Probate Lawyer in Port Royal, SC

Indications are new mystery developer’s plans a step in right direction

By Scott Graber

The Island News

In 2004, 20 years ago, then-Governor Mark Sanford called for the selling of the Port of Port Royal. In that year the General Assembly passed legislation ordering the Ports Authority to sell its Port Royal Terminal and allow the Town to plan the commercial and residential future of this site.

In 2005, the Town hired a design firm out of Baltimore — Design Collective — to reimagine and redesign the Port’s waterfront acreage.

Matt D’Amico, a principal in that firm, said at the time, “People wanted to make sure that the (Town) grid extended to the water, so there is a physical and visual connection to the waterfront.”

Over the past 20 years, the notion of “physical and visual connection” with Battery Creek has manifested itself in three planned improvements — a waterfront pedestrian promenade, the Spanish Moss Bike Trail and a vehicular access road that would extend into the site from Ribaut Road.

In the latter part of June 2024, Safe Harbor revealed to the Town of Port Royal that it hoped to enter into a sales contract with reputable, Beaufort-based developer who would develop the “Bluff Neighborhood” and the “Ribaut Village” properties.

The ‘Bluff Neighborhood’ and ‘Ribaut Village’

The “Bluff Neighborhood” and the “Ribaut Village” properties are wooded, heavily vegetated parcels generally located behind a high bluff just South of Ribaut Road as that road descends from the Russell Bell Bridge and passes through Port Royal.

These two parcels have always been deemed more suitable for residential development; for homes, rather than industrial activities, or commercial structures supportive of marina activities.

The sales price is unknown, however, a single appraiser was apparently agreed upon by Safe Harbor and the unknown buyer according to Town of Port Royal Mayor Kevin Phillips. According to Phillips, the unknown buyer-developer has promised to build fewer units than the planned unit development (PUD) permits.

Previously, the Beach Company was identified by Safe Harbor as the likely buyer/builder; and its spokesman indicated that Beach could only develop the residential communities as “build to rent,” citing environmental and economic problems related to the site. However, it appears that the current unknown buyer/builder doesn’t have those concerns.

The Spanish Moss Trail

Safe Harbor previously assured the Town of Port Royal that “the Developer” would honor the proposed extension of the Spanish Moss Trail through the two properties. In fact, the Fish Camp on 11^th Street restaurant built a small segment of the bike trail in its parking lot.

In his January 9, 2024 letter Peter Clark (at Safe Harbor) wrote to Town of Port Royal Town Manager Van Willis, saying, “While neither the PUD, nor the Development Agreement obligate the Developer to do so, Developer has agreed to provide an easement across a portion of the Property for the Spanish Moss Trail.”

In a previous, reimagined rendition of the “Bluff Neighborhood” the Spanish Moss Trail meandered down the middle of a street to be built behind the first row of waterfront, top of the bluff-oriented houses.

Dean Moss, President of the Spanish Moss Trail Association, has a copy of this proposed, unexecuted easement and said the trail will be 24-feet wide as it comes across Ribaut Road, eventually connecting with an existing, short segment (of the Trail) that bisects the parking lot at the Fish Camp Restaurant.

Moss believes that The Trail will then transit a narrow, unimproved stretch of land (currently featuring several picnic tables) that would presumably contain a vehicular access road, the 24-foot wide bike trail, and, perhaps, a waterfront walking promenade that is described as extending through the “Marina Village” and the “Port Village” in the PUD document dated November 9, 2011.

Moss says the bike trail will eventually veer to the East (after passing through the Fish Camp parking lot and the narrow choke-point below the parking lot) and then follow 8th Street in an easterly direction until it intersects with the park sometimes called the London Avenue Park.

If this is the bike trail’s eventual route, it would not pass around (or near) the site of the massive transit shed built by the Ports Authority (Pier 21) in 1958 — a structure has since been demolished by Safe Harbor.

