{"id":36,"date":"2023-07-13T13:41:24","date_gmt":"2023-07-13T13:41:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/localcrat.com\/stard-blog\/?p=36"},"modified":"2023-07-20T15:32:58","modified_gmt":"2023-07-20T15:32:58","slug":"re-july-10-2023-meeting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/localcrat.com\/stard-blog\/2023\/07\/13\/re-july-10-2023-meeting\/","title":{"rendered":"Citizens are committed to preserving The Pearl"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Atlantic Beach Neighbors and Contributors of STARD,<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\">\n<div class=\"default-style\">\n<div class=\"default-style\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\">Today we face a critical moment in our fight against gentrification by a New York condo\/hotel developer on the precious environmental and cultural landscape of Atlantic Beach.\u00a0 The stakes are high, and our energy must match the magnitude of this threat.<\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\">On July 10,2023, Jacqueline Gore, Mayor Jake Evans, and Josephine Isom, long-serving members of the Atlantic Beach Council, shamefully voted in favor of zoning changes that pave the way for the developer, Charles Morant&#8217;s application to build a 21-story hotel\/condo on the oceanfront.\u00a0 A shocked and crowded community center watched the council betray the very essence of our community.<\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\">True to their intentions, on July 11th, Morant&#8217;s group submitted their application to build, ready to irrevocably alter the fabric of Atlantic Beach.<\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\">Many of you were there or watched during the council meeting, where our fellow residents, property owners and esteemed organizations like the NAACP spoke loudly, urged and pleaded with the council, unified, and expressing collective disapproval of the proposed high-rise project.<\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\">We called for our elected officials to reject this zoning change and fulfill their duty with a thorough review of the outdated comprehensive plan and conduct due diligence before casting their votes.<\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\">However, our pleas fell on deaf ears.\u00a0 It&#8217;s apparent that Benjamin Quattlebaum, the town manager, orchestrated this ordinance in favor of the developer.\u00a0 Leigh Kane, the Local Planning Services Director of the Waccamaw Council of Governments, was conveniently commissioned to write the ordinance, impacting only the parcels crucial to the developer&#8217;s plans.\u00a0 This smells like nothing short of illegal spot zoning.<\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\">The Supreme Court of South Carolina defines spot zoning as, the process of singling out a small parcel of land for use classification total different from that of the surrounding area, for the benefit of the owners of that property and to the detriment of other owners.&#8221; Clearly this zoning approval aligns perfectly with that definition.<\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\"><strong>What happens now?\u00a0 For us, supporters of STARD, this is a marathon, not a sprint.\u00a0\u00a0BECAUSE OF YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS OUR CITIZEN&#8217;S GROUP IS POISED TO TAKE SWIFT LEGAL ACTION TO FILE OUR LAWSUIT AGAINST THE DEVELOPER, INVOKING THE POWER OF THE TYSON RESIDENTIAL DEED RESTRICTIONS ON THE OCEANFRONT.<\/strong><\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\">Remember, our lawsuit and the expenses incurred administering STARD are funded entirely by contributions.\u00a0 That is what fuels our actions.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>https:\/\/no-beachfront-high-rises.com\/<\/strong><\/div>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\">We urge you to share our website with the donation link with everyone you know.\u00a0 Help us to bolster our war chest and remain ready to repel this assault on the Black Pearl.\u00a0 Our strength lies in our unity.\u00a0 Follow, like and share our social media platforms.\u00a0 Amplify our message and raise awareness about the inadequacy of members in this Council and the lack of transparent government in our community.\u00a0 Atlantic Beach residents &#8211; register and vote for new candidates running for Town Council in the upcoming November 2023 election.\u00a0 Reaffirm our commitment to effective change.<\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\">Above all, remain positive and patient.\u00a0 Victory is not won until the final bell tolls.\u00a0 We are resilient, and our unwavering determination will carry us through this journey.\u00a0 Together, we will prevail.<\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\">Sincerely,<\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\">STARD Organizers<\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/LstBlakBeachTwn\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/LstBlakBeachTwn\/<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\"><a href=\"https:\/\/no-beachfront-high-rises.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/no-beachfront-high-rises.com\/<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"default-style\"><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LstBlakBeachTwn\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">https:\/\/twitter.com\/LstBlakBeachTwn<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<div><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-37 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/localcrat.com\/stard-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0257-300x183.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"183\" srcset=\"https:\/\/localcrat.com\/stard-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0257-300x183.jpeg 300w, https:\/\/localcrat.com\/stard-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0257-1024x625.jpeg 1024w, https:\/\/localcrat.com\/stard-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0257-768x469.jpeg 768w, https:\/\/localcrat.com\/stard-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0257-1536x937.jpeg 1536w, https:\/\/localcrat.com\/stard-blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/IMG_0257.jpeg 1562w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; Atlantic Beach Neighbors and Contributors of STARD, Today we face a critical moment in our fight against gentrification by a New York condo\/hotel developer on the precious environmental and cultural landscape of Atlantic Beach.\u00a0 The stakes are high, and our energy must match the magnitude of this threat. On July 10,2023, Jacqueline Gore, Mayor&hellip; <a class=\"more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/localcrat.com\/stard-blog\/2023\/07\/13\/re-july-10-2023-meeting\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">Citizens are committed to preserving The Pearl<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":41,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8,4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hot-topics","category-townnews","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/localcrat.com\/stard-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/localcrat.com\/stard-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/localcrat.com\/stard-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localcrat.com\/stard-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localcrat.com\/stard-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/localcrat.com\/stard-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48,"href":"https:\/\/localcrat.com\/stard-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36\/revisions\/48"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localcrat.com\/stard-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/localcrat.com\/stard-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localcrat.com\/stard-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/localcrat.com\/stard-blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}