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agarrobo@beaufortgazette.com
843-986-5539
Developers withdrew their permit application Monday for a public dry stack and commercial dock on the Chechessee River in Okatie, making moot a public hearing slated for Wednesday.
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Lemon Island Landing LLC submitted a planned unit proposal to Port Royal in March 2007 for a 150-boat public dry stack facility and a commercial dock at the former Lemon Island Marina site. The property was annexed into the town in March 2007.
The plans included a 136-foot access pier with a 16-foot section for forklift access, a 30-foot pierhead for boat launching and receiving and three floating docks -- a 100-foot dock that would run parallel to the Chechessee River, as well as one 16 feet and one 24 feet.
When public comment opened Feb. 15 for the project with the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, 36 responses were sent by state agencies and nearby residents. While some of the comments supported of the project, the majority requested a public hearing to address many concerns people had. More than half of the respondents were opposed to the project.
"Basically the contract that Lemon Island Landing was involved in to purchase that particular property is no longer in effect. They opted out of it," said Jason Ward, the attorney representing the firm. He said he was not authorized to identify the principals.
Of the three state agencies required to examine the proposed development before permitting can be granted, neither the S.C. State Ports Authority nor the U.S. Department of Interior's Fish and Wildlife Services offered any objections to the project.
But the S.C. Department of Natural Resources had concerns about the adverse effects the project would have on the area's shellfish resources. The proposed docks are in shellfish harvesting waters. DNR said permitting should not be granted unless the project would not degrade the water quality or ecosystem.
Residents were concerned about the development's potential damage to the river, run-off pollution from the marina and a deleterious impact on the scenery.
"There is no way a marina and boat storage of that magnitude can be anything but detrimental to our coastal waters and fragile ecosystem," wrote Mary Salley, a member of Keep Chechessee Rural Alliance who lives on Chechessee Road. Salley has owned her property since 1947 and retired there in 1986.
The size of the project was a frequent concern.
"The old Lemon Island Marina on the banks of the pristine Chechessee River is an inappropriate site for such a large facility," wrote Jessica Hubbard, who lives on Chechessee Road.
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