It is further noted that the Town has put markings on 7th Street and on the Sands Beach Road indicating that this is how current bike riders should access the Sands Beach.

The waterfront walkway

The “deeded waterfront public walkway” described in sections 5.3.3 and 5.3.4 of the PUD was briefly referenced in a letter from Willis to Safe Harbor’s Carla Ferguson dated March 20, 2024.

In that letter, Willis wrote, “This is further noted that Sections 5.3.3 and 5.3.4 of the PUD (as amended pursuant to the July 14, 2021, amendment thereto) set forth certain open space requirements, including a deeded walkway/promenade that extends through the MV and PV Planning Districts to connect the Town’s Sands Beach Area Access Boardwalk.”

The “Marina Village” and “Port Village” segments (on the previous Grey Ghost illustrations) do not actually show where the “waterfront walking promenade” will be located, but one assumes that the PUD, as amended, still mandates a “waterside walkway/promenade” giving the public access to Battery Creek as was called for in 2005.

It has also been revealed that Safe Harbor is still awaiting its permit for the Marina, that permit coming from the State of South Carolina. Notwithstanding the lack of progress, there is a feeling of optimism (at Town Hall) that something tangible will happen in the near future.

However, when contacted by The Island News, officials with Safe Harbor declined to comment on details of the impending sale, the name of the “developer” of the Bluff Neighborhood and Ribaut Village properties, or the path of the pedestrian promenade below Fish Camp.

Scott Graber is a lawyer, novelist, veteran columnist and longtime resident of Port Royal. He can be reached at cscottgraber@gmail.com.

Recreation fishing and serious science are rarely on display in one activity but in late September, as anglers hook redfish, southern flounder, spotted sea trout, cobia, tarpons and sharks during a one-of-a-kind fishing tournament, they will be also helping sustain the local ecosystem.

South Carolina’s Port Royal Sound has a unique watershed comprised of water, land and expansive salt marsh, bigger than the state of Rhode Island, says Chris Kehrer the science program manager of the Port Royal Sound Foundation.

The foundation has come up with a new way to assist in the collection of vital data as part of its work to protect it and it’s called the Port Royal Sound Inshore Slam. But catching the biggest fish won’t be the only aim of the first-of-a-kind fishing tournament for the area.

In this case, tournament participants will where two hats: angler and citizen scientist. When the tournament opens at 6am, Sept 27 hundreds of anglers will be unleashed along the shores into the crooks and crannies and open waters of the 1,600 square-mile watershed in September and October. Besides having fun and competing for $10,000 in cash prizes, their job over the 10-day tournament will be recording any fish they catch for the sake of research. That information will then be turned over to the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources.

Port Royal Sound is the deepest natural harbor on the East Coast south of Chesapeake Bay. With waters reaching 60 feet deep in places, it features high-salinity ocean rivers such as the Broad and May that extend up to 30 miles inland.

As a result of the salty tidal inlets, it is not uncommon to see such ocean species such as cobia, tarpons and sharks deep in the interior in places where they would not otherwise be found, Kehrer says. Both tarpon and a 5-foot blacktip shark have recently been spotted off the dock at the foundation’s Okatie Highway Maritime Center.

“It’s a really unique ecology that exists here,” Kehrer says.

But more information is needed on the diversity and density of the smorgasbord of species that thrive in this lifeblood flowing through Lowcountry rivers, says Kehrer. Fisheries managers can only do so much, he added.

Jody Hayward, executive director of the Port Royal Sound Foundation, says the different kind of fishing tournament is another way to contribute to the health of the Port Royal Sound “so it remains clean and healthy.”

“Tourism relies on the Port Royal Sound and we have to take care of it and we have to protect it,” Hayward says, “and getting residents involved, being a part of that process, is really important and that tournament helps to do that.”

