Terry Laseter of Okatie fears his simple rural life is about to disappear. That's because the area around his Cherry Point neighborhood, near Okatie Elementary School in Beaufort County is being considered for a new development that would include commercial and residential development...even perhaps a new school and nursing home. But Laseter says if you add all that...then you're really taking away from the area's beauty.
"We would lose our identity,” Laseter said. “We wouldn't be the tucked in the woods type of area that we love and that we've been here for 17 years enjoying."
But those behind the plan's layout say this is the smartest solution to handling the growth that's coming our way.
Dirt roads and dense woods ...the clear signs of country living. But just behind you is Highway 170, now four lanes, which is one of the first moves that drove rural right out of the area, according to planner John Thomas.
"Well, in reality they don't have a rural life,” Thomas said. “I mean, I know they have the little lots behind the river back there but the fact is that it’s an urban area and this is a rapidly developing urban area."
And although neighbors like Terry Laseter see the idea of a live-work-eat and shop location here as a bad move, the ones behind the research say this is smart growth.
"The more people walk and the less they drive, the safer the communities are going to be,” Thomas said. And this community we've designed has over 44% open space and every kid in this community would be within a 10 minute walk to school."
And Thomas says this is exactly what the people really want: less driving and more convenience, while saving space at the same time.
"If we don't get smarter about the way we develop we're going to destroy the very thing we want to preserve: the open space, the estuaries, and the very things that make Beaufort County unique,” Thomas said.
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