Sandy Island zoning geared toward preservation

By Charles Swenson

Coastal Observer

October 30, 2008

Georgetown County has extended zoning regulations across thousands of acres this year, but one 12,000-acre parcel was overlooked.

“We missed Sandy Island in the process,” said Jeff Kinard, chairman of the Planning Commission.

The island between the Waccamaw and Pee Dee rivers is accessible only by boat.

The state Department of Transportation bought 9,100 acres in 1996. It’s managed by the Nature Conservancy.

An estimated 200 acres on the south end of the island are owned by individuals. The balance is owned by Brookgreen Gardens.

The county’s land-use map shows Sandy Island as a “conservation preservation” district. That is intended to protect the land from encroachment by residential and commercial uses.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a time-consuming process,” Kinard said.

The county planning staff is recommending that the private parcels be zone half-acre residential.

“We can certainly discuss whether they want to be half or one acre,” said Boyd Johnson, the county planning director.

The planners scheduled a meeting for 6:30 p.m. today (Oct. 30) at the Waccamaw Library to discuss the zoning proposal with residents.

“We want to give them some flexibility,” Johnson said.

Island residents last year lobbied the state Department of Transportation for a ferry to improve access, particularly for elderly residents.

But that raised concerns that residents would face development pressure. Some private tracts are as large as 50 acres. Some are less than half an acre, Johnson said.

At the southern tip of the island is a development called Paradise Point, created on canals dredged in the 1970s. The lots are about 2,500 square feet, smaller than anything allowed in the zoning ordinance.

“We’re basically showing that as R-10,” Johnson said.

That requires 10,000 square feet. But the zoning shouldn’t be an issue. “They aren’t going to get septic tanks on those lots,” Johnson said.

There are some former ricefields and tracts that are part of the Waccamaw National Wildlife Refuge included in the zoning plan. Like most of Sandy Island, those will be zoned “conservation preservation,” Johnson said.

“We’re assuming that will never be built on,” he said.

After today’s meeting, the Planning Commission will still have to hold a public hearing on the zoning plan. It will then require three votes from County Council.