The Sea Island Corridor Coalition was formed to give those who live and work and play along Beaufort’s Sea Island Parkway a voice in its future.

The distance between residents and government decision-making is often significant. Beaufort County and the City of Beaufort are not exceptions. Government has traditionally been a poor communicator. Citizens are too often disinterested, disengaged or distracted to watch government at work. And when decisions are made and finally become apparent, sometimes years later, the result is public anger, frustration and loss of confidence in the institutions of government, whether merited or not.

This is particularly true with community planning and land use issues, which involve deliberations and decisions that are highly specialized, technical and difficult to evaluate in the short term. Right or wrong, the decisions that have resulted in a Wal-Mart on Lady’s island were first made in 2008. Approval of the Greenheath residential development were made in 2010. By the time the public becomes aware of such plans, it is often too late to bring its voice to the deliberations.

As difficult as it is, there is an urgent need for:

• an organized effort to monitor development initiatives as they go before government
• participation with government in decision-making as a representative of the community with discrete community-based development goals
• communication with and motivation of members of the public to be engaged in the process.