Angel Oak deal to get 2nd look

Charleston City Council members on Monday raised questions about the city's proposed purchase of land surrounding Angel Oak Park on Johns Island, suggesting that the half-million-dollar price tag might be too high.

The council's Real Estate Committee voted 3-2 to have a fresh appraisal of the land conducted, and took the land deal off tonight's council agenda.

Council had been expected to vote on a resolution asking Charleston County to approve the land deal.

Mayor Joe Riley and Councilman Louis Waring opposed the deferral, while Councilmen Gary White, Jimmy Gallant and Aubry Alexander supported the action. The deal calls for using $518,000 in Charleston County half-cent tax money to acquire 6.5 acres surrounding the city's 2-acre Angel Oak Park, home to the landmark Angel Oak tree.

The land is part of a larger tract owned by a developer who for years has been pursuing plans to build homes and shops there. That plan is going through the process of seeking a federal wetlands permit.

The Coastal Conservation League had criticized the proposed city land deal, noting that the acreage involved already was a designated conservation area under the development plan. The group also has suggested, repeatedly, that some of the development should be shifted to the conservation area in order to move away from wetlands located on the larger tract.

Riley said that having the city buy the land and use it to expand the small park would be the best and most certain way to protect the land and the Angel Oak tree, a massive Live Oak that some claim is the oldest living thing east of the Mississippi River.

"The thing about it being parkland is that it's forever," Riley said at the committee meeting at City Hall.

White did not oppose the purchase idea but said the price was based on an outdated appraisal that considered what the land would be worth for condominium development.

Alexander, a real estate broker, said that land on Johns Island appears to be selling for less than the proposed purchase price. He said the fact that the purchase money wouldn't come from city funds, but from the county half-cent tax for green space and transportation projects, is no reason for the city to overpay.

Riley said the half-million-dollar price would seem reasonable to most people, and called it "a great deal for our citizens."

Developer Robert DeMoura has said the purchase price represents less than his company has invested in the land.