An inshore slam is a fishing challenge where anglers attempt to catch three inshore species. In this case, redfish, southern flounder and spotted sea trout will be targeted. The winner will have the overall longest aggregate length of each of those three species (redfish over 32 inches, referred to as bull redfish, will not be counted to conserve fish returning to inshore waters to spawn during early fall).

But this tournament will have one big difference from typical contests. Any fish species that participants reel in will be photographed and measured using the MyCatch phone app. That important catch data, in turn, will be shared with SCDNR researchers to help better understand and protect the fishery.

“It’s a snapshot really of a variety of fish being caught in Port Royal Sound,” Hayward says.

Earlier this year, a research symposium was conducted at the Maritime Center. One of the needs highlighted was more information about Port Royal Sound fish, Hayward said.

SCDNR regularly conducts fish surveys at specific locations but the agency can’t get to all of the smaller creek areas, Kehrer says. Port Royal Sound is really large, he adds. As for fishermen, they don’t routinely record everything they catch. The tournament offers an opportunity for them to make a real contribution to important data collection, he says.

“It’s very difficult for SCDNR to get this widespread data set across this massive area so hopefully this will be helpful for them,” Kehrer said.

The tournament boundaries will allow residents from across the region to participate: The northern boundary stretches from Dawson’s Landing in the Coosawhatchie River across to the northern end of Bray’s Island, and Huspah Creek to the creek fork at the southern end of Bull Point. The western boundary includes Knowles Branches, Coles Creek, Euhaw Creek, Hazards Creek and the Okatie and May rivers.

The southwest boundary covers the western end of Daufuskie Island and the saltwater section of the New River, while the Southeastern boundary is up to one mile off the shores of Hilton Head, Bay Point, Pritchards, Fripp, Hunting and Harbor islands.

The northeastern boundary includes Whale Branch and the Coosaw River up to Parrot Creek, including Morgan Island, along St.Helena Island, and just outside of Harbor River.

St. Helena Sound is not within the tournament boundary.

The Foundation and SCDNR are teaming Angler’s Atlas, a mobile app dedicated to sport fishing and citizen science, on the inshore slam because it provides an opportunity to gather data about the fish living in coastal South Carolina during the fall months. Angler’s Atlas says it will not release any MyCatch GPS data, meaning fishing spots will remain secret.

“Along with our long-term sampling programs, angler catch data provides us with an important tool to help manage our fisheries for sustainability,” said Matt Perkinson, a spokesman for SCDNR’s Marine Resources Division.

The cost is $40 for youth and $80 for adults with the proceeds going toward the foundation’s conservation mission. The early bird registration deadline is 5 p.m. Aug. 15. The tournament opens at 6 a.m. Sept. 27 and ends at 6 p.m. Oct. 6. Check out https://portroyalsoundfoundation.org/inshore-slam/ for more information.

This story was originally published July 30, 2024, 1:01 PM.

The Island Packet

843-256-3420

Karl Puckett covers the city of Beaufort, town of Port Royal and other communities north of the Broad River for The Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet. The Minnesota native also has worked at newspapers in his home state, Alaska, Wisconsin and Montana.

Plank-Buccola promoted from Director of Administrative Services

By Delayna Earley

The Island News

For the first time in 20 years, Port Royal has an Assistant Town Manager.

During the July 10 Town Council meeting, Town Manager Van Willis announced that Brooke Plank-Buccola was being promoted to the position of Assistant Town Manager.

“I am absolutely thrilled and overjoyed about my promotion. This opportunity means so much to me, and I am genuinely grateful for the trust and confidence placed in me by the Town Manager, the Mayor and Council Members, my co-workers and the residents of Port Royal,” said Plank-Buccola.

Plank-Buccola was hired to the town in 2017 as the Clerk of Council, but Willis said that it was apparent that she was capable of doing more than that role required of her.

She was promoted to Director of Administrative Services a few years later, and as of July 1, she started in her new role.

