lives richly lived vs.empty plans for the lives of the rich

"We only want what y'all have."

Who am I, neither native to this place nor landowner? Who was anyone assembled in the room to argue what a landowner can and can't do with his property? Any exchange of land and vegetation for cement and vinyl strikes at my core. A tired cotton field covered with kudzu holds more aesthetic value than any brick and stone or log and glass construction. But I didn't go to the hearing to rail against development and developers. As nice as it would be to see an end to all development in the South Carolina mountains, to say enough is enough, there isn't much room for that kind of talk and it isn't likely stop the march of retiring baby boomers to the mountains of the Carolinas. The developer had a point. He only wants what we have. We live in houses. Shouldn't the people he's building for have that right? Who was there to stop us when farm or forest was cleared to put up the houses we live in? His argument had trouble even making it to the base of the mountain he's planning to develop.

Many people assembled for the hearing, the rows of gray and graying heads grew up in the valley below that mountain. It's the kind of valley that I remember the first time I set eyes on it. Some places, like one I'll call Hard Times Hollow with its packs of dogs and piles of debris and tracks for offroading and windowless shacks are best forgotten. This valley, one I cannot even name for it is too precious to advertise, is a place time seemed to forget, minus the telephone poles. When I saw a white farmhouse nestled in the heart of the valley, it rekindled the fantasy that watching Cold Mountain set in motion. Rare do our fantasies manifest in real landscapes. The high cost of land there quickly dissuaded my delusions of starting an organic farm in this dreamy landscape where they could have filmed the movie. It is speculated that Civil War deserters hid out in these hills. Skirmishes were fought between the British and colonists and native Cherokees. It is easy to see why the Cherokees settled along the scenic trout waters. A member of a local tribe spoke to this issue, the implications of a gated community, and the disturbance of land that holds the bones of his ancestors. Area residents invoked history, identity and character as they spoke of family land and wild turkeys crossing roads and children learning to hunt black bear with their grandfather now that populations have rebounded.

These moving testaments to lives richly lived served in stark contrast to the empty plans for the lives of the rich. 30-something single family, residential "cabins" marketed as second homes will occupy 50-something acres in the first phase of a potentially 500+ acre development. As the planning commission moved toward their inevitable decision, they asked several points of clarification. This is a low impact development in accordance with the demands of the marketplace. The developer didn't shy away from explaining that baby boomers want trees saved. He is following the rules and county staff attested to his compliance. He made a point to emphasize how adhering to such rules (such as erecting silt fences) can be a lot of work, an effort that we didn't have to make back when our houses were built. He conveniently neglected the research that demonstrates how insufficient many of these soil and erosion control measures are, especially in fragile habitats such as this. It is easy to measure up when the standards are set so low. This is also a low-impact development because the "cabins" are spaced out on 1+ acre lots. Low impact should imply using less land. Somehow folks tend to think that the bear and deer and turkeys will prefer the spaces between yards. Gated community is code around here for classiness, an implication that a mountain is improved by such a neighborhood. In a light exchange, one of the commissioners asked the developer to confirm that no "double-wides" will be constructed. Phew! Good thing they won't be clearing a rich ecosystem for a trailer.

A road is a road. A septic system is a septic system whether it’s percolating the shit of the rich or the poor. The soils disturbed to treat the waste are rich. They have a high pH and are the result of the weathering of amphibolite rock. This fact is significant because the conditions have resulted in enormous plant diversity. There are some plants that only grow in these areas. The mountain slated for development is an extremely valuable habitat for rare plants (preliminary surveys suggest the possibility of new species). Old trees are rumored to grow in these woods. The mountain is adjacent to already protected lands and is part of a larger, wildlife corridor hosting the state's largest concentration of black bear.

The verdict was delivered, had been decided before we stepped into the hearing. It was the only option given the current language of codes and ordinances, the commission had no choice but to approve the development. I sympathize with the predicament of the citizens carrying out their civic duty on the commission. They suggested those who are concerned get involved in the process. Sometime in the next year the county council will update development ordinances. We don't use the word Zoning around here. One commissioner in an aside talked about how he doesn't like it, echoed the familiar sentiment that no one wants to be told what to do with their property. And therein the dilemma. We could get involved, try to change the language of the system so that it recognizes at least the most valuable of landscapes in our county and prevents their mindless development. But we have a fundamental problem of translation. How will we ever agree to any protections if there is such strong opposition for zoning? These thorny policy questions were beyond the scope of last night's hearing. A language doesn't even exist to describe the loss of this special place and the changes the development will bring to this idyllic valley.