IN THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, THE GROWTH SCOREBOARD IN THE LOWCOUNTRY IS SHOWING ‘PRESERVATIONISTS 3, DEVELOPERS NOTHING AFTER MONDAY’S LONG, LONG BEAUFORT COUNTY COUNCIL MEETING AT THE BURTON WELLS REC CENTER ENDED IN A VOTE TO DENY DEVELOPER ELVIO TROPEANO THE ZONING CHANGES HE NEEDED TO BUILD A NEW HOUSING DEVELOPMENT AND GOLF COURSE AT PINE ISLAND AT ST. HELENA ISLAND. THE COUNCIL HEARD FROM THE DEVELOPERS, AND DOZENS OF AREA RESIDENTS OPPOSED TO THE ZONING CHANGE. THE COUNCIL VOTED TO PRESERVE THE CULTURAL PROTECTION OVERLAY WHICH SEVERELY LIMITS DEVELOPMENT IN THE AREA TO PRESERVE GULLAH HERITAGE LANDS. TROPEANO EVEN OFFERED A DOWN-SCALED DEVELOPMENT, BUT THE GOLF COURSE PROPOSAL APPEARS TO HAVE SUNK THE OPERATION. HE SAYS HE’LL KEEP FIGHTING, AND SO WILL THE NEIGHBORS. BEAUFORT COUNTY’S COUNCIL DENIED ANOHER PROPOSAL A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO AND THE RIDGELAND TOWN COUNCIL VETOED THE TICKTON HALL PROJECT LAST WEEK.
AND WE MIGHT NEED TO START GO-FUND-ME PAGES FOR SOUTH CAROLINA LAWMAKERS, WHO DON’T MAKE MUCH ANYWAY AND NOW WON’T GET PAID THE REST OF THIS YEAR BECAUSE OF A COURT BATTLE OVER THE PAY RAISE THEY VOTED THEMSELVES LAST SESSION. THE LEGISLATURE VOTED TO RAISE ITS OFFICE COMPENSATION FROM A THOUSAND DOLLARS A MONTH TO 25 HUNDRED A MONTH, BUT A LAWSUIT THAT SAYS THE CHANGE SHOULDN’T BE MADE UNTIL AFTER THE NEXT ELECTION HAS EVERYTHING NOW TIED UP IN THE COURTS, THE STATE SUPREME COURT WIPING OUT NOT JUST THE RAISES, BUT ANY OFF-SESSION PAY AS WELL.
THE NEXT BLUFFTON TOWN COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 14TH MIGHT NOT NEED AIR CONDITIONING BECAUSE OF THE POSSIBILITY OF A FROSTY MEETING OF COUNCILMEMBER BRIDGETTE FRAZIER AND MAYOR LARRY TOOMER. FRAZIER IS SUING THE TOWN, ITS POLICE DEPARTMENT AND THE D-M-V OVER A TRAFFIC STOP LAST YEAR THAT LED TO HER BEING TAKEN TO THE BEAUFORT COUNTY JAIL FOR AN HOUR OR SO. SHE HAS MAINTAINED THAT THE SUSPENDED LICENSE ISSUE THAT GOT HER TAKEN AWAY AFTER A TRAFFIC STOP HAD BEEN RESOLVED. MAYOR TOOMER SAYS HE DOESN’T THINK SHE SHOULD HAVE GONE AS FAR AS TO SUE HER OWN TOWN. BLUFFTON HAS A LEGAL LIABILITY POLICY TO COVER IT FROM LAWSUITS AND THE INSURANCE COMPANY GENERALLY TRIES TO SETTLE CLAIMS, EVEN IF THE TOWN OBJECTS. HER DRIVER’S LICENSE CASE WAS LATER DISMISSED, BUT FRAZIER WANTS 2-MILLION DOLLARS FROM THE TOWN FOR NEGLIGENCE, FALSE ARREST AND FALSE IMPRISONMENT.
AND WE TOLD YOU THIS DURING TRAFFIC REPORTS YESTERDAY MORNING, BUT IN CASE YOU MISSED IT, YOU MIGHT NOT MISS THE HEAVIER-THAN-NORMAL POLICE PRESENCE ALONG THE HIGHWAY 278 CORRIDOR FROM I-95 ONTO HILTON HEAD ISLAND. ‘OPERATION SAFE DRIVE 278’ WILL HAVE OFFICERS FROM ALL THE VARIOUS LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES WITH JURISDICTIONS ALONG 278 WATCHING CLOSELY ALL WEEK LONG TARGETING SPEEDERS, IMPROPER LANE CHANGES AND VIOLATIONS OF THE STATE’S NEW ‘HANDS-FREE’ LAW. THREE STATE TROOPERS HAVE ALSO BEEN STRUCK DURING TRAFFIC STOPS IN THE STATE DURING THE LAST MONTH, REMINDING US OF THE STATE’S ‘MOVE-OVER’ LAW THAT REQUIRES DRIVERS TO SLOW DOWN OR SWITCH LANES AWAY FROM STOPPED EMERGENCY VEHICLES. FIVE PEOPLE HAVE BEEN KILLED IN COLLISIONS ON 278 THIS YEAR, THE LATEST JUST LAST WEEKEND AT THE MAIN ENTRANCE TO SUN CITY.