THROUGH THE EYES OF AN ISLANDER

RUBY CHAPMAN: 10TH CHAIR FLUTIST OF THE SCBDA

Once a small independent town, Hilton Head is now a top 10 seaside vacation spot to many visitors. With its wonderful beaches and flourishing culture, it can be a wonderful hideaway or sanctuary to raise your family in. However, the town and developers have forgotten about their original vision on what a beautiful island should look like.

I write this article not as an expert in developing, or as a degree holder in botany, but as a native-born resident. Living here for 17 years, I have seen the island change in both positive and negative ways. However, I seek to expose the negative aspects of the development on the island that have occurred over the past five years.

Most students and teachers will agree that there is a steady progression of congestion in Hilton Head and Bluffton due to the influx of new residents and visitors that storm our beaches looking for a new beginning for their families. However, many members of our community have not considered the conditions that this process entails when we welcome the masses of visitors and newly committed transplants.

Currently on Hilton Head, Jonesville Road, off of Spanish Wells, is the new site of environmental destruction. Developers are planning to build 96 new homes on 29 acres, which will be called “Bailey’s Cove”. As I’ve stated, I do not have expertise in construction or developing, but I am certain that Jonesville and the island as a whole cannot sustain the people and moreover, the traffic, that the new homes will bring to this area. The once lush, maritime forests that surrounded the marshland have now been clear cut. Dirt and mud puddles are all that remains in this unsecure land ordinance. There is no protection for the tidal, salt marshlands.

Jonesville Road is not the only victim of overdevelopment. Currently, Folly Field is battling the town ordinance of a new seaside resort. Folly Field residents foster the same concerns as me. We know the road and the island cannot sustain this capitalist construction.

With the construction of home sites such as Bailey’s Cove off of Jonesville, we are bringing an average of four people per home to the area. With this, the children of these families are in need of education. Because of the influx of residents and children, schools have met their maximum capacity. So where do these children go to school? How can the schools hold and provide for all of them in a comfortable and yet productive way? Does the town or developers consider things such as roads, schools, water, air, quality of living? My bet is no. There is a bottom line, and money talks.

I am not saying that developers cannot make a profit, or that new people shouldn’t be allowed to live here. What I am saying is there are better ways to balance environmental protections, population services, and cumbersome traffic in order to foster a healthy island to live and grow on.

The island is beautiful as it is, but will it be when all that is left are houses upon houses, endless rivers of gray connecting us to our jobs, and constant bumper to bumper traffic whenever you leave your home? What will happen when there are more people than facilities to support the general population?

Once a small flourishing town, HHI could soon become a concrete jungle if we do not understand the current issues, address them, and speak up about them. And as South Carolinians or even visitors, do not ask the island what it can offer you. Ask yourself what positive and influential impacts you yourself have to offer.

For a brief overview on the current issue, read the island packet's recent article: https://www islandpacket com/news/local/article270850477.html

For a more in-depth and detailed understanding on the issue, read this article, presented by the Jonesville Preservation Society: https://www.jpshhi.org/action-plan