“As the town has grown physically and fiscally, there are just a lot of additional responsibilities that I have just undertook over the past few decades, and it will be nice to kind of spread that burden to Brooke,” said Willis. “It just seemed like a natural progression of her to that position.”

Willis said that it was hard to delegate at first since he has been doing it on his own for so long, but after seeing her tackle a few smaller projects and how she handled those, he is confident in her ability to handle this new role.

Plank-Buccola will work with Willis on budgeting, planning, and personnel issues, as well as capital projects in Port Royal.

“In a small town, with a very small staff, there really is no perfect job description,” Willis said. “You have to do anything and everything on a daily basis and you have no idea what that is going to be from day to day.”

When asked what she thinks she can bring to the job, Plank-Buccola responded that she thinks she can bring a “combination of collaborative leadership and a deep commitment to the community that’s known for being cool, coastal and far from ordinary.”

Plank-Buccola is currently pursuing her Master’s degree in Public Administration from Clemson University.

Willis said that her willingness and ability to take on the additional responsibilities at work and her initiative to pursue her Master’s degree were two things that solidified her as the right candidate for this position.

“To be perfectly honest with you, I’m not old, I probably have about a 10-year window of continued employment here,” Willis said. “I want to make sure the town is left in good hands.”

Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.

By Scott Graber

It is Saturday, early, and I’m at my pine-planked, dining room table in Port Royal. The news this morning centers on the waterfront in Beaufort and in Port Royal.

Both, we learn, are about to change.

Port Royal will abandon its semi-industrial look for a waterfront featuring a sleek, recumbent population of white, fiberglass-hulled boats, patiently awaiting their weekend captains from Greenville and Atlanta. Beaufort’s waterfront may get a new, two and three-storied building with a rooftop bar.

I must say that I have memories of rooftop drinking and remember when one had to travel North (or West) for this privilege. In my case it was New York’s Rainbow Grill, high above Rockefeller Center, where one could buy an Old Fashioned, a small bowl of mixed nuts and a view for about $10.

After Susan and I landed at LaGuardia our first stop was always the Grill. In the early 70s we would board the Grill-dedicated elevator praying for a table with a view — a view then including the Chrysler Building and the newly built Twin Towers.

We did this for 5 years before being lured over to Campbell Apartment, a dark, semi-secret bar hidden above the Main Concourse at Grand Central.

For those of confined in Beaufort County there was the Crow’s Nest on Hilton Head that gave one a slightly elevated view of the Atlantic Ocean. But if one was willing to travel (to Atlanta) there was John Portman’s “Polaris” atop the Hyatt Regency.

Portman followed that revolving restaurant with “Sun Dial” at the Peachtree Plaza. I remember sitting in this hotel and admiring the tall, dark haired waitresses wearing slate gray skirts.

“John Portman designed those women as well” Jim Thomas said as we sipped our Dewars.

And who could resist a drive to South of the Border and a climb to the top of Pedro’s iconic sombrero? Those who made that trek were sometimes rewarded, depending on barometric pressure, with the distant lights of Dillon, S.C. But it wasn’t long after that ascent that Susan and I discovered the Pisgah Inn at Milepost 408.6 on the Blue Ridge Parkway.

The dining room at Pisgah, at elevation 5,000 ft., overlooks the soft-shouldered, oak, laurel and fir carpeted mountains just below its huge windows. It’s restaurant offers a variety of entrees, but one should not dismiss the trout which is filleted at one’s table.

But it’s the view, looking east into North and South Carolina, that makes this place magical. It is the unbroken, unimproved, unaltered view that, in those days, came with a dollop of fatigue — fabulous fatigue that came after an ascent up Black Balsam Knob and then up and over to Shining Rock. It was a fatigue that enveloped our small, fragile family sitting, if just for an hour, at the top of the world.

Some years later I found myself atop the M’Bamou Palace Hotel in Brazzaville. Their rooftop bar came with its view of Kinshasa just across the Zaire River. That bar featured Johnny Walker Black — flown in from Paris — and cohort of beautiful Black prostitutes. But the real draw was balcony seating for the civil war then underway in Zaire.

