Coalition
for Smart Growth Hotspots & Issues:
Not listed in order of
importance!
May 2, 2008
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1. Big Box Stores- where
they should be located & getting public officials to create & pass
ordinances to locate them appropriately.
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2. Impact Fees- for
schools and other services; the Northern Regional Plan has determined
that each home costs taxpayers over $6000 for school costs. Rather than
present residents paying for growth, we hope elected officials
will add
school impact fees. We also need to lobby state elected officials
for State enabling legislation for impact fees for local governments.
Call or write Ceips, Erickson, Hodges and Herbkersman!
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3.
Dock permits are a huge water quality issue so we continue to monitor.
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4.
Water quality- DHEC has just posted signs at 23 Bft County fishing locations warning against
fishing/swimming/eating fish. In SC there are over 400 signs going up
this month! Fecal coliform bacteria is associated with human and animal
waste & can cause serious health issues. Impervious surfaces, sprawl,
and over development all have impacts on this vital issue of water
quality.
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5. The
Northern Regional Plan process is being monitored by CSG and will continue to be.
At the last meeting a set of ideas for
keeping the designated rural areas protected was presented.
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6.
Transportation issues are being followed. We have a member attending the
County meetings on the new northern by-pass route and the $6 million
dollars hopefully
to be allocated to studies.
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7.
Annexations will be followed so that the public can be notified & so
that the process remains open to the public. All annexations should be
thoroughly studied for taxpayer impacts.
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8. All
planning meetings for the County & the City & the towns need to be
monitored by
CSG & the public. We need more
volunteers who can attend meetings & take notes so that we are on top of
local planning decisions.
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9. The
new
Jasper County Port
and the Town of Port Royal Port
needs careful scrutiny. We need someone with strong interests on this
topic to follow the issue and meetings for us and make reports to us so
we can mobilize if needed. Economic development on this large a
scale will impact Beaufort & Jasper Counties. We need local governments
to be pro-active in planning decisions so as to guarentee
infrastructure, housing, and quality of life provisions.
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10.
City/Town issues: annexations, intergovernmental cooperation, regional
cooperation, long-range planning, residential in-fill and density
impacts on existing neighborhoods, traffic problems, traffic circles &
other methods of improvements.
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11.
Bond referendums: There was
be a school board bond referendum
on April 26. Growth causes many
needs for infrastructure; the most expensive needs being school
buildings, school maintenance, school employment, road/bridge building
amongst many issues.
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12.
Economic Development and Education Improvements: these are very
important issues to increase the quality of life of residents. We need
people who enjoy these topics to help attend meetings and report on
them.
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Please
join our group and help make a significant contribution to keeping
Beaufort the special, unique place which we all love!
April 10, 2008
The Coalition is currently working on the following
matters. Please contact us
if you have an idea, opinion or would like to be involved in any of
these issues with us.
- Proposed housing projects on Ribaut Road in Port
Royal and at Okatie Marsh in Okatie.
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Transportation issues from the the penny tax referendum including the
proposed third bridge over the Beaufort River, the widening of the
McTeer Bridge and hwy 802 and the general issue of traffic on Lady's
Island.
- The proposed construction of a Wal-Mart on Lady's
Island.
- The general question of what is the best location
for "big box" commercial stores north of the Broad River.
- The implementation of the Northern Beaufort Regional
Plan as well as the Comprehensive Plans for the jurisdictions north of
the Broad River.