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Plans for development at site of Fort Pemberton delayed
Monday, February 19, 2007
BY DAVID SLADE
A plan to develop six new homes in Riverland Terrace on a property that's home to Fort Pemberton has been delayed by concerns that a proposed access road would damage the historic earthworks.
Charleston's planning and preservation staff previously signed off on the plan, the Planning Commission liked it, and the City Council had given initial approval to the development. However, the council postponed a final vote after South Carolina's state archaeologist, Jonathan Leader, said the proposed access road runs through a moat around the Civil War fort.
Fort Pemberton is an unusual five-pointed earthworks fort constructed to defend Charleston from possible attack from the Stono River. A private home was built atop the earthworks in 1942, and that home and the surrounding 7.4 acres were purchased in 2005 by Peter Evans, who grew up in Riverland Terrace and said he had always wanted to live there.
Evans hopes to defray his multi-million-dollar purchase by selling some of the land for new home development, but has pledged to protect the fort, which was placed on the National Register of Historical Places in 1978.
City officials and neighborhood association representatives have been pleased with Evans' plan to develop six homes on the property because zoning rules could have allowed 35 and the plan protects the many grand live oak trees.
However, others, including some neighboring property owners, have been distressed by the proposed location of an access road to serve the new homes that would run adjacent to the earthworks before exiting to Yates Avenue.
Neighbor Dick Mappus has appeared before the City Council twice with his wife and children to oppose the plan, and he's been joined by other neighbors and interested people from other parts of the Charleston area. Mappus has warned that the road could damage the fort and cause erosion and that it would invade his privacy.
Supporters of the plan say the access would use an existing path, one that was originally used to supply the fort. Opponents say the path is a moat, a part of the fort itself that should not be disturbed.
While opponents of the access plan would rather see a road extended through the middle of the property, between Fort Pemberton and the Stono River, Evans and city planners say that doing so would harm the "view corridor" between the river and the fort.
Project architect Rodney Porter told council members that Evans worked with the S.C. Department of Archives & History and the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management to develop the best plan for the property, which involved preserving the sight line from the river to the fort.
Josh Martin, director of Charleston's Department of Planning, Preservation and Economic Innovation, said the proposed access from Yates Avenue would be more appropriate than extending a service road though the middle of the property.
Faced with the controversy and questions about the access being a historic road or a moat, the City Council decided to postpone a decision until at least the next meeting on March 6.
Reach David Slade at 937-5552 or dslade@postandcourier.com.