An offer the city can't refuse

Charleston missed being listed among the nation's most endangered historic places this week, but just barely. Instead, the National Trust for Historic Preservation has put the historic city on a "watch status," because of cruise ship tourism. The city, despite disputing that designation, should accept the Trust's offer to help investigate and resolve some of its tourism-related problems.

Charleston may have written the book on municipal tourism management, as Mayor Joe Riley said Monday in a press conference held in opposition to a lawsuit against Carnival Cruise Lines. But there is a sense among many who live downtown that the quality of residential life is eroding.

That sense of distress was articulated in a January 2010 forum at the Charleston Museum, attended by hundreds of residents. The community discussions that ensued have encouraged progress in some areas, such as bus service and bicycling.

But cruise ship operations on the peninsula continue to divide the community. The fact that two downtown neighborhood associations have joined the Coastal Conservation League and the Preservation Society of Charleston in the lawsuit against Carnival is evidence of that.

Maybe the National Trust can help.

The Trust has offered to sponsor a tourism impact study for the city to "provide a deeper understanding of the economic, social and cultural impacts that current tourism and the increased levels of cruise traffic will create on the historic peninsula." It recommends that the city, local historic preservation groups and the State Ports Authority join the effort.

To say the mayor is displeased about Charleston being put on "watch status" would be an understatement. He views it as unwarranted, saying that the effort was initiated by some of the same groups that filed suit against Carnival.

Even so, he is willing to cooperate with the Trust -- at least on a tourism impact study.

That would be the wise course.

The Trust also has offered to help "clarify the options" available for establishing enforceable limits on cruise ship tourism. While the SPA has agreed to limit cruise ships to no more than 104 a year, its unwillingness to set that figure in stone, or to otherwise formalize limits on the business, remains a source of apprehension among many downtown residents. The city has supported the SPA position.

In our view, it's always good to know what your options are. And regardless of whether you agree with the Trust's "watch status" for Charleston, its review could provide valuable information on a major point of contention.

The Trust has proposed a community forum on cruise tourism. That might be an exercise in exhaustion at this point, given the increasingly bitter debate over the cruise industry for most of the last year.

It is possible, however, that the Trust could help the antagonists find some common ground following completion of its tourism and legal studies.

"We understand that Charleston presents a complex set of issues in what is now an emotionally charged environment and want to define and support a solution rather than simply identify the problem," National Trust President Stephanie Meeks said Tuesday.

In his press conference, Mayor Riley cited the benefits of cruise traffic: local jobs, support for the city's most vital industries -- tourism and the port -- and the ongoing redevelopment of Union Pier. All are important.

But critics complain that large cruise ships are out of scale with the historic city, and that cruise operations bring too many people while causing traffic congestion, air and noise pollution.

The opposing sides remain at loggerheads, with a court date looming.

In contrast, the Trust offers an opportunity for the community to engage in a productive discussion on what has become the most acrimonious issue in the city's recent history.

It's worth the effort.