An editorial in the Sunday, July 31, 2022 edition of The Post and Courier addressed an important issue at the county level, but the message is also relevant to our community here on beautiful Seabrook Island.
Entitled “SC counties, cities should step up on land conservation front,” the text begins “South Carolina is adding new residents but it’s not adding new acreage. And while many newcomers are attracted by our state’s natural beauty, the resulting growth makes it more challenging by the day to conserve that beauty and ensure we build in only the most sensible places.”
The editorial goes on to describe how Charleston and Beaufort counties have used tax revenues to fund the purchase of property for green space and conservation easements. Since we live in a private gated community, we’re not eligible to receive tax-based revenues but we have an alternative. We have our own land conservancy, the Seabrook Island Green Space Conservancy (SIGSC).
For more than twenty years the SIGSC has been successfully conserving property on our island. We do this with your donations of cash, securities and, best of all, entire lots. Sometimes neighbors pool their resources to finance a purchase. To date, forty-one lots, almost thirty acres, have been acquired and placed into conservation status. That’s great, but the window of opportunity is shrinking. Out of the original approximately 1200 single home parcels, only about 200 lots are left undeveloped; final build-out is not far in the offing.
The directors of the SIGSC ask your help in conserving as many of these remaining parcels as possible. Please visit our website, http://www.sigsc.net to learn more.
And, thanks to all who have given of their time and resources over the years to keep our community naturally beautiful and helping to preserve our island for future generations.
-Submitted by Carl Voelker, Seabrook Island Green Space Conservancy
(Image credits: SIGSC)