Roofer in James Island, SC

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - The site of a proposed preschool on James Island is causing some neighbors to worry about what their yards will look like during a storm or what the traffic will look like during rush hour.

The city of Charleston’s Design Review Board approved the basics, like what kind of building materials and plants the developer wants to use, for example, at the proposed Goddard Preschool located at 1137 Folly Rd., at Tuesday night’s meeting.

However, neighbor Matthew Pertuset says he’s more worried about what the city will review later on.

“How is that going to affect the, not just the people that back up, but the entire neighborhood?” Pertuset said.

The proposed preschool sits directly behind Pertuset’s home in the Queenborough neighborhood. He says he’s worried about the design of this building’s drainage because of how it already acts during storms.

“We’re already holding water,” Pertuset said. “So, for that to come up even more, I’m not sure. So, it’s a huge concern.”

But Robert Summerfield, the director of planning, preservation and sustainability for the city of Charleston, said because they have some of the most comprehensive stormwater regulations in the region, no project could make the problem worse but could only improve it.

“They’re working very hard to make sure that they are utilizing the existing wetlands on site and enhancing that as a stormwater catchment area,” Summerfield said.

But that’s not the only concern.

“If it is going to be a pickup, you know, we’re right here on Folly Road, how does that look during rush hour traffic in the mornings and the afternoons?” Pertuset said. “Is it going to get pushed into our neighborhood for us to deal with or is it just going to come to a stop on Folly Road?”

Summerfield said the city has already thought about it.

“We have created a drop-off low space so that cars, as they come in and drop their children off or pick them up, will actually flow through the site so that there’s a queueing situation that will occur so that people aren’t ideally not queueing out on Folly,” Summerfield said.

Neither the Goddard School nor the applicant, AAG Architects for Vista 26, LLC, have responded to requests for comment.

However, Pertuset said no matter what comes on this property, he just wants the city to be thorough with their plans.

“It is something that the community needs,” Pertuset said. “I think James Island could afford to have another preschool.”

Summerfield said the city will discuss more drainage specifics once the developer submits the next step to the Technical Review Committee. They will have to pass all initial designs before that is done and there’s currently no timeline of when that might take place.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

JAMES ISLAND — Whenever it rained, Craig and Jamie Bussard knew their yard would flood.

It became saturated every time the skies opened up ever since they moved into their home on Ocean Neighbors Boulevard in 2015.

Over time, the Bussards just accepted it as their reality.

But then they saw a way out: plant a rain garden, a round space where native plants would soak up the downpour.

The city of Charleston liked the idea and gave the couple a grant. The Homeowners Association and property manager signed off, too, or the couple thought they did. And everything worked the way it was supposed to.

Until it didn't.

In November, the HOA said the rain garden didn’t get necessary approvals and demanded its removal. After months of correspondence, the HOA gave the Bussards until Feb. 27 to remove it. After that, the HOA threatened to hire a contractor to forcibly remove the garden of grasses and flowering plants at the Bussards’ expense.

“It just sends the wrong message to the entire neighborhood that the neighborhood doesn't care about environmental concerns or the environmental benefits and doesn't take the flooding measures seriously,” Craig Bussard said. “It just sets a bad precedent.”

But the fight goes on.

Floodwater management

Like many Lowcountry properties, lighter rains would cause water to collect and the ground to become soggy and muddy. Heavier rains would result in standing water that sometimes took weeks to drain away. Mosquitos were always a concern for the Bussards' young children and pets.

“We had kind of accepted it as something beyond our control and just grown used to not using that part of the yard or the gate on the side of the house,” Craig said noting that the flooding also afflicted their adjoining and sympathetic neighbor’s yard.

“That side yard that we share, it's just a mud pit any time it rains, any sort of amount,” said Kayleigh Coda, the Bussards' neighbor. “That's where our trash cans are taken in and out from the backyard, so it's just a mess.”

Then the Bussards heard about the Charleston’s Rainproof Mini-Grant Program, which provides homeowners with $200 and training on how to properly install a rain garden on their property.

Rain gardens are sunken gardens that capture stormwater and help it absorb into the ground within 24 hours. This can prevent runoff that can flood neighbors’ yards and streets.

“The responsible way is to keep the water on your property, and rain gardens allow you to do that,” said Katy Calloway, a resident of the Ocean Neighbors community who specializes in stormwater management.