I remember sitting with a reporter from the Wall Street Journal talking about Mobutu Sese Seko and whether he would survive this mutiny. It seems that inflation finally made his money — bills featuring Mobutu’s imperial face and figure — worthless. The rebellious troops had left their barracks and found machine guns and tracer ammunition that lit up the nighttime sky.

More recently I found myself atop the Perry Lane Hotel in downtown Savannah. My son, his wife, Susan and I were watching the building-sized container ships squeeze under the Talmadge Bridge. I remember saying that the Savannah port people made their deal with China and Charleston’s customers were mostly in Europe.

The kids seemed distracted, frequently looking down at their cell phones. We would later discover that while we watched 100 of our friends were gathering below to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary.

Now it appears that Beaufort will have a choice of rooftop bars in which to do its drinking. Dick Stewart is building one on Port Republic Street; Graham Trask is putting his bar in place just off Bay Street. For those of us who once nursed our Mojitos at the John Cross Tavern — or traveled North and West — this is a future we could not imagine.

Scott Graber is a lawyer, novelist, veteran columnist and longtime resident of Port Royal. He can be reached at cscottgraber@gmail.com.

Many locals say that the entire American South is underappreciated, but big cities like New Orleans, Austin, Atlanta, and Jacksonville certainly get their due. This list is about small Southern communities that plenty of Americans, including some Southerners, have not even heard about. And yet, these places are percolating with beaches, parks, caves, springs, museums, restaurants, sea turtles, and spaceships. Here are seven such gems hidden deep in the Deep South.

Bay St. Louis, Mississippi

The forgotten coastal state of Mississippi has more than 60 miles of Gulf of Mexico coastline stuffed with scenic communities. The best of these is Bay St. Louis. Named for the adjoining Bay of St. Louis, this 9,000ish-person "city" has one of the state's highest-rated beaches and many associated activities. Beachgoers who do not skip Mississippi in favor of Texas or Florida can enjoy swimming, sunbathing, kayaking, canoeing, paddleboarding, boating, fishing, and beachcombing on the gorgeous Bay St. Louis waterfront. Then, they can head downtown for sights at the Alice Moseley Folk Art Museum and bites at The Blind Tiger. Lastly, if you thought Bay St. Louis could not be any less Mississippi-like, it sits about 20 minutes away from NASA's Stennis Space Center. This astronomically amazing facility can be toured on certain days.

Port Royal, South Carolina

Considered the most underrated town in South Carolina, Port Royal makes Beaufort seem like Charleston. Though Port Royal and Beaufort have similar populations and sit side by side on the SC coast, the former gets less attention and respect, according to Port Royal town manager Van Willis. It also gets less respect than other Beaufort County neighbors like Hilton Head and Bluffton. This is despite Port Royal having a mix of aesthetic homes, excellent amenities, and beautiful nature. Visitors can tour the Old Village, dine at Fishcamp, glimpse birds and gators at the Port Royal Cypress Wetlands and Rookery, and then crash at Cabana Madrid. Port Royal's downtown streets are elegantly named Madrid Avenue, Paris Avenue, and London Avenue.

Magnolia Springs, Alabama

Is there anything quainter than receiving your mail by motorboat? Magnolia Springs, a riverside town in Alabama, is the only residential community in America with year-round USPS water delivery. Between mailboxes lining the Magnolia River and sprawling oaks lining Magnolia Springs' streets are lots of attractions for a town of approximately 800 people. Delectable eateries include The Mag: Dive Bar & Grill and Jesse's Restaurant, while comforting inns comprise the Magnolia Springs Bed and Breakfast. That cozy retreat sits inside the Tunnel Of Trees, where the aforementioned oaks are so immense as to wrap their limbs around multi-story buildings. Appropriately, the tunnel is on Oak Street.

