Dorchester Residents for Planned Growth

Mead Westvaco Announces Plan to Develop Property

The recent announcement by the timber company MeadWestvaco to dispose of their 72,000 acres of land in Dorchester County and Charleston County should send a shiver up the spines of local residents. As you can see on the map, this property is nearly as large as all of the developed land in the cities of Charleston, North Charleston and Summerville combined.

As we have seen with Watson Hill and Poplar Grove, MeadWestvaco has been less than responsible to the needs and the wishes of residents of Dorchester County as they have made land sale decisions. The potential development of Watson Hill now threatens to undermine one of Dorchester County’s most precious resources, the Ashley River Historic District. Poplar Grove was preserved only after the Herculean efforts of local conservationists produced $12 million to ensure limited development on the property.

The level of uncertainty associated with the future of the MeadWestvaco lands should worry everyone in the region. It will be imperative that county council work to reduce the impact the development on this land will have in the county. Residents of Dorchester County are fed up with the intense residential growth which has eroded their quality of life over the past decade, and the future of the MeadWestvaco property needs to be a priority of land use planning efforts.

Coincidentally, Dorchester County is currently updating their Comprehensive Land Use Plan. This plan is basically a blue print for future growth in the county based on public input, but the planning process must now consider the impact of the MeadWestvaco properties and how these two plans can work in concert with one another.

A lot of good can come from MeadWestvaco’s apparent willingness to work with the public on a plan for the future use of their land, but it is imperative that the residents of Dorchester County make sure county council knows how and where they would like to see the county grow.

A good first step will be expressing your concern over the future development of the MeadWestvaco property to Dorchester County Council. Whether it’s by email or from a phone call, please make your concern known.

You can find the contact information for Dorchester County Council by clicking here.

MeadWestvaco has also set up a website containing information about the future of this property. Click here to visit the site.