JOHNS ISLAND — After 66 acres of land was successfully preserved, Charleston County Parks has plans to give residents public waterfront access by creating a new park.

Located off Old Pond Road, the property provides direct access to Simmons Creek, which feeds into the Stono River. The preservation is part of a years-long effort to add more public access to water for Johns Island residents, according to Natalie Olson, Sea Islands program director at the Lowcountry Land Trust.

The effort started in 2018 when the Johns Island Community Conservation Initiative, funded by the Donnelley Foundation dedicated to land conservation, identified a growing concern through a series of workshops with residents: Johns Island's rapid growth and continuing development have reduced residents’ access to waterways.

As residential development has expanded on the island, Olson said, public waterfront access has been cut off and limited to just a few spots, like the John P. Limehouse Boat Landing.

She added that residents of the island deserve to have public waterfront access and shouldn't have to leave Johns Island to find it.

"We're surrounded by a beautiful and bountiful resource that has always been part of the culture and natural heritage of the Sea Islands, but the access to it is so limited," Olson said. "This is an effort not only to restore access, but to bring it to safeguard it for future generations."

The 66 acres were initially two separate parcels of land: one 13 acre parcel owned by Joanne Nason and a 53 acre property owned by Gary McLaurin.

McLaurin donated the 53 acres to Lowcountry Land Trust in 2020, and the Land Trust purchased the other 13 acres from Nason's estate for $930,000 in 2023 on a loan. Olson said they spent the next two years granting conservation easements — preserving the green space and ensuring no development happens — and applying for grants to help pay off the loan.

The Land Trust also received financial support from other organizations such as the South Carolina Conservation Bank, Charleston County's greenbelt program, the Ceres Foundation and the Lowcountry Land Protection Capacity Fund.

Lowcountry Land Trust transferred ownership of the land to Charleston County Parks in May. Matt Moldenhauer, senior planner at Charleston County Parks, said there is no current timeline for developing the park. For the time being, the property will not be open to the public.

While there are no specific plans yet, Moldenhauer said the park will be passive and include walking trails and a paddle sports launch.

He added people always tell the county parks department they want more trails and waterfront access. This property, which Moldenhauer described as a hidden gem, will meet that demand.

"It's a beautiful little marsh, tidal corridor on Johns Island that I don't think a lot of people know about," he said. "We're excited to be able to share that with the public."

Construction is now underway on a Charleston County project aimed at alleviating flooding in the James Island area, a project some residents say is long overdue. (WCIV)

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCIV) — Construction is now underway on a Charleston County project aimed at alleviating flooding in the James Island area, a project some residents say is long overdue.

The project is also one that carries some short term pain for commuters and drivers in the area.

"Some of the problems are we've put two major developments back on that road that has probably not done anything but help decrease the amount of absorption that was getting done by the live oaks and the trees that were in that area. So that's contributed to this problem, but in theory it's gonna be good when it's done," said Adam Friend, founder, of the Woodland Source Road Coalition.

The initiative will involve a partial shut down of Central Park Road between Riverland Drive and Fleming Road.

The county is hopeful the initiative will fix an area long affected by king tide and spring tide events.

The project involves raising Central Park Road by up to two feet throughout the corridor and adding a series of large drainage pipes.

Those pipes will feature tide gates and check valves to block incoming tides that exceed normal levels.

It's a mixed bag for some residents who understand the need but worry about increased traffic congestion.

"You've got areas where the development just outpaces the infrastructure because it was never meant to support that many people. So, you know, that's really complex stuff way beyond my understanding. But I do see the problems that arise and it's usually traffic. It's congestion, it's over-crowdedness, said area resident Kev Hollo.

At the end of the day, county officials say the improvements will prevent that roadway flooding associated with nearby James Island Creek. Temporary adjustments will remain in place until November with the full project expected to be completed by spring of 2026.

Firecrackers will flash across Charleston's stunning skyline once again this year, offering yet another spectacular Fourth of July for the Lowcountry.

If you're looking for a special setting to embrace the patriotic holiday, consider watching the dazzling light shows aboard the flight desk of the USS Yorktown. This year's event will feature two separate stages with local bands, the opportunity to explore parts of the Yorktown museum and more fun family activities to honor the national holiday.

"Every adult hits that point where you think you've been to every kind of fireworks show," said Sam Elkin, Patriots Point's director of marketing and communication. "If you've seen one, you've seen them all, right? That is until they've seen this one — which is the most unique fireworks show in Charleston — with unmatched views and sightlines of multiple fireworks shows across Charleston harbor. It's truly something special."

If you're in Summerville, head to the Fireworks and Freedom Festival, where there will be glow sticks for the little ones and the shuttle buses running from behind town hall to Gahagan Park.

