A Town No Longer

R.I.P., James Island: The S.C. Supreme upheld Charleston's charges that the town was formed illegally.

By: ROBERT BEHRE

Originally Published in the Post and Courier on 11/19/96

Ever since the town of James Island was founded in 1993, legal questions have hung over its incorporation like dark, stormy clouds.
On Monday, it rained.
The S.C. Supreme Court unanimously upheld a lower court ruling that found the town of James Island was formed illegally from nine, noncontiguous areas separated by waterways and marshlands already in the cities of Charleston and Folly Beach.
``It defies the very concept of contiguity to suggest that one municipality may use an adjacent municipality's annexed territory to establish contiguity,'' the justices wrote in the ruling.
The justices also agreed with Circuit Judge John C. Hayes III that the city brought the lawsuit in a timely manner, that it did have legal standing to sue, and that the town of James Island's existence did not make it immune from attack.
``I cannot begin to describe my disappointment with the S.C. Supreme Court's decision to disband our town,'' James Island Mayor Joan Sooy said.
Sooy said the town will open for business today, and it will not lay off employees or take other drastic steps until advised by its attorneys or the court. Sooy also said the town will ask the Supreme Court to rehear the case.
``I guess what bothers me most is that I brought up my kids that if you did everything right, it would work out. Apparently, I didn't take politics into consideration when we went to the Supreme Court. Apparently, it is more political than I thought,'' she said.
Meanwhile, Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr., who decided to fight the town's incorporation in court, said the ruling upheld long-established state policies on annexation and incorporation.
``It's in everyone's best interest when existing cities ... be able to expand as their natural adjacent boundaries become developed,'' he said. ``We are stronger united. It makes for a better community.''
The ruling places town residents back into the unincorporated area of Charleston County, but Riley encouraged James Island residents to annex into the city. He noted the city will have annexation petitions available today at its James Island fire stations and at the city's James Island Recreational Complex.
Despite warnings by Riley and others that the city might sue, James Island voters decided in December 1992 to form a new town out of much of the island's unincorporated area. Voters elected Sooy and a four-member town council in 1993, and the town has operated ever since.
The town agreed to take over planning and zoning and other services previously handled by Charleston County. The county's sheriff office provided police protection, however, and the James Island Public Service District continued to provide fire protection, sewer service and garbage collection.
The immediate future of the town's property, projects and employees is unclear.
The only recent precedent for dissolving an existing municipality occurred when City View in Greenville County voluntarily sought to unincorporate.
Charleston city Attorney Bill Regan said the court might have to appoint a special person to oversee the town's dismantling.
``This is a small business of 10 or 12 employees, with no long-term leases or no long-term contracts. It would be a matter of appointing a receiver and having a receiver dissolve the assets. Bankruptcy judges do this every day of the week,'' Regan said.
Regan said the city feels it lost about $300,000 a year because the town of James Island was cut in for a slice of sales tax and other money, but he did not know how much the city would reap from the town's disbanding.
Sooy said the town would continue to operate until the Supreme Court decides whether to rehear the case, but Regan said, ``I don't think they can write a check. We'll undoubtedly be in touch with their attorneys and be back in front of Judge Hayes fairly soon.''
Meanwhile, reaction from island residents was mixed.
Resident Robert Kizer, who joined the city as a plaintiff, said he was so happy he was at a loss for words.
``We enjoy the ability to say we're from Charleston. The town was just a duplication of services,'' Kizer said. ``It was bureaucracy over bureaucracy.''
John Ohlandt, a longtime resident who strongly supported incorporation, said, ``It's a damn shame. That's my reaction.''
Ohlandt said he and other residents were looking at options to save the town or keep the city of Charleston's annexations at bay.
``I just don't want no part of the city of Charleston,'' he said. ``It ain't the same. It's changed so it's so tourist oriented, they've run my family out of the city with all the congestion. I want nothing to do with the city, to be honest with you.''
Nancy Hadley, chairwoman of the James Island Public Service District, said PSD residents should realize there will not be any changes because of the ruling.
``They'll get their services from us and the county just as they used to,'' she said. ``There will be absolutely no change in that.''
Hadley said the district, which overlaps much of the town, never took an official position on the lawsuit.
``I think most of us hoped that the town would win, but I don't think we ever took an official stance on that,'' she said of the PSD commissioners.
Hadley, whose husband Paul waged an unsuccessful mayoral bid against Sooy last year, said she was disappointed because she liked the idea of having a town, but she also was pleased with the ruling because she did not like the town's recent direction.
``The concept the incorporation was sold on was that we wanted things to stay the same, and the town has changed a lot of things. I know some people were not happy about that,'' she said.
She questioned some of the Town Council's rezoning decisions, plus its votes to hire a public safety liaison and to buy property for a town hall. ``The town has created an enormous bureaucracy over here, and we have a whole lot of extra hoops to go through. They have made it a lot harder to do a lot of ordinary things that didn't use to be hard to do.''
S.C. Secretary of State Jim Miles, whose office actively defended the town's charter in court, released a brief statement Monday saying, ``The court has spoken. This office will make every effort to comply with the court's ruling.''
Charleston County Council is expected to see some additional money from the town's dissolution, largely through more business license income and local option sales tax money.
However, the largest issue looming before the county as a result of Monday's ruling is the few dozen rezonings the town has approved in its three-year existence, spokeswoman Jamie Thomas said. ``That would be something council would have to take up and look at what the town's done versus what ordinances have,'' she said.
The town listed two pages worth of its accomplishments, including establishing zoning, building inspection and business license offices, attracting sewer grants, beginning work on a 37-acre park and fostering community programs such as Christmas tree grindings and baby-sitting classes.
``But perhaps the town of James Island's most significant accomplishment has been hindering the encroachment of the city of Charleston,'' the statement said.
Sooy said she wanted to thank all the town's supporters ``for these few, sweet years,'' and she said town supporters could file a lawsuit in federal court because of voter disenfranchisement.
``I want to thank the people out there that have come to us over the years, thanked us for what we were doing and kept us in their prayers,'' she said. ``Keep praying. It's not over yet.'' The town of James Island
A brief history
December 1992 - By a 52-48 margin, voters in most of James Island's unincorporated area agree to form a new town. The city of Charleston and three residents file suit against the James Island Election Commission, which held the special election.

