Residents petition for development pause on James and Johns Island citing concerns

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCIV) — James and Johns Island residents want something to be done about overdevelopment in the area.

They’ve created a petition to send a message to city officials.

“We're at a point where we're seeing too much happen too fast,” said James Island resident John Peters. "James Island is growing significantly in John's Island. We've already seen it grow significantly."

This petition calls for city officials of James and Johns Island to put a seven-year pause on development.

READ MORE: "James Island community pushes back as discussions for potential development continue."

They want to see a moratorium on single-family homes, multi-family homes and business development.

“It's important because Charleston has experienced rapid growth," Casey Buchanan, another James Island resident, said. "The growth is outpacing the infrastructure. We need to take a step back and try to develop the infrastructure, let the infrastructure catch up with all the development, and also just be more thoughtful about the kind of development, going forward.”

And there are other concerns.

“Flooding is my biggest concern personally,” said Peters. “When it comes to nature, where a big old pine tree can absorb more water and take care of what it's already doing for the natural atmosphere of the islands, versus taking it down and putting a palmetto tree up, and you're expecting it to do the same thing. It's not. It's not the same."

READ MORE: "James Island residents struggle with stagnant rainwater and neglected drains."

Buchanan stressed the importance of the ecosystem when making development decisions.

"We don't want to be developing willy-nilly and causing more problems in terms of stormwater management and any number of other things,” said Buchanan.

One James Island council member agrees.

“It affects the daily lives of everybody," said Darren Troy Mullinax, a member of James Island's town council. "Overdevelopment increases flooding issues. It increases traffic. It contributes negatively, overpopulation does to many people's way of life.”

And neighbors just want to see their community protected.

“We live in a beautiful place, um, and we have to protect that place,” Buchanan said.