South Carolina Top Court Rejects Kiawah Island Developers’ Steel Wall
KIAWAH ISLAND, S.C. — Developers planning to build homes on a sand spit south of Charleston, South Carolina are facing another setback after the state Supreme Court overturned their permits to construct a steel seawall.
The court ruled Wednesday that the state Department of Health and Environmental Control should not have issued the permits for the 2,380-foot (725-meter) steel wall between Captain Sam’s Spit and Kiawah Island.
Developers, who plan to build 50 homes on the sand spit, have said the wall would protect against erosion from the bordering Kiawah River.
The court sided with environmentalists challenging the project who argued that the wall would have devastated the ecologically sensitive area.
An attorney for Kiawah Development Partners told The Post and Courier that the builders want the court to rehear the case. The court has repeatedly sided against the developers in legal challenges to the project over the past decade.