Complete Morris Island sale without dock requirement

The public has been given the opportunity to speak out on plans for Morris Island, and its message has been to overwhelmingly urge that access to the island not be encouraged. The owner of the island's Cummings Point tract should acknowledge public opinion and complete the sale of the property to the Charleston Park and Recreation Commission without requirements for docks and other facilities.

The PRC put the question to the public after its consultants completed a study for the island, which posed two options. One would provide a dock, boardwalks, restrooms and an informational kiosk. The second option would provide only a kiosk and signs providing details about the uninhabited island's rich history and ecology.

Following the release of that study in March, PRC gave residents an opportunity to weigh in via a survey. The public comment period ended April 16. More than 80 percent of survey respondents to the Charleston Park and Recreation Commission favor the "no development" option, citing the islands environmental and historical value. So did hundreds who signed a petition to the PRC.

Most of the island is owned by the state, but real estate developer Bobby Ginn bought 62 acres at the northern tip of the island, and plans to sell it at a loss to a public agency so that it can be preserved in perpetuity. As a condition of the sale, however, Mr. Ginn insisted that the property include two docks and restrooms.

Those conditions were quickly challenged by historic preservation advocates and environmentalists, who contend that access shouldn't be encouraged and that the island be maintained in a pristine state, to the extent possible.

The island currently can be reached by boat, and is a regular weekend destination for day-trippers and campers. The appearance of all-terrain vehicles on the island, for example, says that restrictions are needed, and PRC has a list of recommended prohibitions that would be applied under either option.

PRC's no-development plan wouldn't put the island off limits. But the absence of docks would limit access. Without docks, large vessels, including most tour boats, couldn't be accommodated.

The island can now be accessed by comparatively small, shallow-draft tour boats on pontoons.

Morris Island maintains a maritime habitat that is being lost elsewhere on the coast and is home to rare and endangered plant and bird species. Its value as an unspoiled island is enhanced by its proximity to the Charleston urban area.

The island is a nationally significant historical site, where African-American troops fought for the first time in a major battle. The 54th Massachusetts Regiment was repelled by Confederate defenders of Battery Wagner, and Union troops who were killed in the assault were buried in a mass grave there.

Cummings Point also was the site of a Confederate fort that later flew the Stars and Stripes after its capture by Union forces. It is within eyeshot of Fort Sumter, which is maintained by the National Park Service. Cummings Point provides the usual place of access to the island.

Thomas O'Rourke, executive director of the PRC, says the unequivocal public response to the no-development option will guide his agency's planning for the island. The island's purchase price would largely be provided with funds from the local option half-cent sales tax and grants from the State Conservation Bank and the State Ports Authority.

The Cummings Point tract has long been sought for public purchase to ensure it will never be developed. Mr. Ginn took the admirable step of buying the tract to provide for its preservation. He should now proceed to close the sale to the PRC, recognizing that the no-development option does just that.