What the graffiti at Hilton Head’s iconic gas station gateway is really telling us | Opinion

Could it be that the state of our world-class community is etched in graffiti?

I hope not.

But the graffiti sprayed on a dilapidated, unoccupied former convenience store and gas station on U.S. 278 at the gateway to Hilton Head Island is making a big statement today.

It stands in such a visible place that it could easily be seen as a symbol of who we are.

It stands where a grand new half-billion-dollar bridge complex to the island was planned. And planned. And planned some more. But apparently will never be what it was intended to be.

Is this who we are? I don’t think so.

I would say that a better glimpse of who we are is the new landscaping and median beautification that has been installed on that same highway on the island.

I would say that a better glimpse at who we are is Bluffton’s new New Riverside Barn Park.

But the graffiti-scarred convenience store damaged by a storm half a year ago is a symbol that tells me that we need to do more to know who we are and have the courage to act on it.

Bluffton Mayor Larry Toomer, the old waterman born and reared here, put it succinctly recently, saying his town needs to buy land, reduce development and add parks. Amen.

That better defines who we are — or who we ought to be — than graffiti. Or than all the unanswered questions about county government malfeasance. Or than failed bridge planning. Or even than the a sprawling new Buc-ee’s coming to Hardeeville at I-95 Exit 8, which serves as the gateway to Hilton Head, Bluffton and Beaufort.

All of this is a warning, not so much to the roughly 85,000 people who already call Hilton Head, Bluffton and Hardeeville home, but to the rest of Jasper County, which is still rural.

It will take leaders with a backbone, and a coordinated regional outlook to take advantage of the lessons Beaufort County has learned.

Here’s what local governments need to do if this community is to be a world-class Lowcountry paradise: Buy land, buy land, and buy some more land. Or buy the development rights to land.

Beaufort County cannot snap its finger and have the graffiti-scarred building torn down or repaired because it does not own it.

We have learned that if you really want to control growth to positively influence the community, the public must own crucial tracts, or own the development rights.

One reason the growth explosion on Hilton Head — that looked like a gold rush 30 years ago — has leveled off is that the town has consistently bought land.

And when it comes to reducing development, do it by sticking to your guns on zoning and other ordinances designed to make the place liveable. Quit granting exceptions.

The greatest thing the ordinances can do is save trees and demand buffer zones.

Trees are what set the Lowcountry apart. Do not, under any circumstances, allow clear-cutting.

If you must work development around significant trees — either old ones that are protected by ordinance or new ones that are to be planted – you can reduce development.

If you must fit development within space available after buffers on the property lines and waterfronts are protected, you can reduce development.

If you maintain natural wetlands and keep development away from it, you can reduce development. Just do it.

Also, never underestimate the power of beautification of public spaces.

None of this is rocket science, but it does take serious study and attention.

The Town of Hilton Head Island took a good look at itself when it produced a “Conditions and Trends Assessment” last summer. And it spent two days last week establishing priorities as it looks to the future and reworks its Development Standards Ordinance.

It’s a way to come to terms with the big questions: Who are we? What is it that we want to be? How do we make it happen?

The graffiti artists who have gone to work in such a high-profile location have actually done us a favor.

Like our crowded streets and parks and failed bridge planning, the squiggly lines and hearts in spraypaint are screaming: Is this what you want to be?

David Lauderdale may be reached at lauderdalecolumn@gmail.com .