St. Helena Island residents pack council meeting to fight renewed golf course push

BEAUFORT COUNTY, S.C. (WTOC) - St. Helena Island residents packed the Beaufort County Council chambers Monday night, urging county leaders to hold the line against renewed attempts to build a luxury golf course on the historic Sea Island.

The pushback follows a fresh rezoning application filed last week by developer Pine Island Property Holdings LLC. The developer is seeking to rezone land on the island to construct a 500-plus-acre project featuring three six-hole golf courses.

Community members arrived as early as 3:30 p.m. to make their presence known before council members entered an executive session to seek legal advice regarding ongoing litigation with the developer.

County staff clarified that the closed-door legal discussion centered on existing lawsuits, rather than the newly filed rezoning application.

Standing in the project’s path is St. Helena Island’s Cultural Protection Overlay (CPO), a zoning designation enacted by Beaufort County in 1999 to protect Gullah Geechee culture, heritage, and land by strictly prohibiting golf courses, resorts, and gated communities.

“We want to make sure at all times that Beaufort County continues to uphold this law that they put into law in 1999 and has since strengthened,” Chieftess of the Gullah Geechee Nation, Queen Quet, said. “We are here to make sure our voices, who are natives of St. Helena Island, are always heard.”

Queen Quet urged council members not to grant any special exemptions or changes to the zoning rules.

“To make sure that Beaufort County Council does not enter into any carve-outs, any types of amendments, or any types of adjustments and changes to the Cultural Protection Overlay district that they have voted time and again over four years already to not only uphold, but strengthen,” she said.

Monday’s showing marked another chapter in a multi-year battle over Pine Island.

County leaders have repeatedly rejected requests to alter or weaken the CPO, and a federal judge recently dismissed a developer-led lawsuit challenging the zoning protections after the developer withdrew its appeal.

During the public comment portion of the meeting, residents expressed frustration over having to continuously mobilize against persistent development efforts.

“We are tired of coming before you, and I’m sure you’re tired of seeing us,” one resident told council members. “Please uphold the CPO. Don’t forget what we fought for, and if you appreciate that, you’ll show us. I remind you that you must protect the land, that you must protect the people, and that you must protect the culture.”

“The public should not have to keep fighting the same thing every time it reappears in a new costume,” another said.

County Council did not respond to residents during the public comment period, nor did they take action on the newly filed rezoning request Monday night.

The application will likely be discussed at a future committee meeting.

Other issues were also discussed during the public comment section of the meeting; however, only 30 minutes were dedicated to that section, and some issues were not brought up.