The idea piqued the Bussards’ interest: What if they didn’t have to accept flooding as their reality? What if they planted a rain garden and it worked to benefit not just them but their neighbors too?

“As soon as (the grant application) opened, we applied to it, and we also shared to the community Facebook page … how excited we were about this and how we’d love to see this in the community more because we're on James Island, where things flood constantly,” Craig said.

The Bussards submitted their application in August and were notified it had been accepted the following month. Throughout September, the Bussards completed the required in-person and online training on rain gardens and what to do to make it successful: Rain gardens require careful planning and attention to soil, elevation and selected plants.

Rising Waters

“One of the key parts of making sure a rain garden is successful is choosing a location, so you’re supposed to perform a few different tests,” Craig said. “When it rains really heavily, you’re supposed to go out into your yard and watch the water flow.”

It surprised Craig and Jamie when these tests revealed the front yard would be a better location than the backyard, he noted.

“It’s a lot of work,” said Coda, who has a rain garden in her backyard. “ … A lot of effort and time goes into it, picking the right local plants, which ones go together really well, the spacing and all of that.”

Miscommunications with the HOA would prove to be even more work for the Bussards, putting not just their garden at risk, but the future of sustainable landscaping practices for the entire community.

Miscommunication

The Bussards submitted their plans to their HOA and property management company, Poston Community Management, in September. Their application included the garden’s proposed front-yard location and the combination of flowering plants and grasses they planned to use.

Dean Monk, chairman of the HOA’s Architectural Control Committee, emailed his approval, “as long as we keep it according to the covenants, basically weeding and making sure nothing overgrows,” Craig said.

But the next day, property manager spokesperson Melissa Blocker sent an email contradicting the chairman’s decision: The committee denied the Bussards' application.

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After requesting the reason, Blocker wrote in an email to the Bussards that the committee researched rain gardens and noted that they can “get out of control and look unkempt/unmaintained.”

“Any kind of landscaping can become messy and unkempt if it's not maintained, so that just seemed really irrelevant,” Craig noted.

News

After multiple correspondences, the Bussards pointed out that the neighborhood’s guidelines both encourage experimentation with native plants and don’t require approval for the addition of plants under 36 inches in height.

Since the rain garden didn’t include any plants over that height, the Bussards and property manager agreed they did not need additional approvals, Craig said. Blocker acknowledged this in writing on Oct. 6.

She did not respond to requests for comment.

On the weekend of Oct. 22, they dug the 200 square-foot flowerbed and planted native plants, including Stokes aster, sweetspire, black-eyed Susans, bee balm and echinacea. They also routed the gutter drain and added three bags of mulch, Craig recalled.

A few days later, Blocker notified the Bussards that there was a misunderstanding: Since the rain garden is a new flower bed that adds to their overall footprint, it does need HOA approval. She wrote in the email that the HOA requested them to stop all work on the garden until they get approval, but by that point, the rain garden was already finished, Craig said.

“We’d already completed everything, other than maybe four or five additional bags of mulch that we needed,” he said. “All the plants were there, and everything was dug and everything was ready to go.”

Craig said they finished mulching the garden at that point to make it more aesthetically pleasing and to protect the newly planted plants.

The Bussards submitted another application to the HOA committee on Oct. 30, which was denied about a week later. The committee stipulated that the rain garden had to be removed and filled in with dirt and sod within 30 days.

The Bussards appealed to the HOA’s Board of Directors, which consists of five community members, including HOA president Ellen Souter. The board also denied the request.

Souter declined to comment on the record due to ongoing litigation.

In a Facebook comment, Souter wrote, "There are two sides to every story."

Calloway, a member of the board at this time, said that she and one other board member voted in favor of the Bussards’ request. The remaining three members, including Souter, voted against.

“Craig's project, in my opinion, was mishandled by the HOA from the get-go,” Calloway said, noting the reason for this change was based on the aesthetic of the garden.

“The concern was not about practicality and stormwater management,” she said. “The concern is that the Bussards’ yard is at the front of the neighborhood, and people see it, and they don’t think it’s pretty.”

Rain gardens take time to grow and flower, Calloway, Coda and the Bussards said.

“That's really tough because a natural yard that's functioning for the good of the environment looks very different than a yard that's full of grass and has no plants,” Calloway said.

The Bussards and Coda said the rain garden has “definitely” helped alleviate flooding issues. Craig said they’ve tried to negotiate with the HOA, without success.

