Hilton Head residents unite against Jonesville development, town working on a district plan

In recent months, residents along Jonesville Road have watched parts of their neighborhood — nestled between marshlands and trees laden with Spanish Moss, living symbols of Hilton Head’s unique environment — transform dramatically.

Construction is underway to introduce Bailey’s Cove, a new housing development of 147 units on 29 acres, to the area. The once thickly forested lot has since been cleared, and the town is reviewing two other potential developments now. If both are approved, 96 more homes will be built.

Last fall, Driftwood Stables owner Sondra Makowski learned she would have to relocate after her landlord sold the plot that her business sits on to develop one of the neighborhoods.

Area residents are concerned the rapid expansion could harm the area’s natural beauty and damage the identity of the historic Jonesville neighborhood. They recently formed the Jonesville Preservation Society, and at the Jan. 3 Hilton Head Town Council workshop, society president Daniel Anthony urged the town to consider a moratorium on development in the area until the town can strengthen its land management guidelines.

“Jonesville Road is a very unique area on the island. It has the historic district, it has a lot historic knowledge, and they’re going to destroy it,” Anthony said.

Anthony is reaching out to residents beyond the Jonesville area to establish a broader coalition of citizens to slow development on the island, he said, including residents near Folly Field Road who are once again voicing opposition to the planned construction of a timeshare resort.

Beyond natural and aesthetic worries, residents say the road simply can’t support the amount of new drivers that 243 units could introduce. Jonesville already experiences severe congestion during mornings and after work hours, Anthony said, and he’s skeptical emergency services could access the area promptly during peak traffic hours.

Anthony’s moratorium request was echoed by other speakers, and received support from Ward 4 Councilwoman Tamara Becker.

“We are getting their attention. We just need to get enough of their attention to force them to do this moratorium,” Anthony said, “and prove to them, ‘Hey, I know you guys have reservations about this and we’re not against you. We’re working for Hilton Head.’”

Ward 3 Councilman David Ames also recognized weaknesses in the town’s land management ordinance that have allowed developments out of line with what islanders expect Hilton Head to be, he said.

“The attempt to rewrite the LMO has its basis in understanding and appreciation of what Charles Frazier was trying to preserve,” Ames said. “Unfortunately, certain developers have come into this community and used their practices from other communities to develop here on Hilton Head, and those two are in direct conflict of one another.”

At the workshop, Anthony said he doesn’t oppose all development but hopes the town will step in to create codes that encourage “orderly” growth.

Work begins on a Jonesville District plan

At the same meeting, Assistant Town Manager Shawn Colin announced the town is beginning work this month on a Jonesville District plan to assess the area’s zoning code, existing infrastructure and more to “establish expectations” for future development. That plan, which Colin likened to the recently completed Mid-Island Initiative, could take six to nine months.

“In six to nine months, an awful lot can happen in terms of submission of development plans, and once that happens we have issues that we can’t resolve,” Becker said. “I’m asking — as has been suggested by folks here — we find out how we can, if possible, institute some sort of moratorium.”

The Island Packet reached out to Colin and Becker for further comment for this article but received no immediate response.

Anthony and the Jonesville Preservation Society have been promised a one-hour meeting with town officials soon, he said, the date still undetermined.

According to the Municipal Association of South Carolina, towns may impose a moratorium on development through ordinance, with six months considered a reasonable best-practice length. In the South Carolina Court of Appeals case Simpkins v. City of Gaffney, standards were established that a town should then actively research desired changes to land codes during the moratorium’s duration — consistent with Hilton Head’s plan to revise the Jonesville district.

“(A development moratorium) it is not the monster, the dinosaur, the evil thing that the town makes it out to be. This does not kill Hilton [Head], it protects Hilton Head,” Anthony said.