"It's really a great event for Summerville, as well as for those from Moncks Corner or North Charleston looking for something a little different from what they're used to," said Rigel Kocur, Summerville Parks and Recreation Department's marketing and events manager.

With so many captivating celebrations to choose from, we've got 14 hotspots for your Fourth of July festivities and fireworks.

Fireworks and Freedom Festival

What: Enjoy a curated fireworks display, tasty food trucks, inflatable obstacle courses and community fun hosted by the Summerville Parks and Recreation Department.

When: 5:30-9:30 p.m.

Where: Gahagan Park, 515 W. Boundary St., Summerville

Price: Free

Red, White and Palm

What: Get together at this pre-fireworks gathering and enjoy a live DJ, light bites, chilled cocktails and a stunning view of the fireworks over Charleston's skyline. Patriotic attire is encouraged.

When: 6-9 p.m.

Where: Little Palm, 237 Meeting St., Charleston

Price: Free

Fabulous Fourth in the Creek

What: Goose Creek hosts their annual Fourth of July celebration and fireworks show, featuring live music, tasty food vendors and plenty of family-friendly activities to explore.

When: 6:30-9:30 p.m.

Where: Goose Creek Municipal Center, 519 N. Goose Creek Blvd.

Price: Free

Fourth of July Fireworks Blast

What: Watch Charleston harbor light up with fireworks aboard the historic USS Yorktown with live music, tasty food vendors and unmatched views.

When: 7-10 p.m.

Where: USS Yorktown, Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum, 40 Patriots Point, Mount Pleasant

Price: $109

What: This annual parade which will march down Dunvegan Drive, turn left on Shadowmoss Parkway and travel around Muirfield before wrapping up at the starting line. Expect patriotic floats, some vintage cars and more.

When: 10 a.m.

Where: Shadowmoss Golf & Country Club, 21 Dunvegan Drive, Charleston

Price: Free

Fourth of July Fireworks Cruise

What: Board The Carolina Girl yacht for an exclusive night on Charleston harbor to view the annual fireworks shows, featuring a live DJ, light bites, an open bar and incredible views.

When: 8-11 p.m.

Where: St. Johns Yacht Harbor, 2408 Maybank Highway, Johns Island

Price: $170

July 4th Family Picnic and Fireworks

What: Bring out your family and friends for an outdoor picnic with fun games, live music and fireworks.

When: 6-9 p.m.

Where: Bay Creek Park, 3706 Dock Site Road, Edisto Island

Price: Free

4th of July Festival

What: Break out the lawn chairs for North Charleston's annual festival featuring a stunning fireworks show after dark and live music from Motown Throwdown alongside DJ Natty Heavy and DJ D-Nyce.

When: 5-9:30 p.m.

Where: Riverfront Park, 1061 Everglades Ave., North Charleston

Price: Free

4th of July Juke Joint Jam

What: Celebrate Independence Day with some Gullah Geechee food and culture alongside some groovin' funk by DJ Kwame Sha as well as Beth Inabinett & For the Funk of It Band. All proceeds support the Penn Center's heritage program.

When: 7 p.m.

Where: Penn Center, 16 Penn Center Circle E., St. Helena Island

Price: $28

Isle of Palms Fourth of July Fireworks Show

What: Isle of Palms will host their annual fireworks show on the beach with incredible displays across the entirety of Charleston harbor.

When: 9 p.m.

Where: Front Beach, 1118 Ocean Blvd., Isle of Palms

Price: Free

Independence Day Celebration

What: Celebrate Independence Day with a fun bike parade, cookout, live music, watermelon-eating contest, breakdancing and fireworks.

When: 5-9 p.m.

Where: Night Heron Park, 1 Kiawah Island Parkway, Kiawah Island

Price: Free

Daniel Island Independence Day Celebration

What: Sign up for Daniel Island's golf cart parade, which begins at Bishop England High School and continues to Daniel Island School parking lot. A celebration will follow at Smythe Park with live DJs, dance performances, music from Wildflower Station and the East Coast Party Band.

When: 4-9 p.m. July 3

Price: Free

Sullivan's Island 4th of July Golf Cart Parade

What: Join in on the annual golf cart and bike parade, starting at the Sunrise Presbyterian Church and heading to Sullivan's Island Elementary School. Registered participants will be judged for most-festive golf cart at the finish line.

When: 8:30 a.m.

Price: Free

Sullivan's Island Independence Day Party

What: Following the annual parade, break out a lawn chair or picnic blanket and watch the fireworks fly over Sullivan's Island while listening to jams from the Shem Creek Boogie Band.

When: 6 p.m.