“We’ve been willing and begging, basically … to work something out here,” he said. “This is for the good of the community. It seems like there are some misunderstandings between (the property manager), board and the (Architectural Control Committee), but let’s try to work this out and be adults. But my attempts to negotiate have just flat-out been refused.”

The HOA’s attorney notified the Bussards’ attorney that the HOA will give them until Feb. 27 to remove their rain garden. Otherwise, the HOA would hire a contractor to do so at the Bussards’ expense, Craig said.

No formal written notice of this action had been issued by the time of publication.

A garden worth fighting for

Craig said they had every intention to uproot the garden the weekend of Feb. 23, but they couldn’t bring themselves to do it. The Bussards turned to the community for support for one last try. They posted on their community’s Facebook page on Feb. 24.

“It instantly blew up,” Craig said. “We've not gotten a single negative response other than from the board president.”

The Bussards hosted an information session at their home on Feb. 25 and got more than 20 signatures on a petition to save the garden within the first 30 minutes of the meeting, Craig said.

This show of support inspired the Bussards to try and keep their garden.

“We truly believe that the environmental benefits and drastic improvements in flooding mitigation the rain-proof garden has achieved is worth fighting for,” he said.

The first challenges to the S.C. High School League’s reclassification of its member schools began on Tuesday, as 12 schools appealed their placement in the league's realignment for the 2024-26 school years.

Ten more schools will make their appeals on Wednesday.

School officials made their cases to the league’s executive committee, and can take their appeals to the league’s appellate panel later this week. A total of 22 schools statewide are lodging appeals with the executive committee.

Most of the appeals center around the SCHSL's decision to use a multiplier to determine student enrollments for its purposes, with students attending a school from outside of its assigned attendance zone counting three times. The multiplier was installed in an effort to address competitive-balance issues, with private and charter schools dominating state championships in lower classifications in recent years.

Three Charleston-area schools made their appeals on Tuesday.

James Island Charter, moved to Class AAAAA in reclassification, had its request to remain in AAAA denied. Burke, moved up to Class AA, had its appeal to remain in Class A denied.

Charleston Math & Science, moved up to Class AAA from Class A, won its appeal to remain in Class A for the next two years.

Bishop England, bumped up from Class AA to AAAA, will have its appeal to move to Class AAA heard on Wednesday.

Columbia's Gray Collegiate Academy, a sports-oriented charter school and a center of much of the competitive-balance debate, was bumped up two classifications, from AA to AAAA, by the league's multiplier. The school requested to play in Class AAA, but was denied by a vote of 12-3.

James Island officials made their case to remain AAAA by saying the school was willing to remain in Region 7-AAAA, which includes Colleton County and Beaufort-area schools. The school said it was willing to accept a considerable increase in travel expenses over what it would incur in a local AAAAA region.

Members of the committee noted that James Island’s attendance numbers, which total 1,968 including the multiplier, would place the school in Class AAAAA even without the multiplier, but only because the league has increased the number of AAAAA schools to 56.

After discussion, the committee voted 14-1 to deny the request to remain in AAAA.

Charleston Math & Science, which is currently in Class A, was reclassified to AAA by the league. The school, which is not competitive for state titles in most programs, hinted that a move to AAA could result in the school closing all of its athletics programs. School officials said the athletic department operates at a deficit as a Class A school.

According to the multiplier numbers, CMS would be the smallest school in AAA with 672 students, and would have almost 400 actual students fewer than two schools, Dillon and Newberry, just ahead of them in the AAA list.

The committee decided by a vote of 12-3 to allow CMS to remain in Class A for the next two years.

Burke appealed a move from Class A to AA based on a decline in competitiveness, even though its attendance numbers are solidly in Class AA even without the multiplier. Enrollment numbers, however, are in a steady decline; Burke's multiplier attendance number is 469.

The committee voted 14-1 to put Burke in Class AA. Burke could be reassigned to Class A in the next reclassification in 2026.

In other appeals on Tuesday, Abbeville High was denied (by 9-5) an appeal to be assigned to Class A. Abbeville is currently listed as the smallest AA school in the state (379 students with the multiplier), while three schools in Class A have larger attendance numbers. Abbeville will appeal the decision to the appellate panel.

Seneca High’s appeal to remain in Class AAA was denied (14-1), and the school will be assigned to AAAA.

Fox Creek won its appeal (by 11-3) to move to Class AAA. Fox Creek was originally bumped from Class AA to Class AAAA in the realignment.

