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LADSON, S.C. (WCSC) — Officials with the Coastal Carolina Fairgrounds say more needs to be done before the Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority can obtain land the agency is seeking for the Lowcountry Rapid Transit Project.

The dispute between the Exchange Club of Charleston, which owns the fairgrounds property, and CARTA has continued for years. Charleston County Council voted Thursday night and passed the eminent domain request from CARTA for the land.

The disagreement is not over how much land CARTA would receive, but where on the property that acreage is located, according to officials on both sides.

“There’s a fundamental difference between refusing to negotiate and refusing to surrender the exact property CARTA demanded,” Mike Jernigan of the Save the Fair Committee said.

Officials with the Exchange Club said there have been no documented official agreements allowing CARTA to take over Lot 1A.

A project spokesperson said in a statement, in part: “Before settling on the current location, CARTA leadership walked the Fairgrounds site with Exchange Club leadership to determine the most suitable parcel for LCRT.”

CARTA’s Lowcountry Rapid Transit Project is designed to provide transportation from the Ladson area to downtown Charleston on the peninsula. The project would use the lot in question as a park-and-ride stop to reduce congestion.

“This dispute has never been about whether the Lowcountry should have better public transportation. We support that goal. It’s about whether a government agency should take six acres that are essential to a nonprofit community institution when another location has been offered,” Carl Schultz of the Save the Fair Committee said.

Rob Wehrman, vice chair of the CARTA board, who is also a Charleston County councilman, said the agency is going through the legal process to finalize acquisition of the property.

“We’re going through the legal process. The LCRT is a big project. It’s transformative. It’s an opportunity to make incredible improvements to folks’ transportation in the Lowcountry,” Wehrman said.

Although Wehrman was not serving as vice chair when this back-and-forth began, he said CARTA has already identified the site as its preferred location.

“We really already identified this as the best site. Starting that process over would take time and money. Ultimately, this is a project that we have to deliver for the people. I think we can’t really go back now,” Wehrman said.

Fair officials say the lot in question can be used as a 900-car parking lot, give or take, with easy access to two gates. Fair officials said the lot serves two gates, one of the few lots at the fairgrounds that supports two gates, and is critical to fair parking operations.

Schultz said the fair is offering an alternative lot.

“We’re offering the alternative lot because the one they want is the most critical in parking operations. We’re asking the Charleston County Council to vote no on the eminent domain resolution, and actively encourage CARTA to negotiate with the fair on the alternative lot,” Schultz said.

Additionally, a spokesperson on the project included this statement below:

“Before settling on the current location, CARTA leadership walked the Fairgrounds site with Exchange Club leadership to determine the most suitable parcel for LCRT.

The project was originally planned for a different parcel, where environmental review and traffic studies had already been completed. At the Exchange Club’s request, CARTA moved the project to the current site, requiring the environmental review to be reopened.

A public meeting and 30-day comment period were held as part of that review, and no comments opposing the current property were received. Exchange Club leadership also provided written authorization for CARTA to access the site for the environmental review.

Relocating the project a second time to Lot 1E would require CARTA to restart the environmental review process, adding significant time and cost. The site also presents greater uncertainty regarding potential wetland impacts.

The current site has received a categorical exclusion, the lowest level of federal environmental review. Changing sites would likely introduce additional environmental requirements and delays.

In addition to further SCDOT approvals, the Lot 1E site would also require significant transportation and infrastructure improvements not funded in the current project budget, including widening the two-lane highway, adding turn lanes and sidewalks, and relocating utilities.”

LADSON, S.C. (WCSC) — Charleston County’s finance committee is scheduled to vote on a resolution that would allow CARTA to use eminent domain for land at the Exchange Fairgrounds in Ladson.

The Lowcountry Rapid Transit is a 21.3-mile project connecting US-78 and Commerce Center in Ladson to Line Street and West Edge Street in downtown Charleston. Officials say the goal is to help with congestion.

CARTA says it needs six acres of land at the Exchange Fairgrounds for the project.

“Building the first ever large-scale transit project that this state has ever seen,” Mike said.

“Save a lot of people time from, you know, trying to worry about beating traffic, you know,” resident Andrew Brown said.

“For many years we were cooperatively working towards six acres at the very north end being part of the project,” Mike said.

The Exchange Club has opposed giving up the land. Court documents say the club claims giving up the land would disturb operations, including patron access and charity revenue.

CARTA officials say the matter seemed settled.

“We’d already settled on the alignment, gone through not one, not two, but three public hearings including an environmental study. It’s turned out that here we are at the 11th hour having to talk about condemnation of six acres along the route,” Mike said.

Tomorrow’s finance committee meeting follows a judge blocking CARTA’s initial attempt to obtain the land in June, ruling CARTA had not received county approval to begin condemning the land.

CARTA officials maintain the land is needed.

“If we were to change the alignment and change the um culmination of the project on the north end, we would have to start all over again. It would seriously, if not completely, jeopardize the project,” Mike said.

He said there is no option other than to continue and condemn the six acres in a fair way.

The Exchange Club has filed an appeal in court to determine whether state law allows CARTA to take the land in this manner. The club declined to comment further due to pending litigation.

Charleston County will vote on the resolution at the finance committee meeting Thursday.