Board rejects resort plan for South Carolina island

BEAUFORT, S.C. – Officials have rejected plans for a resort on an uninhabited barrier island in South Carolina.

A Beaufort County zoning board voted unanimously Thursday against the project on Bay Point Island, The Post and Courier reported.

“This is a great idea,” Zoning Board of Appeals vice chair Kevin Mack said just before a vote was taken Thursday. “But I just don’t think it’s compatible to the surrounding area. I think it’s going to be more harm to the environment.”

Republican Gov. Henry McMaster and U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham, D-S.C., had written to the board asking it to reject the project, which was presented as an ecotourism destination, the Post and Courier said.

The $100 million project by Thailand-based firm Six Senses would include 50 villas as well as wellness centres, restaurants, a cooking school, an earth lab and a solar farm. Representatives for the development team said its impact on the environment would be low. No paved roads or parking lots would be added, they said.