Where: J. Marshall Stith Park, 2058 Middle St., Sullivan's Island

Price: Free

Imagine a developer who thoughtfully deliberates about what type of business would be best suited for an area. He meets with residents to address their concerns. He painstakingly implements every suggestion, even if he doesn’t have to. Most towns would welcome such a developer with open arms. That’s not what happened to Kyle Taylor. The Town Council of James Island, South Carolina, doesn’t want Kyle to develop his land at all, so the council decided to just take Kyle’s property away from him using eminent domain. The council says they took the land to build a “park,” but that’s a ruse. They want to unconstitutionally stop Kyle from developing his own property.

Kyle is a native James Islander who only wants to use his civil engineering skills to develop thoughtful properties in his hometown. Consistent with the nature of small towns, he is acquainted with most of the residents and regularly works with them to ensure he takes their needs into account—a quality in a developer that most towns can only dream of. His projects are designed to blend in and enhance the surrounding neighborhoods. He initially wanted to build mixed-use, residential and commercial properties. After the town nixed that idea, he pivoted to something that would have minimal impact and was clearly allowed under the zoning code—a storage facility. The town wasn’t willing to allow that either.

The town tried to interfere with the sale of land to Kyle. But once their efforts failed, the town realized they only had one tool left to deny Kyle the right to develop his own property. The town resorted to the extreme tactic of authorizing eminent domain, claiming that they needed the land for a park. But without any previous discussion of a park, funds for a park, or plans for a park, it is clear that the park is just a pretext for stopping Kyle from lawfully developing his property, a blatant constitutional violation.

Kyle has teamed up with the Institute for Justice in his lawsuit filed in South Carolina state court to challenge the town’s unlawful attempt at taking his property.

Kyle Taylor was born and raised in James Island, South Carolina. After earning his degree in civil engineering, he wanted to return home and use his skills to improve his community by developing local properties for the benefit of all James Islanders. Kyle founded KT Properties, which develops both retail and residential properties.

Kyle’s love for his hometown shows in his work—he doesn’t look for the easiest or fastest projects. He works with his fellow residents to identify needs, listen to concerns they may have, and makes sure every development fits within the community.

A New Project

In 2022, Kyle began the process of purchasing a 1.2-acre wooded tract of land for his next project. The narrow sliver of land is on the border between homes and businesses, and Kyle envisioned developing a mixed residential and commercial property in this ideal location. The land is completely fenced off and surrounded by various other pieces of land undergoing construction.

Kyle followed every required building step to a T and filled out a rezoning application. His project was agreed to by town planning staff, and the Planning Commission unanimously recommended approval. The Town Council, however, rejected the Commission’s recommendation and denied the rezoning application, in response to a campaign by local residents who oppose development in James Island. With his original plan now denied, Kyle decided to develop the property into something that it was already zoned for: a self-storage facility. This type of structure was already approved by the Town Council, so Kyle believed that he could proceed without interference. Kyle even took the extra step of creating a design that would fit in with the town’s aesthetic to cut down on any potential complaints, adding features that would have it blend in with other buildings.

Town Caves to Anti-Development Campaign

Kyle had a clear legal right to build on his property, but he still wanted to make sure the process was smooth. After all, Kyle had grown up in James Island. These were his neighbors, and he cared about his community. So he made sure to work with the town at every step and took numerous meetings with the anti-development activists to address their concerns.

Kyle spent over $100,000 working with the planning commission to address comments from the town about potential problems. He hired a consultant to determine which trees on the property were healthy and could be preserved, modifying his plans to accommodate them. He followed up on every suggestion from the planning committee regarding design and architectural defects.

But none of this was good enough for the anti-development activists. Every time Kyle would respond to a concern, a new one would pop up. The concerns became more numerous and demanding until it became clear the only thing that would appease them would be no development at all. And while Kyle was acting in good faith, the activists continued their efforts to influence the mayor and council members to not only deny his permit, but to try to cancel the sale of the property entirely and prevent all development. When the sale still eventually went through, the town resorted to their ultimate tool to stop him from building—taking his property through eminent domain.

The town served Kyle with a condemnation notice in May 2024, claiming that they would be taking his land to create a “public park.”

Park or Pretext? James Island Abuses Eminent Domain

The condemnation notice was the first time Kyle heard anything about the land becoming a park. In fact, it was the first time anyone heard anything about the land becoming a park. That’s because the proposed “park” was just a pretext for stopping Kyle from building on his own land.

