Johns Island, Kiawah and Seabrook serve special interests of developers and politicians. residents sought shorter trips to jobs and shopping in West Ashley. Opponents viewed the new road much Casualties of the Debate—Facts and Logic diferently. James Island resident Robin Welch and Early on, studies and models by the South Caro- Johns Island civil rights activist Bill Saunders argued lina Department of Transportation (DOT) and the that the highway was unnecessary given that two regional Council of Governments revealed that any bridges already connected Johns Island with James projected trafc relief was so modest as to be unno- Island and West Ashley. ticeable—only seconds shaved of of trips from Johns The debate revealed starkly disparate visions of the Island into town. And on some roads, the extension region. Welch and Saunders, along with numerous would have actually made congestion worse. FALL 2016 | COASTAL CONSERVATION LEAGUE 3 None of this mattered, however, because the allure of 526 was its stunning simplicity. Building the 526 extension, proponents promised, would solve the region’s transportation problems once and for all. Alan Hancock Even as project costs soared, from $420 million to $550 million to $725 million, promoters assured residents that the benefits were real, long-lasting and financially achievable. The specter and promise of 526 made it impossible for the community to think creatively about alterna- tive solutions to reduce congestion and make neigh- borhoods better at far less cost to taxpayers and the environment. It was the road debate that ate the civic mind of Charleston. Origins of 526—Annexations and Traffic Congestion Beginning in the late 1970s and 80s, the City of Charleston embarked on an aggressive annexation campaign, first on James Island and then on Johns. For more than two decades, the city approved hun- TV reporters interview Conservation League Land Use Director dreds of new residential subdivisions and commercial Natalie Olson after the STIB vote to withdraw funding for 526. developments on the two islands. Simultaneously, West Ashley became another target as Charleston A $5-Billion Slush Fund and A Power Shift gobbled up acreage along Savannah Highway, up Three things happened that changed the prospects Highway 61 toward Summerville, and out Bees for 526. In 1997, the South Carolina Legislature Ferry Road. created the State Transportation Infrastructure Bank Unlike the traditional settlement patterns on (STIB) to provide grants and loans for major projects Charleston’s historic peninsula—where a dense, inter- around the state. connected street grid supports a mix of houses, apart- South Carolina’s STIB is unique in America. Unlike ments, stores, ofces, civic buildings and parks—the every other state with a transportation infrastructure new developments were single-use residential subdi- bank, a majority of South Carolina’s STIB board mem- visions or commercial pods. There were no sidewalks. bers are appointed by the Legislature—specifically Bus service was negligible or non-existent. The new by two legislators—the Speaker of the House and the growth was, in short, entirely automobile dependent. President of the Senate. Every car trip funneled out to one of three major high- In 2001, Senator Glenn McConnell from West ways—Folly Road, Savannah Highway or Ashley River Ashley became President of the Senate. In 2005, West Road. Inevitably and predictably, trafc jams became Ashley Representative Bobby Harrell became Speaker the order of the day. of the House. Thus, in 2005, the STIB was positioned The Glenn McConnell Parkway, completed in the to provide the biggest grant in its history to build a late 1980s, was supposed to relieve congestion on new highway in the overlapping districts of the House Highways 61 and 17. But with the Glenn McConnell, Speaker and Senate President. the city continued the pattern of single-use discon- nected subdivisions, commercial strips, and “big box” County Considers 526 then Rejects It development. Connections between 61 and 17 and In June 2007, the STIB approved a $420-million the new parkway were non-existent. Trips that could grant for the project. Over the next four years, the have taken a few minutes took half an hour. Every trip DOT carried out the processes required for federal required a car. Trafc grew worse. By 1995 it looked and state permits. Thousands of citizens spoke out like gridlock was unavoidable. Conventional wisdom against 526 at public hearings, and every regulatory called for more roads, but there was no funding agency that commented objected to the roadway. in sight. In 2008, the Coastal Conservation League commis- sioned national transportation planning firm Glat- ting Jackson to develop an alternative plan to reduce congestion along Savannah Highway, Folly Road and 4 COASTAL CONSERVATION LEAGUE | FALL 2016 Maybank Highway. The product, “New Way to Work,” moved forward with the road project. So intimidated proposed a series of improvements that achieved bet- was county council that it rescinded its “no build” vote. ter results than 526 for less than half the price. By 2012, the estimated price had risen to more than As the comment period closed, virtually every state $550 million and no one—neither the county, the STIB and federal environmental agency had recommend- nor DOT—was willing to pay the extra costs. Notably, ed either denying the permit for 526 or redoing the the STIB had reached the limit of its bonding capacity. flawed documentation and analysis. The National The project was again on life support. Marine Fisheries Service, for example, wrote that the Then in August, the STIB board at the request of DOT’s alternatives analysis “prematurely dismissed” Speaker Harrell “promised” an additional $150 mil- viable alternatives like New Way to Work. The Envi- lion when bonding capacity became available. Based ronmental Protection Agency called for denial. on STIB revenue projections and the retirement date Then in 2011, responding to public sentiment, nega- of outstanding bonds, this could happen no earlier tive comments by federal and state agencies, and res- than 2036. olutions by the towns of James Island and Folly Beach against the project, Charleston County Council passed a motion in support of the “no build” alternative pre- sented in the Environmental Impact Statement. That “If you asked me how we won, how we beat is, they voted to kill 526. Goliath, I would say we fought for love. They fought for money, for time, for some percep- STIB Strikes Back After the Charleston County Council vote, STIB tion of convenience. There’s a big difference secretary Rick Tapp wrote the county a letter indicat- in that. I-526 was about injustice. I think ing that the STIB would hold Charleston County “in people saw that, and it made them brave.” default” on its agreement. Incredibly, Tapp threatened to intercept state funds to the county to pay back ap- – Robin Welch, Founder of Nix 526, a community led advocacy group proximately $12 million in expenses that the DOT (not the county) had incurred—unless Charleston County Defenders of the sea islands: (l-r) Bill Saunders, Isaac Robinson, Peter Fields, Greg VanDerwerker, Glenda Miller, Robin Welch, Rich Thomas, Nora Kravec, Mark Essig, Martha Craft-Essig, Hannah Horres, Randall Horres, Joanna Horres, Sarah Horres, Thomas Legare and Bill Jenkins. FALL 2016 | COASTAL CONSERVATION LEAGUE 5 “526 had no value for the people.” Alan Hancock – Bill Saunders, Johns Island resident and community activist The 526 Hot Potato The sustained controversy and inadequate attempt to address the funding shortfall left Charleston County even more apprehensive about the project.