January 1993 - Secretary of state issues a charter for the town, and town elections are scheduled.

February 1993 - Circuit Judge William L. Howard postpones the town's elections until the city's legal case is settled, but the S.C. Supreme Court overrules Howard.

March 1993 - Town voters pick Joan Sooy - a leading incorporation proponent - as their first mayor and elect four council members. When Sooy and the council first meet, the town is officially formed. It has about 18,000 residents and is the state's 18th-largest municipality. Charleston County and the James Island Public Service District still provide most services for the area.

September 1993 - Circuit Judge A. Victor Rawl refuses to dismiss the city's lawsuit against the James Island Election Commission. The town appeals his decision to the S.C. Supreme Court. The town and the S.C. secretary of state are added as defendants.

February 1994 - The town considers borrowing money to enhance its legal standing, but the idea is later rejected. However, the town gradually expands to offer planning and zoning, business licenses and other services.

September 1994 - Though only 1-1/2 years old, the town already has annexed about 100 properties, mostly in the Riverland Terrace neighborhood.

May 1994 - The S.C. Supreme Court upholds Judge Rawl's decision not to throw out the lawsuit by the city of Charleston.

March 1995 - Mayor Sooy is re-elected.

July 1995 - After more than a two-year delay, Circuit Judge John C. Hayes III presides over a three-day-long, nonjury trial to resolve the city's legal case against the town.

October 1995 - Judge Hayes rules that the town was incorporated illegally and should be disbanded, but he allows it to stay in business while the case is appealed to the S.C. Supreme Court. The city, through the courts, blocks the town's plans to refund about $670,000 in local option sales tax money.

September 1996 - Attorneys with the city, town and secretary of state's office argue the case before the S.C. Supreme Court. The town has expanded its services to parks and recreation and plans to build a new Town Hall on Dills Bluff Road.

Nov. 18, 1996 - Supreme Court upholds Judge Hayes' ruling and orders the town dissolved.