Gullah Geechee community working to protect historic land from development

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCBD)- The Gullah Geechee community is a vital part of the Lowcountry’s culture, but some members of that community say they feel like a traditional Gullah Geechie neighborhood is being threatened by developers.

The Hamlin Beach community holds decades of history.

Established after the Civil War in 1881, it’s where hundreds of freed slaves settled, and today it is a hub for members of the Gullah Geechee community.

“This is my home, this is where my family is, my parents,” Cassandra Davis said.

Within Hamlin Beach is 13.5 undeveloped acres, but Davis says the community is worried that could change.

“I’m disheartened because there’s a developer who is trying to purchase the property from some heirs that got the land after the Civil War,” Davis said.

The developer wants to clear the land and put over 40 homes on it.

“The 41 home, they are all cookie-cutter homes, they all look alike, their prices are astronomical and it’s just not conducive for our community,” Davis said.

“This is the only way that we are going to survive, if we don’t fight then things are just going to come through and we’re going to be pushed out of the community,” another member of the community, Myra Richardson said.

Charleston County Council member Larry Kobrovsky represents the district the Hamlin Beach community is in.

He says the development plan is inconsistent with the zoning rules, which allow only three homes per acre.

“As I understand, it went in front of the planning commission who rejected it, and I believe the staff with the Charleston County Council rejected it,” Kobrovsky said.

Kobrovsky says his goal is to deem that land as historically preserved, “I hope that they’re in the process of coming to us to be a historically preserved settlement community in which case they would come under the rubric moratorium of mass subdivisions.”

Charleston County will host a public input meeting on August 13, where members of the community are invited to come and express their opinions about the development.

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