Last week, this blog discussed a real estate dispute between a developer and a 93-year-old great-great-grandmother in Hilton Head who said her husband’s family has owned the property since the Civil War. This week, we turn to a similar story in St. Helena Island.

NPR reported on August 3 that residents of St. Helena Island have banded together to protect the culture of the Gullah Geechee people from a golf course development. You can read NPR’s story here.

The story reports that St. Helena Island has a decade’s old zoning ordinance that bans golf courses, resorts and gated communities, which the Gullah Geechee people say threaten their existence. Direct descendants of slaves have farmed and fished St. Helena Island for nearly 200 years, using their own language, culture and traditions.

NPR reports that developer Elvio Tropeano purchased 500 acres and wants to build a golf course despite the zoning ordinance. He contends the golf course would benefit the community by allowing public access and attracting visitors who would become educated about the Gullah Geechee people and spend funds that would support their culture. If he is unable to build the golf course, he threatens to build more than 160 luxury homes. According to the NPR story, some locals believe the subdivision would be worse than the golf course. They prefer to have the land sustained the way it is, unspoiled and resilient.

These stories are certainly not the first South Carolina tales we have heard about disputes between locals and developers and pressures on “heirs property” and other undeveloped, pristine real estate. The pressures seem to be building!