Port Royal Mayoral candidates face off: Development and land use are hot topics

The town of Port Royal may be viewed as a small waterfront hamlet to some but the issues facing the 14,000 residents mirror similar challenges vexing much bigger east coast cities. Development, preservation and environmental concerns clearly have become the breakout issues of this election.

Monday night at the town’s elementary school in front of more than 100 residents, Mayor Joe DeVito and challenger Kevin Phillips presented their approaches to handing these topics including water and land use along Battery Creek, which has become a lightning rod of local controversy since progress and planning for the Safe Harbor Marinas project has slid behind a veil of secrecy in recent months.

The moderated discussion lasted an hour and the two candidates for the town’s highest office responded to questions from a panel chosen by the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce, which organized the forum.

The candidates painted two very different pictures of the way forward. Topics included affordable housing, the future of military installations and improvements to Ribaut Road. All of those issues paled to the 800-pound gorilla in the room: looming and immediate questions regarding the waterfront development plans and how the town should manage this process in the next few months.

The candidates

DeVito is running for a second four-year mayoral term. Phillips was elected to the council four years ago. DeVito touted his experience including 18 years on the Planning Commission, saying he offered “true leadership” and had moved the needle over the past four years when it comes to progress. Phillips touted a new vision and procedures and policies for the town and “a better way.”

Development moratorium

Challenger Phillips suggested a “pause” should be placed on new large-scale residential and commercial development. He cites that the town already has enough apartment complexes and storage units. A development moratorium, he said, would allow the community that prides itself on its proximity to the local waters to study its codes as well as affordable housing and areas that should be considered for preservation. Residents, Phillips said, “have a say in this community and (they) should be heard about that.”

DeVito said he’s willing to discuss how a moratorium would impact the community but he called the idea a “slippery slope” that he likely would vote against. Stopping development would affect every resident in town, he noted. And it would not just affect tax revenue upon which the town relies but also people with jobs with the companies involved in development and building. People willing to invest in the town, he added, may walk away and never return. Also, if you pick what can and can’t be built in town without providing a good reason, it opens up the town to lawsuits, DeVito said.

“We have to have a real reason for a moratorium,” DeVito said.

Phillips countered that he just wanted to get a conversation started. He argued that residents feel as if they are not being heard when it comes to the way the town is being developed. “I personally do not believe it (the dialogue) cannot be done,” Phillips said.

Port redevelopment

The candidates were asked if the redevelopment of the port property along Battery Creek is on the right track and the pair’s answers provided another difference in approach.

Safe Harbor Marinas is developing about 50 acres of waterfront along Battery Creek with a marina and housing. Those plans have been criticized recently. Residents have raised concerns about The Beach Company’s plan to build 200 rental townhomes and single-family dwellings. The Beach Company is in negotiations with Safe Harbor to purchase land where the housing is planned. Residents have raised concerns about how industrial the waterfront currently appears, especially the presence of the large cranes Safe Harbor Marinas is using to assemble docks that will be used at other far away sites they operate.

Phillips said he doesn’t like how Safe Harbor has treated the town since it bought the property two years ago. The town has been a good partner, he said, “And you can see how we’ve been treated.” He said he worries about the Beach Company’s “build to rent” project. Each day the town waits, he said, The Beach Company is getting closer to closing on the property with Safe Harbor. Once they close on the property, he predicted, they will listen to whoever is financing the project, not the town. “The longer we wait the worse the situation gets,” Phillips said.

DeVito addressed the topic by saying nobody likes the direction of the housing plans are going and the town council members have voiced their opinions about it. The question, he said, is how the town goes about making a change to the plans. The town needs to negotiate and be ready to get tougher if necessary. This area of Port Royal should be developed with single family homes where people can walk down the street. Safe Harbor will get to know that “in a very strong way, possibly this week,” said DeVito, hinting that the town was planning something.

Ian Scott, the CEO and president of the Chamber of Commerce, calling the port redevelopment “a hot topic of conversation,” followed up, asking what concrete steps the town should be taking right now to ensure the project is successful.

Phillips said the town should put pressure on Safe Harbor’s Marina plans because that’s mainly why they are in Port Royal. If you don’t like the housing plans, he said, the town needs to push against the marina plans.

DeVito said there “are tools in the tool box we ready to deploy.” The town, he added, must keep the attorneys out of the situation “as long as possible.”

Development changes

The candidates were asked what they would change about zoning or development.

Devito said the town needs more job-creating commercial development along its highway corridors, which may require zoning changes.

Phillips said more transparency is needed in the development process. Residents are frustrated and ask “what’s going on” when developments seem to pop up out of nowhere, Phillips said. Sometimes, he added, even council members are surprised by projects. Phillips said he’d like to see more public input and notice especially when it comes to larger projects.

DeVito countered that there is a chance for public comments at Design Review Board meetings which are publicly posted and open to the public.

Environmental concerns

The candidates were asked about what they would do to protect Port Royal’s location so close to the valued resource of Battery Creek. Phillips’ answer reiterated his ‘development moratorium’ theme as a good first step in identifying lands that require protection.

DeVito said addressing environmental concerns start with getting rid of the remaining septic systems in the area and getting them on the public sewer system. He also pushed for developing greater control of storm water runoff. Finally, he mentioned that overbuilding is an issue the town needs to keep on close watch.