We live in one of the most beautiful places in the country.  Visitors are drawn to our coast and our communities - and many stay. While this growth is good for our economy and our local businesses, how do we grow without destroying the beauty and quality of life that we and our new neighbors cherish? How do we avoid the mistakes made by other coastal communities?

Many choose to relocate to our District because they are attracted to:  the Myrtle Beach area's entertainment, wide beaches and golf opportunities;  Conway's history, size, boutique shopping and quaintness;   Pawley's Island "elegant but shabby" reputation;  the Neck's great eating, and the grace of beautiful old plantations, coastal parks and gardens;  Georgetown and Summerville's charm and pace;  Dorchester and Berkeley Counties natural attractions and rivers; Awendaw, McClellanville, Ridgeville and Loris's small town family feeling;  Charleston's international reputation and the beauty of our barrier islands.   People are coming - from everywhere - to enjoy what we enjoy.   And, as they come, they threaten our quality of life.

The population of South Carolina's 1^st district has exploded in the last ten years and is projected to top over one million residents by 2010.  While this growth can bring economic opportunity, it can also put a strain on roads, traffic, schools, water, transportation, recreation and wildlife.  How we manage this growth, and act as stewards of this special place, is critically important.

From roads, to schools, to fire and police protection, pollution, water and sewer, traffic and taxes, growth has its challenges and expenses.   The same old way with the same old people in Congress has gotten us less federal help than we need in District 1.   

The time for a new path to smart growth is now.    Although most growth questions are the responsibility of local and state governments, the federal government, and your Congressional Representative, play an important role.   "We need a new federal-state-metro partnership appropriate to today's fast-changing realities that helps metropolitan America to resolve key challenges, and to grow in more productive, inclusive, and sustainable ways." (Brookings Institute)

• Your Congressional Representative should direct federal transportation money toward supporting the regional smart growth plan rather than toward highways which increase the sprawl problem and enrich only local developers.
• In a 2001 Government Accountability Office report, the following suggestions were made to better integrate the federal government with state and local governments in addressing air and water quality through smart growth. I fully support the suggestions.

  Remove barriers to, and provide federal incentives for, "assessing and mitigating the environmental impacts of land use through:
  (1) financial incentives for transportation, environmental, and local decision-makers to collaborate on land use strategies that limit adverse impacts on air and water quality;
  (2) technical capacity to assess and mitigate land use impacts; and
  (3) assistance in educating the public and local officials about the environmental impacts of their transportation and land use decisions and alternative development strategies that better protect air and water quality."

Your Congressional Representative can and should take action to help transportation, air quality, and water quality officials better link land use decisions with environmental protection; and I will.

• The federal government could act as convener for coastal regional planning and provide the information and resources necessary to make growth decisions. As Citistates Group points out, we should encourage "mayors, county officials, planners, engineers, architects, business leaders, environmentalists, land and housing trust groups, minority group representatives" - and federal officials and citizens to come together regionally to identify where growth should go and where it should not; and, to make smart, collective, regional decisions.
• Almost all of our coastal cities and towns are now involved in planning for growth. The next step is to plan regionally for the impact of one area on another. For example, Myrtle Beach is slowly flowing southward to the Neck. Likewise, Charleston is growing west toward Orangeburg. These growth patterns (and others) have regional impact. The Council of Governments are coming together in some areas to begin the process of regional planning. The federal government can help with information, incentives and resources, as well as policy which encourages smart growth.

To learn more about South Carolina's Smart Growth, go to: smartgrowth.org/news/bystate.asp?state=SC

To learn more about the GAO report, go to:   http://209.85.165.104/search?q=cache:hUsxjIxlHOgJ:www.gao.gov/new.items/... [1]