Town Approves Oyster Point

Town council has voted to approve the nearly 600-home Oyster Point development slated for a 200-acre tract of land at the intersection of Rifle Range and Six Mile roads in Mount Pleasant.

Council voted 8-to-1 to approve the project Tuesday night. Councilwoman Thomasena Stokes-Marshall was the lone "no" vote. The project's developers, who are seeking annexation into the town, rezoning and approval of their conceptual plans, will get one more vote in September before being fully approved.

The project drew fiery criticism Tuesday from residents who say Oyster Point will create a traffic nightmare in a part of town already overburdened with too many cars.

"The community's cry is not one in opposition to development, it is not one in prohibiting progress," said Charles Watkins, pastor at Greater Goodwill AME Church. "The cry of this community is for common sense and common courtesy to prevail.

"It appears to defy the notion of common sense to propose the addition of some 593 homes, with the promise of additional homes following at a later date, expecting the current infrastructure to provide efficient and safe access," Watkins said.

The debate grew heated at times with hints of a racial divide with many residents pointing out that most of Oyster Point's residents will drive through the predominately black Six Mile community.

That area is part of the federally recognized Gullah-Geeche Corridor where residents still carry on many African cultural practices preserved for generations through slavery.

Residents even booed the town's traffic engineer as he discussed the project's impacts on traffic levels.

Town leaders have insisted that though traffic is bad on Rifle Range Road, improvements to U.S. 17 will help that situation before Oyster Point is completed. The project's developer has agreed to construct a turn lane at Rifle Range and Six Mile roads.

One resident called out the council and Mayor Billy Swails for failing to adequately represent the views of residents.

"A lot of people have anger towards this, and I am one of them," said Mike Mitchum, who had spoken at previous meetings on the project's impacts to wildlife. "Y'all represent the people. The people do not agree with this. ... Listen to what everyone says. They don't want it; we don't need it."

Prior to Tuesday's vote, Oyster Point was approved by the town's planning commission and the council's planning committee.

Throughout the process, planners said if the town denied Oyster Point's application, developers could simply build the project on the current site with approval already granted by Charleston County.

At least by annexing the project, the town has control over the size of the development, its impacts on traffic, leaders said. The town can collect tax revenue from the homes that will eventually be built.

In addition to outrage over Oyster Point, residents were just as alarmed by another residential development that may soon be built next to Oyster Point. That project, Palmetto Fort, could reportedly bring 200 homes to the same congested area.

Current infrastructure, with the planned improvements, is adequate for Oyster Point, Mayor Swails said. The town will demand major improvements before any other development is approved in the area.

The town is planning for a realignment of Longpoint Road that will cross U.S. 17 and stretch across town-owned property to eventually connect to Rifle Range Road. That should ease traffic woes, Mayor Swails said.

"We can do that (traffic overhaul) plan," Swails said. "Speaking out of the box a little, I have spoken with the developer of Palmetto Fort, and he knows that he's got to do what we're talking about. There are a lot of moving parts, but we're working on them."

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Want to know more about Oyster Point? Patch has you covered. Reference these previous stories and documents for more detail.

• DOC: Original Oyster Point Proposal
• DOC: Modified Oyster Point Proposal (added greenspace)
• IMAGE: Approved Conceptual Plan

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