The May River Watershed that surrounds the Palmetto Bluff development in South Carolina includes the fragile estuaries of the New River and Cooper River.  After nearly 25 years of admirable stewardship to the local ecology, the new owners of Palmetto Bluff are turning towards an aggressive approach to land and coastal management.  The original Palmetto Bluff development agreement of 1998 strictly limited docks and alterations to the river shoreline and pledged to leave 5,000 acres of the property in open space.

The changes would allow South Street Partners to construct three new marina-style water access points, two of which on the most ecologically sensitive portions of Palmetto Bluff: Long Island and Doughboy Island. The changes would also alter the existing plans to construct the Anson Marina Complex planned in the New River to allow for dockside fueling, new dry stack storage facilities, fixed and floating docks to provide for 186 boat slips (in perspective, Shelter Cove is the largest marina on Hilton Head Island with 175 slips.)  The scope of this development as proposed is inappropriate to the community’s stated aim to preserve the natural environment and water access needs of Palmetto Bluff residents. 

The new plan dramatically effects the entire region- the sea and bird life of our waterways, and citizens who have made Bluffton, SC their habitat as well.

We, the undersigned, petition the Planning Commission and Town Council of Bluffton to reject the current Palmetto Bluff request to amend their existing development agreement, and to preserve this watershed for future generations.