Proper park planning is a long-term process. Government officials, in consultation with the public, typically consider various sites, set aside funds, and engage in a detailed design process. It can take years. James Island did no such planning. The town never designated Kyle’s land as “Institutional/Special Purpose,” which can be used for recreation. The town never designated Kyle’s land as a “Community Facility,” which includes Parks and Recreation Services. And when given the chance, the town did not express interest or try to purchase Kyle’s land when it was listed for sale three separate times before Kyle bought it. The town has no budget to acquire Kyle’s land, design the park, or build the park and the town had no design, drawing, or plan of the park when they sent Kyle the condemnation notice. In fact, the town’s purported “plan” was nothing more than a pencil sketch that was created after they already decided to pursue eminent domain. The town refused to turn this sketch over when asked—forcing Kyle to submit a formal request to view the government document. A casual glance would also reveal the land itself is ill suited to be a park. The area is long and narrow, and wedged in between housing and a strip mall, making pedestrian access difficult.

Eminent domain, already a contentious subject, is supposed to only be used for a public use. But in the case of Kyle’s property, the government of James Island is not using eminent domain because it genuinely wants to turn Kyle’s property into a park. They’re using eminent domain because they are tired of dealing with him, and this allows them to keep the land the way it is—a skinny strip of land, fenced-in and forested, near a busy road with no sidewalk.

Legal Claims

The town’s use of eminent domain to stop Kyle from lawfully using his own property violates the U.S. Constitution. The Public Use Clause of the Fifth Amendment requires that James Island’s asserted public use for taking Kyle’s land is the actual reason the town is taking the property. The town’s attempt to justify its use of eminent domain by taking the land for a park is mere pretext. Courts around the country have rejected similar attempts to use eminent domain as a sort of “stealth-zoning” tool.¹ The town’s complete lack of a plan for a park viewed in light of the town’s sudden change from full support to condemnation—after public outcry from politically connected individuals—makes it clear that the town is not really using eminent domain for a public use. Instead, James Island is using eminent domain only to stop Kyle from building on the land he bought with his hard-earned money. That is an unconstitutional abuse of eminent domain.

The Litigation Team

This case is being litigated by IJ Senior Attorney Jeff Redfern and IJ Litigation Fellow An Altik.

About the Institute for Justice

The Institute for Justice is the nation’s leading defender of property rights and has led the fight against eminent domain abuse for decades. In addition to litigating the landmark Kelo case, IJ has defended the property of beloved Atlantic City piano tuner Charlie Birnbaum and is battling against eminent domain right now in Sparta, GA, Freeport, TX, Ocean Springs, MS, and Brentwood, MO.

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - The owner and developer of a property on James Island is explaining their development plan and why they are suing the town over their land for the first time since controversy over its use began in 2023.

The property in question is about 1.2 acres out of an about six-acre lot off Dills Bluff Road. The land is owned by KT Properties. Principal Owner Kyle Taylor says he calls the Lowcountry home.

“James Island is a special place. I’m from James Island. The people are tough, the people are patriotic, sometimes the people are loud,” Taylor says.

Taylor started the process of buying about 1.2 acres on Dills Bluff Road in 2021 with plans to develop it. The plans had hoped to rezone the land for more commercial use but faced some nearby neighborhoods. Since then, KT properties shifted and proposed to build within the zoning, including some homes and a storage facility.

James Island residents expressed their opinions against the proposed development back in 2023.

“But I think the process, at least was as good as it could have been, and we tried to engage as much as we could, and engage early,” Taylar says.

KT Properties purchased the land from the James Island Public Service District. Taylor says while working through the final phases to purchase the property in 2024, the town got involved.

“Eminent domain was certainly surprising,” Taylor says.

Attorneys with the Institute for Justice are representing Taylor in a case challenging the town’s use of eminent domain.

“So eminent domain is the only legal way for the government to take your property. I would say that it has very, very limited use and has been expanded recently,” attorney An Altic says.

A common example of eminent domain used for a public purpose is the government buying land needed to build a new road, to alleviate traffic. Taylor’s attorney with the Institute for Justice says this situation is different than most.

“They resorted to the extreme measure of eminent domain to forcibly take his property simply because they don’t want any development on that land,” Altic says.

The Town of James Island filed an intent to condemn the land and pay the assessed value of $600,000 in 2024. At the time of the filings, the town said their master plan includes pursuing more green space, and this action aligns with their master plan.

While the Town of James Island doesn’t comment on pending litigation, a spokesperson says the Town looks forward to defending this case vigorously in court, and will not be bullied by the developer-friendly national law firm that’s chosen to intervene in this South Carolina case.

The town also provided a list of three facts the Town wishes to emphasize about the situation:

Any action on the land is on pause while the lawsuits play out in court.

“We’re willing to take it up as far as it as far as it needs to go up to the South Carolina Supreme Court if needed,” Altic says.

“This case, I think, raises a lot of constitutional questions, which is the heart of this case, and we’re not only trying to protect the rights of this property, but really the rights of everyone that could be affected by what may be illegitimate use of eminent domain and abuse of eminent domain, and so we’re trying to protect not only this property, but really everybody’s property,” Taylor says.

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