Future generations will hate us!
IMPORTANT: THE ANGEL OAK TREE WILL NOT BE CUT DOWN Please read the details before signing the online petition. This site is intended to inform the public of an upcoming development that will destroy the beautiful and dense forest surrounding the Angel Oak Tree located on Johns Island, SC. The Angel Oak Tree is a natural Low Country treasure visited daily by schools, tourist and locals. Thousands of trees that surround the Angel Oak will be cut down and protected wetlands filled in to make way for a 600 multi-family housing project that will surround the Angel Oak. |
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THE REASON FOR THIS WEB SITE The reasons we feel this development is a bad idea are endless. The Grand trees that are hundreds of years old will be lost forever along with the sounds of birds and insects that make up this wonderful place. The human impact of so many people living around the AO cannot be calculated or studied. Our Low Country has escaped much of the urban vandalism and graffiti seen in cities throughout the world and it is our concern that the AO will inherit this type of neglect if so many homes are built near it. We also feel that if such an important area like the AOP can fall prey to destruction and development so close to it's boundaries, then no protected area will be safe. |
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Look at theses unfinished homes just 2 miles from the Angel Oak. Do we really need to clear out more forest? |
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The Angel Oak is located just under the word (park) in the photo above.
NEW TRAFFIC STUDY
AOV Traffic study - SRS Engineering
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Click above to see close view of the dense forest.
THOUSANDS of trees (view list of Grand Tree) Will be cut down.
ANGEL OAK/ANGEL OAK VILLAGE TIMELINE 1991: The city of Charleston buys what is now Angel Oak Park, roughly 2 acres on a dirt road surrounding what's billed as the oldest living tree east of the Mississippi River. 2000: Sea Island Comprehensive Health Care, a nonprofit provider of services to low-income Sea Islands residents, proposes selling 42 undeveloped acres around Angel Oak Park because of financial problems. 2001: The state names Angel Oak South Carolina's Millennium Tree. Charleston's Planning Commission approves rezoning the Sea Island property to allow a grocery story, office buildings and apartments. 2004: Sea Island seeks bankruptcy protection. In September, the city announces a plan to acquire 16 acres around Angel Oak Park for $1 million as part of a $3.5 million purchase of the entire property by Greenville developer Robert S. Small Jr. That deal falls through, and the land is bought by a different developer. 2005: With the sale of the land pending and Sea Island's bankruptcy reorganization hanging in the balance, Charleston insists on greater protection for Angel Oak than proposed by the buyers. The city threatens to buy all the land if the potential developers don't agree to concessions. After days of contentious public hearings, a deal is reached calling for a 150-foot buffer around Angel Oak Park, a 75-foot natural buffer along unpaved Angel Oak Road, an extra level of city review as the development proceeds, a 7-acre conservation zone around the park, and the hiring of a hydrologist and a tree expert. The development would include a large grocery store, shops and 285 housing units. 2008: Developers of what's become known as Angel Oak Village return to the city with revised plans that eliminate the big-box grocery store and increase the number of housing units to 600. The Planning Commission endorses the new plan and City Council approves it, over the course of three public meetings in May and July. In late July, Samantha Siegel launches an online petition drive opposing the development.
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What can you do? Call or write with your concern and or comments. Don't let Charleston's greatest natural treasure become the center piece for a housing project. Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Jr.
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| AngelOakTree.org |