COASTAL OBSERVER

Property owners at North Litchfield are raising money to buy property at the entrance to the community that was proposed for a convenience store and gas station.

“The issue has not gone away,” said Elliott Powell, a board member of the Litchfield Beaches Property Owners Association who is leading the effort. “Our desire is to get that property off the market.”

The 6.7 acres at the corner of Highway 17 and Boyle Drive is owned by members of the Floyd family. They sought a zoning change earlier this year from “neighborhood commercial”  to “general commercial” to allow what was called “a high-end convenience store.” 

The request was withdrawn after neighbors started organizing opposition.

“We have a flood of folks who were opposed to this effort,” Powell said. “We have many, many gas stations already.”

He told the association at its annual meeting that half a dozen people have already committed $150,000 to the effort. The property is on the market for $2.75 million, but Powell hopes that number can be lowered through a combination of conservation tax credits and goodwill.

“We don’t want to fight them in court. We will fight them, they know that,” he said.

A show of hands from the membership showed wide support for the idea. Harry Stribos, another POA board member working on the effort, said they would like to get contributions from 80 percent of the 667 property owners at North Litchfield.

Stribos estimated that a convenience store on the site could reduce the area’s property values between 2 to 5 percent. Based on current values, he said, that would be $20,000 to $50,000.

A nonprofit will be formed to purchase the property. The property is large enough to interest a land trust, Powell said. He also hopes to interest the state and Brookgreen Gardens in the venture.

Left in its natural state, “it’s almost like Huntington State Park or Brookgreen Gardens coming in,” Powell said.

The property is bordered on the east side by the Bike the Neck path. It could become a park associated with the path, he said.

Based on the asking price, Powell said any other buyer will  need to change the zoning to a more intense use in order to recoup their investment. That would require approval from Georgetown County Council.

But he told the association that they need to move quickly.

“We will not have this opportunity for very long,” Powell said. “We need some big hitters to step up.”

The association was successful in rallying opposition to a proposal from the state Department of Transportation to eliminate left turns and median cuts on a .65-mile section of Highway 17 at Litchfield Beach.  It raised $25,000 in a week from other groups to help fight the plan, said Kevin Corrigan, the POA president.

A meeting with DOT staff and consultants last week drew 400 people.

“This was a freight-train project,” Corrigan said. “None of this works for our community.”

DOT staff said after the meeting that based on the turnout and the public comments, changes to the plan are likely. DOT plans to conduct another traffic study this week, updating its baseline data collected in 2019.

Corrigan hopes there will be another public presentation once the study is completed and the plan is revised.