Access denied: Lawsuit says development threatens historic cemetery on Hilton Head

A Hilton Head church and local property owners are fighting to save the Talbird Cemetery, which they say is being threatened by a proposed development on its doorstep.

The Mount Calvary Mission Baptist Church and The Grandview on Skull Creek Property Owners Association are suing the town of Hilton Head to stop the development from encroaching on the historic cemetery.

The tiny Gullah cemetery — located in Hilton Head Plantation with graves dating back to the 1870s — is still used today, with an average of eight funerals a year, according to Julius Bryan, a representative for Mount Calvary. If the townhouse development continues as planned, it will block access to the cemetery.

Charles Curl, of the property owners association, gave this account:

Historically, Talbird Cemetery has had a road that follows its southern border. When the Grandview condos were built in 2003, there were plans for three buildings, but only two were constructed. The space for the third was left undeveloped, until now.

In 2006, the undeveloped land was sold to SGC Associates, and in 2019, Grandview and Mount Calvary were shown plans for further development, according to Curl. These plans accounted for a 20-foot easement to allow access into the cemetery.

However, the plans were changed in 2021 without the knowledge of the church and property owners. These new plans show the townhouse lots extending all the way to the southern border of the cemetery, leaving only a small easement that would not allow for vehicles, including a hearse, to make their way into the cemetery.

“The only way to get back there, with a body, is to use vehicles,” said Bryan.

Along with affecting funerals, it will also make it difficult for service vehicles, such as fire trucks, to reach the back of Grandview, according to Curl.

“There’s no other way for us to get to the back of our buildings except this way,” said Curl. “So we’re dependent on that access, as well as the church’s access into the cemetery.”

Mount Calvary and the Grandview property owners association filed a lawsuit June 29 against SGC Associates, the developer, The Skull Creek Club, The Town of Hilton Head Island, Waterway Development Associates and SHM Skull Creek, LLC.

They claim in the suit that SGC deceived the board of Mount Calvary into signing onto plans that would diminish the church’s access to the cemetery.

In March 2021, SGC approached Bryan about the right to trim tree branches on the cemetery lot. In exchange, parking spots would be made available for funerals. Later, Bryan signed papers believing he was agreeing to the previous talk about branches. No maps or diagrams were included, according to Bryan.

Byran said that he asked about the access and was told “everything’s going to be the same” and that he would have never signed if that wasn’t going to be the case. When the developers took their plans to the town, they gave them the signed documents by Bryan, which were now signed by witnesses who were not present, according to Bryan, and the updated 2021 map. Not only that, but despite the signatures being dated in June 2021, a change to the plan is dated as happening in August.

The developer could not be reached for comment.

In February, the group sent a complaint about the issue to the town of Hilton Head, but didn’t hear back for three months, only to be told it was too late to file an appeal, according to Curl. The suit claims that the town was negligent by not investigating the complaint.

“The town just received the complaint [the lawsuit] about Talbird Cemetery this week and will be reviewing it with Town Council,” Carolyn Grant, Hilton Head Island communications director, said in a statement. “Due to the legal nature of the matter, we are unable to comment further.”

As of now, construction has begun on the side of the cemetery bordering Waterway Lane.

“And so while we have been waiting for the town, the developer has been making progress with his development,” said Curl. “And he’s reached a point now where he’s within weeks of getting permission to start on the other side.”

However, after the complaint was filed in February, the group was in negotiations with the developer, who said they could only provide a 20-foot easement, if 5 feet were taken from within the border of the cemetery. The group refused.

Instead, the group asked for a 50-foot, all-weather easement for the cemetery. Under the current plans for development, that would be impossible, they say.