City says legislation keyed to James Island

As trial opens, attorneys claim law allowing incorporation overly narrow

BY JASON HARDIN
Of The Post and Courier Staff

     The future of the town of James Island might hang on the answer to this question: Is the town unique?
     The focus of the city of Charleston's challenge to the town in a trial that began Monday is boiling down to whether a law passed by the General Assembly in 2000 could be used only by James Island.
     Tracy Vaughn, the city's geographic information systems expert, testified Monday that she could not find another community in South Carolina that can take advantage of the law, which allowed the town to incorporate earlier this year. The law allows new municipalities to cross over marshes or waterways claimed by another city.
     The city also argued that there was no reason to single out marshes and waterways as means of joining pieces of a municipality when other things, such as roads, could serve the same purpose.
     City attorneys called the law unconstitutional special legislation, which means a law is overly narrow and doesn't apply statewide.
     The law was passed after an earlier version of the town was declared unconstitutional by the S.C. Supreme Court because it consisted of several separate pieces divided by marshes and waterways in the city. The law was pushed by state Sen. Glenn McConnell and town supporters and opposed by Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr.
     "We think it was written for this town," said city attorney Frances Cantwell, adding that the law had "James Island fingerprints all over it."
     But the town is rejecting the city's interpretation of the incorporation statutes, which include a number of rules and exceptions.
     Generally speaking, those rules require that communities wishing to incorporate first ask neighboring municipalities to annex them. In this case, the city would have happily done so, which is why town supporters, who did not want to join the city, didn't ask.
     The exception to that rule is when a community has more than 15,000 residents, as does the town. However, it reached that population only by connecting several separate chunks by crossing over marshes and waterways already claimed by Charleston.
     Attorney Trent Kernodle, who is representing the town, said the law_also could apply when a municipality asks to be annexed and is turned down, or when an area with more than 15,000 residents in one chunk seeks to include another chunk separated by incorporated marshland or waterways.
     He asked Vaughn whether she had found any examples of those areas. She said that she had not looked for them, saying that they are not similar to James Island's situation.
     The S.C. Attorney General's office also weighed in on the side of the town, agreeing that the legislation is constitutional.
     The city wrapped up its case Monday. Today, Kernodle will call town Mayor Mary Clark and his own GIS expert.
     The city dropped its argument that the town should be dissolved because it wrongly included properties in the city. One such property, Grimball Farms, is the subject of a separate suit, and the town has agreed any other such properties should be in the city.
     The city's last argument is that some of the pieces of the town are too far apart, an argument the town dismisses as a misreading of state law.
     Both sides agreed that the stakes could not be higher.
     The town, if it loses, would cease to exist. If it prevails, the city would be wounded financially, said Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr.
     Riley said the city is healthy, economically and otherwise, because it has been able to expand its boundaries beyond its urban core by annexing its suburbs. Ultimately, the city would continue expanding onto James Island, he said, unless the town is allowed to live.
     "The city of Charleston forever would be damaged by that," Riley said.
     Kernodle asked Riley what say the residents of the town have in the city's plans, noting that they now have twice voted to form their own town.
     "What happens if the people of James Island don't want to be your annexation corridor?" Kernodle said.
     Attorneys for both sides said the trial will wrap up soon, possibly today. When it is finished, they likely will immediately tackle a second city suit, which argues that once the town was formed, portions of the district overlapped by the town ceased to be a part of the James Island Public Service District.
     The case is being argued before Circuit Judge Thomas Hughston, but both sides say they expect the case ultimately to be decided by the S.C. Supreme Court.
    
     Jason Hardin covers the city of Charleston. Contact him at 937-5549 or at jhardin@postandcourier.com.