Caroline attended a very interesting and timely meeting last week. At the January 6th forum, A Delicate Balance, sponsored by the Historic Charleston Foundation, more than 300 of Charleston’s residents and influential leaders gathered at the Charleston Museum to discuss several topics that will shape the future of downtown Charleston for the next decade. As much as we like to brag about our hometown and as proud as we are that Charleston is such a popular destination, many local Charlestonians are asking “at what price??”
The forum was the beginning of a public discussion which should shape the future growth of several key areas in the historic district. Local leaders in the politics, preservation, conservation, tourism, and hospitality arenas and the chairman of the Peninsula Neighborhood Consortium comprised the the eight member panel. The topics included traffic, transportation, parking-related to the Union Pier passenger terminal master plan, the new Calhoun Street East/Cooper River Waterfront plan and the renovation of the City Market Sheds. Much of the forum focused on the cruise ships, and the questions from the audience made it clear that many feel the number of ships that we have are creating increased traffic, noise and parking problems not to mention environmental issues to our rivers and harbor. Many feel that the cruise industry encourages “hit and run” tourism. None of this is good for the quality of life in our fair city. At what point is all of this progress going to kill the goose that laid the golden egg?
Saida and Caroline, who both grew up in the historic district, share mixed feelings about all of the changes in Charleston in the past few decades. Saida remembers the days when there were only three restaurants downtown. Her parents went to Perdita’s (now Carolina’s) for their anniversary. Her grandparents took her to Henry’s for her birthday. And the restaurant at the Fort Sumter Hotel was a regular stop for lunch on Saturdays. There was a quiet simplicity and pleasant quality of life back then. What was once homogenous is now so much more diverse and interesting. Now we have world-class restaurants, shopping, and hotels. The annual Spoleto Festival, Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, Family Circle Tennis Tournament and most recently the Food and Wine Fesitval bring a caliber of visitor who appreciates and embraces what makes our city so special. Many of these visitors have become full or part time residents who have purchased and restored many of our historic gems and have added a cosmopolitan air to our neighborhoods. All of these are positive changes.
Caroline is a member of the Preservation Society of Charleston and has been on their Planning and Zoning Committee for eight years. She has been involved with the actions and decisions of the bodies whose purpose is to protect the historic and authentic nature of our city. Caroline says, “these forums are an excellent way to keep the dialog flowing freely between the preservation groups, developers, city officials and the citizens who are most affected by these proposed changes. I am glad that a task force is being formed to watch over these future projects because too many “improvements” are passed by the Zoning and the Board of Architectural Review that many residents are not aware of until it is too late. Gettting the word out in many different formats, not just the newspaper, is of utmost importance. I cannot stress enough that parking and traffic studies must be done for all of these projects collectively. Each of these proposed projects is a part of a whole and affects the fabric and quality of life in Charleston. It IS a delicate balance.”
***What is your fondest memory of growing up in Charleston? If you moved here from “off” what made you fall under Charleston’s spell? Please email us at info@keystocharlestonrealestate.com or post on our Facebook fan page. Thank you for participating, we are excited to hear your responses!
For more more information about the HCF Forum, please click on the following links:
http://www.historiccharleston.org/preservation/issues.html
http://coastalconservationleague.org/cruise-ships-in-charleston/
January 20th, 2010
