Tell Charleston leaders to stop harmful development of Cainhoy

We need your help to improve development plans for one of Charleston’s remaining undeveloped parcels bordering the Wando River.

About 20 miles north of Charleston, developers are constructing a new small city on the Cainhoy peninsula, which currently provides habitat for endangered and threatened wildlife species, has thousands of acres of wetlands and creeks, and borders the Francis Marion National Forest.

This virtually untouched, 9,000-acre landscape is the future site of at least 12,000 new residential and commercial units, 700 to 900 docks, and tens of thousands of new residents that will add to mounting traffic issues. To construct this new city, the developers must fill nearly 200 acres of wetlands and will place approximately 45% of the homes in the floodplain.

That’s why we’re urging Charleston City Council and the Mayor to protect Cainhoy by improving a development agreement they signed with the property’s landowners 30 years ago. It is a new era in Charleston, and a decades-old development plan needs updating.

Join SELC, the Coastal Conservation League, Charleston Waterkeeper, and the South Carolina Wildlife Federation in urging Charleston leaders to protect this special place.

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Charleston City Council

The Southern Environmental Law Center (“SELC”), on behalf of the Coastal Conservation League, Charleston Waterkeeper, and the South Carolina Wildlife Federation, respectfully petitions the City of Charleston to amend the Cainhoy Development Agreement and subsequent master plans to ensure the project’s compliance with the newly-enacted City Plan and related policies and laws.

Specifically, the City must amend the Cainhoy Development Agreement to restrict development in the Tidal Risk Flood Zone, eliminate development in future marsh migrations areas, incorporate 3-feet of sea level rise into the development planning, ensure compliance with elevation based zoning and stormwater requirements, and require a comprehensive traffic assessment to inform the public of the impact of the development on local roadways.

The Cainhoy development violates multiple provisions and policies of the City Plan. Since the City originally entered into the Development Agreement, substantial changes in conditions, including population growth and increased risks from climate change and flooding, pose serious threats to public health and safety if the development moves forward as proposed.

We therefore urge the City Council to update the Agreement to ensure that new laws and policies are applied to Cainhoy. Updates to bring the Development Agreement into compliance with the City Plan include:

1. Restricting development within the Tidal Flood Risk Zone to account for marsh migration and flooding;

2. Eliminating development in low-lying future marsh migration areas;

3. Incorporate 3-feet of sea level rise into the development planning;

4. Ensuring consistency with current and future elevation-based zoning ordinances;

5. Ensuring compliance with current and future stormwater regulations; and

6. Requiring a comprehensive traffic impacts assessment that incorporates the total number of residential units.

Finally, we request that City Council hold a public hearing on these topics.

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