Trees or Subdivisions?
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Many residents worry MeadWestvaco project would destroy pristine nature of large tract on S.C.'s coastal plain
Sunday, May 13, 2007
By Sammy Fretwell
The StateRAVENEL — Frustrated at working for the railroad, Joseph Cordray quit his job in 1907 to sell beef from the back of a horse-drawn wagon.
Since that time, Cordray's small cattle farm has provided fresh meat for its neighbors in rural Dorchester and Charleston counties.
Now, his descendants fear a huge timber corporation will disrupt their pastoral life.
"We haven't faced anything of this magnitude before," said Michael Cordray, the 49-year-old grandson of the farm's founder.
MeadWestvaco, the area's largest landowner, says it may develop part of a 72,000-acre forest that borders the Cordray land on the Charleston-Dorchester county line.
The sheer size of the tract would make it possible for MeadWestvaco to build the biggest development in South Carolina's coastal plain. The company's land is nearly three times larger than Hilton Head Island. It links sprawling Charleston to the acclaimed ACE Basin nature preserve.
While big development appeals to some folks for economic reasons, Michael Cordray and others say they would rather see trees than subdivisions.
A gated community of grand houses, patio homes and golf courses would bring traffic congestion and junkier, spin-off development, some area residents say.
"MeadWestvaco has been a good neighbor," Cordray said. "Now they've got Wall Street pushing them.
"I just hope I can work with them and have influence on what goes in here."
MeadWestvaco plans a series of public meetings beginning next month to discuss the property's future. It will plan any project with the community and develop the land in an environmentally sensitive way, company officials say.
How much of the land will be developed is unknown. The company has said only that it will leave some land open and develop other parts.
"On a rather large scale, we can engage the community in a plan that is conservation driven, manages growth wisely, addresses traffic concerns and prevents sprawl by creating villages and towns that are self-sustaining," MeadWestvaco said in a statement May 2.
Over time, the company may sell off or develop about 900,000 acres of the 1.1 million acres it owns in the South. In South Carolina, the company owns 392,000 acres. Like other forest products companies, MeadWestvaco says it no longer needs the land to grow trees for its mills.
What the company decides to do with the tract near Ravenel ultimately could set the tone for what it does with the remaining 320,000 acres that it owns in coastal South Carolina.
TRANQUIL LAND
Cordray's community, nestled between bustling Summerville and sleepy Hollywood, is like many rural areas: A land of modest frame houses, mobile homes, churches and roadside businesses. Travelers on U.S. 17, between Charleston and Beaufort, wouldn't notice much about Ravenel except a few convenience stores on the coastal highway.
What sets the area apart are the great forests that line S.C. 165 between U.S. 17 and Summerville — and its proximity to the ACE Basin nature preserve.
The ACE contains one of the largest undeveloped estuaries on the East Coast, historic rice fields, expansive marshes and old plantation homes. It's one of the major wintering grounds for ducks that migrate to South Carolina.
Nine federally protected species have been found in the area, including the shortnose sturgeon, the wood stork and the peregrine falcon, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Parts of the MeadWestvaco land are covered in pine plantations, but other parts have characteristics similar to the 167,000-acre ACE Basin, state officials say.
John Frampton, director of the state Department of Natural Resources, said the MeadWestvaco land is ideal for protection. Natural Resources has preserved some property along the edge of the Edisto River, but protecting more land would be better, he said.
"Some of this is pretty significant property," Frampton said. "It has a lot of cultural sites in the area, and a lot of these have never been explored. It also has wetlands that are very valuable from our standpoint."
The area's tranquillity is quickly apparent to anyone who stops. On some days, the only sound a visitor might hear is the sigh of the wind in the trees or the call of a wild bird.
The hardwood bottomlands that flood seasonally keep water from pouring onto farm land such as Cordray's or onto major highways such as U.S. 17. The palmetto-studded lowlands also provide food and shelter for deer, wild turkeys, bobcats, wood ducks, woodland hawks and wild hogs.
Michael Cordray and his 19-year-old son, Kenneth, claim to have seen black panthers prowling along a dirt road and on the forest's edge.
An old abandoned school, a colonial-era cemetery and the ruins of the Cordray's old country home can be found on a quick drive through the area.
JOBS VS. NATURE
Development of the land is likely years away.
After talking with the public, the company would need water and sewer service, as well as the proper zoning, to develop any land. The company also would need stormwater permits from the state's environmental agency and federal wetlands permits for any bogs it wanted to build in.
Still, some folks think developing part of the property can — and should — occur to help the economy of Ravenel and nearby Hollywood, historically poor communities.
A big project could provide jobs for the unemployed, a better education for school children and better health care for everyone, said Mary Ravenel, who runs a clothing store on S.C. 162.
She worries a big development project could raise taxes for people on limited incomes but says the positives outweigh the drawbacks.
"We may want to stay rural, but growth is coming," the 50-year-old said. "Somehow, I think the community could benefit. I'm open to ideas and the opportunities."
Anthony Graham, who was selling fruit from the back of a truck on S.C. 162 last week, said new development means prosperity for his community. He was having little luck selling anything to the few cars that drove by his makeshift stand.
"We've got to liven up the neighborhood around here," he said. "Something like this would be more convenient for us."
Just up the road from Graham's fruit truck, S.C. 165 intersects U.S. 17 at Teresa Graff's hardware store.
She has owned it about 12 years and agrees a big new development would increase her business. But Graff said it is not worth the disruption to the community she grew up in.
Graff is skeptical of the intentions of MeadWestvaco, which in the past has sold off land in the Charleston area for development.
"I'm a little leery," Graff said. "These big companies don't always do what they say. As a business owner, you might benefit. But if you grew up in the area, it's sad to see."
Dennie Metts, 22, works in a small used-furniture store across from the closed Ravenel train depot.
He once hunted land north of Ravenel until it was developed. Now, he said Ravenel is facing a threat that could turn it into a Charleston suburb.
"This place is too pretty to develop," he said. "If you're not careful, you could have another Mount Pleasant here."
For Kenneth Cordray, any development would diminish the upbringing he remembers.
A junior at Clemson University, the younger Cordray said he loves hunting in the area and enjoying its scenic beauty. He's been on the Westvaco land plenty of times, stalking deer with a hunt club that leases the property.
Cordray said he also can attest to the land's historical value. He's seen a graveyard deep in the woods.
The grave stones of the Miles family today are overgrown and falling over but still legible. They date as far back as 1756. The first permanent European settlers in South Carolina arrived in Charleston about 1670.
New neighborhoods, retail stores and golf courses threaten all of that, he said.
"Some people say this land is just planted pine plantations," he said. "But there's a lot more than that.
"I'd hate it if Wal-Mart came in here."
