Review Board makes the right call to protect the Angel Oak

Last Thursday the Commercial Corridor Design Review Board once again unanimously rejected plans for a development adjacent to the Angel Oak — one we believe could threaten the tree.

One board member pointed out that this development would set the tone for all future development on Johns Island, so it must be done responsibly. The development's gigantic buildings and high density were again deemed completely out of character for rural Johns Island.

Katie Zimmerman with the Coastal Conservation League told the board that the League has offered to facilitate a purchase of Phase II of the development. Its goal would be to add that 18-acre parcel to the existing two-acre park around the Angel Oak.

The area has natural beauty and is culturally significant. It is near communities of Gullah/Geechee heritage and adjacent to meeting places used during the Civil Rights movement.

The League has discussed with board members of Sea Island Comprehensive Health Care and the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor the possibility of using the Angel Oak Park to tell this rich history.

Archeological work on the site has found evidence of a Native American settlement around the Angel Oak, and evidence of an early 19th century settlement, on what the developer calls Phase I. Archeologists believe it was once a Freedman's village.

Further, in August 2009 the League had the land appraised and approached the developer about a potential purchase of the Phase II site. Robert DeMoura has not yet responded.

The first phase of the project would fill over four acres of wetlands. We contend that the wetlands should not be filled, that the project can easily be redesigned to avoid them and that the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control's Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management should not grant any permits. We are prepared to appeal the permit(s) if granted as currently drawn.

What if this project could be done in a way that benefits the community and minimizes impacts to the environment?

We are grateful for the board's decision and remain willing to work with the city and the developer on the purchase of Phase II and an appropriate redesign of Phase I.

We are also concerned that building houses on wetlands could cause a mold problem for houses. We fear that boardwalks proposed to go around preserved trees could allow ground and rainwater to pool and be a danger to kids and animals.

Further, this method of tree preservation does not always work. Please see the James Island Walmart as a prime example.

When I drive down Angel Oak Road, with rays of sunshine beaming through the breathtaking canopy of live oaks onto the dirt road, I am reminded of "getting back to our roots" — something that involves a familiar sense of place, such as shade from the limbs of an ancient oak.

And just as the gigantic roots of the Angel Oak need space to grow freely, wouldn't people "getting back to their roots" want to live where they can relax, stretch out their arms and not have to worry about hitting somebody else in the face?

Just a thought.

SAMANTHA SIEGEL
Co-founder
savetheangeloak.org
River Road
Johns Island