Southside Christian, a private school in Simponsville, was denied (by 9-5) its appeal to move from Class AAA to AA. Southside Christian was moved from Class A to AAA in the recent reclassification with a multiplier attendance number of 676.

Brashier Middle College, a charter school in the upstate, was assigned to Class AAA, a move up from Class A. The school appealed to be classified to Class AA and the committee granted that request by a vote of 12-4.

High Point Academy, a Class A school in Spartanburg, was moved to Class AAA after use of the multiplier. The school appealed to stay in Class A, but was denied. However, the committee did vote to place the school into Class AA.

Horse Creek Academy of North Augusta, moving into the SCHSL for the first time, was classified to AAA. However, the school offers only 10 varsity sports and one junior varsity program, and does not field a football program. The committee voted to put the school in Class A.

St. Joseph’s Catholic School of Greenville, currently in Class A, was reclassified to Class AAA and requested to be placed in Class AA. The committee denied the request by 12-2.

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - Ditches running through a James Island neighborhood are still holding several inches of water from Monday’s storm, frustrating some residents who say they don’t know who is responsible for maintaining the ditches.

Kat Skover lives on James Island in a neighborhood near the intersection of Folly and Fort Johnson Roads.

She says the standing water attracts flies and mosquitos and impacts her ability to play outside with her daughter.

“We got the house so that we could be in the backyard and hang out outside but with the difficulty of all the drainage and the water it can be really difficult to keep the yard in a state that is enjoyable,” she says.

The water can also affect the safety of the roadways, she says.

“Some streets will even have water on the street for a day or two following a heavy rain,” she says.

Her neighbor, Nicholas Connolly, says the ditches fill up fast during a storm and will stay filled for days.

“The ground is really soft, and if you walk around your feet will sink into your yard,” he says. “I’ve not once seen the city come and redo the ditches.”

Skover says she’s called the James Island Public Service District for help but got waitlisted.

“We’re on a schedule we’ve heard of, but that was several months ago,” she says.

The neighborhood sits in the jurisdiction of the Town of James Island.

James Island Mayor Brook Lyon says the problem is typically caused by clogged pipes under driveways. If the town is alerted of a drainage problem, they’ll come clean it out with a shovel, she says.

If it’s packed too hard or the driveway is too wide, they’ll call Charleston County or the South Carolina Department of Transportation for help with a vacuum truck.

The town doesn’t have any record of drainage complaints from the neighborhood, according to Lyon.

She encourages anyone with an issue to file a complaint on the Town’s website under the “MyTOJI” tab, or by calling Town Hall at 843-795-4141.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - One concerned resident living on James Island says there is a lack of communication on a traffic project that was designed to improve the safety and flow of traffic.

The Central Park Road and Riverland Drive Intersection Improvements Project was made to improve the safety and traffic flow of Riverland Drive and Central Park Road for all modes of transportation while minimizing impacts on adjacent property and grand trees. The project officially began in 2018 and is still in the works.

More than 11,000 vehicles a day commute on Riverland Drive, according to the Charleston County Transportation Department, and the lack of turn lanes and significant delays have prompted a plan to relieve traffic congestion at the intersection of Riverland Drive and Central Park Road.

The need for more crosswalks, signs and designated areas, frequent accidents, narrow lanes and delays for school traffic are just a few reasons officials say the project is needed. The funding for the project comes from the second half-cent sales tax.

Eric Lundcrum lives on Terrabrook Lane on James Island and says the road hasn’t been upgraded and the growth continues to climb in the area.

Charleston County spokesperson Kelsey Barlow says the county intends to install crosswalks and a flashing light at the Central Park and Riverland intersection. The project will also add a right-turn lane with refuge on Central Park and a sidewalk along Riverland Drive that will extend to the future Woodland Shores sidewalk to the Riverland Drive multi-use path.

“We should have some consideration on completing some of these projects that are way overdue,” Lundcrum says. “The Charleston County Council is always 20 years behind upgrading infrastructure to satisfy the growth. The other solution was just to put a traffic light there, but they didn’t even do that. Year after year of more growth and year after year no solution to the very busy intersection.”

We reached out to officials from Charleston County who told us the South Carolina Department of Transportation has approved the right-of-way plans, and they are currently in the right-of-way acquisition process. They are scheduled to advertise construction in the third quarter of this year. Currently, officials say the project team has made contact with impacted property owners and working with them for the right-of-way acquisition process.

If you know a road that’s driving you crazy, you can submit your concern here.

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