St. Francisville, Louisiana

Another Southern town enmeshed in Spanish moss-draped oak trees, St. Francisville, has some of Louisiana's prettiest buildings in its verdant clutches. This 1,500ish-person community thrived during the Antebellum era, so when slavery ended, its prosperous plantations were preserved as historic sites or turned into bed & breakfasts. Visitors can tour the Rosedown Plantation State Historic Site and then stay at The Myrtles, an expansive 18th-century estate with a hotel, restaurant, cafe, and even a lake. Although underrated to most Americans, The Myrtles is perhaps overrated to ghost hunters since it has been named the most haunted house in America.

After a hauntingly scenic survey of St. Francisville, you can cleanse your mind at numerous nearby refuges like the Afton Villa Gardens, Tunica Hills Wildlife Management Area, Cat Island National Wildlife Refuge, and Clark Creek Natural Area, the last of which is in Mississippi.

Wimberley, Texas

A true Texas oasis, Wimberley is home to the Blue Hole, a natural spring-fed swimming pool centering the scenic cypress forest of Blue Hole Regional Park. In addition to swimming, visitors can go hiking, biking, picnicking, sunbathing, and swinging from a rope to plunge into the blue-tinged water. But that is not the only colorful lagoon in the Wimberley area. Just north of town sits Jacob's Well, another blue, spring-fed hole connected to an enormous underwater cave system. It, too, has its own nature preserve for recreation and sightseeing, but the well is closed for swimming.

Colorful in a much different way, Wimberley proper has around 2,800 residents, who join smatterings of tourists at the EmilyAnn Theatre, Pioneer Town, Creekside Vintage, and Lodge at Cypress Falls, all of which pay homage to different American eras.

Juno Beach, Florida

Still serene despite constant encroachment from its Krameresque neighbors, Juno Beach has roughly 4,000 residents and arguably the most pristine beach in Palm Beach County. The Loggerhead Marinelife Center is partly responsible for keeping West Palm Beach bums at bay since it protects a large portion of the waterfront for sea turtles, especially during the nesting season from March to October. Turtle walks and beach cleanups are available for environmentally conscious tourists, as are private hikes in the Juno Dunes Natural Area at the north end of town. For commercially inclined visitors, Juno Beach offers delicious restaurants like Captain Charlie's Reef Grill and Cathy's Beach Connection, plus recreation at Seminole Golf Club and Bert Winters Park.

Cave Spring, Georgia

Sure enough, Cave Spring has both a cave and a spring. Yet neither of those breathtaking attractions, which are located in Rolater Park, have turned the "city" into a tourist trap. Instead, Cave Spring is called "A Hidden Gem Off The Beaten Path."

After spelunking in the 57-degree cave and collecting mineral-rich spring water, travelers who were lucky enough to find Cave Spring can mine more of its gems downtown. There, they can dine at Linde Marie's Steakhouse on the Square, A&B Creekside Restaurant and Catering, Lee’s Donut Shop or Local Joe's before they decide to shop at Evergreen on Broad or Cave Spring Market. Lastly, they would be wise to stop at the Vann Cherokee Cabin, which was built in 1810 by Avery Vann of the Cherokee Nation and is located on the Trail of Tears. This place in Georgia will definitely be on your mind.

The Friendliest Towns In The Southern United StatesWhile every part of the United States has its own culture and traditions, there really is no place in the whole world like the Southern United States to rave about the friendliness of the people.

The American South is a diverse and dynamic region that can be underappreciated, especially outside of urban centers. In those vast areas between cities lie small, scenic haunts perfect for a real deal getaway with real deal Southern charm. Bay St. Louis in Mississippi, Port Royal in South Carolina, Magnolia Springs in Alabama, St. Francisville in Louisiana, Wimberley in Texas, Juno Beach in Florida, and Cave Spring in Georgia can fill the holes in your wannabe Southerner's heart.

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