St. Helena Island residents voice concern over proposed RV park

BEAUFORT COUNTY, S.C. (WTOC) - St. Helena Island residents voiced their concern about a proposed RV park coming to the island.

They attended the Beaufort County Design and Review Board meeting.

The project was attempting to get final approval for its design before going to the county council.

At this meeting, the board discussed the final design for the project and received comments from residents in the area, who had just learned about it and felt it could cause more harm than good to the island.

“We want our island to remain as it is,” One concerned resident said.

The RV Park would be located off Sea Island Parkway behind The Lowcountry Store.

A 100-plus lot park with a pavilion, pickleball courts, and other amenities.

One resident owns a horse farm that works with special needs children near the proposed location and claims it would create significant problems.

“Who is going to stop a child from crossing that piece of property and coming onto my yard?” Denise Bishop said. “Who is going to come up there and say, ‘Oh, I want to feed this horse carrots, apples, what have you?’ Then my horse colics.”

The project developer, John Trask, states that they will have personnel policing the property, and he will work with the property owners to reach a compromise on the other issues.

He was also asked if the land had a CPO, or Cultural Protection Overlay Zone, which aims to conserve the island and retain its heritage.

Trask and the board said the land did not.

“I am here to listen, aiming to try and accommodate people,” Trask said.

People also have concerns that the project could mess with wildlife in the area.

“How do we protect the marsh and wildlife from the chemicals that will be in the runoff?”

And neighbors worry the park could also add to the already busy roadway -- the only road that lets people on and off the island.

“Until there are two roads on and off this island, we should not be approving any development that assumes there are,” Willie Turral said.

Residents also questioned the board to see if the project would interfere with the island’s CPO, or cultural protected overlay Zone, which aims to conserve the island and retain its heritage.

The board tabled the final design vote on the RV Park.

They say that the developer didn’t make all the necessary changes the board asked him to make last time, and also recommended that he talk to residents about the project before bringing it back to the board.