BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. — Caroline Yeh says she returned home recently from medical treatment overseas expecting to focus on her recovery.
Instead, she discovered plans for a massive development that she fears could forever transform the rural Berkeley County community where her family has lived for decades.
“I was severely ill last month with a liver condition and was abroad for medical treatment in my husband’s home country because we can’t afford care here,” Yeh said. “Once I returned, I found out all of this has been happening.”
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The proposed Cane Bay expansion would bring approximately 5,500 homes, commercial development, restaurants, schools, public safety facilities and other amenities to roughly 2,000 acres in Berkeley County. Developers estimate the project could eventually add about 15,000 residents to the area.
For Yeh, the issue isn’t simply about growth.
“My family and I are facing an existential threat from Cane Bay,” she said.
READ MORE l Planning Commission Delays Vote on 5,500-Home Cane Bay Expansion After Residents Voice Concerns
‘The Whole Perimeter Will Be Bordered’
Yeh lives on Roumillats Lane in the Whitesville community, where her family owns approximately six acres of land adjacent to portions of the proposed development.
She says the project would dramatically alter the landscape surrounding her home.
“We live on about six acres or so total,” Yeh said. “The whole north-facing and west-facing perimeter will be bordered by their development.”
The thought of being surrounded by thousands of homes and apartment buildings has left her struggling to sleep.
“I have been sleepless for a week,” she said.
She worries about increased traffic, noise, light pollution, pesticides and the loss of the natural buffer that has surrounded her family for generations.
“Bordering our other property line is a large tract that will be converted to apartment blocks,” Yeh said. “What will happen to our land? Will we face pesticide residue? Light and noise pollution?”
A Family’s Legacy on the Land
Yeh’s connection to the property stretches back more than 50 years.
“My grandfather bought our land in the 1970s after returning from Vietnam,” she said. “He was a distinguished disabled veteran.”
Today, multiple generations of her family still live there.
“My aunt lives here too,” she said.
The property sits within what Yeh describes as a close-knit rural community where neighbors have shared life together through hurricanes, hardships and decades of change.
“We lived through Hugo here,” she said. “We didn’t get power back for two weeks.”
“We and our neighbors have eked out our existences for decades through hardship and disaster.”
For Yeh, the proposed development threatens far more than acreage on a map.
“In life, we may have many homes, but only one birthplace,” she said. “This is mine.”
‘The Loss Is Profound’
Throughout her interview, Yeh repeatedly returned to what she describes as the cultural and emotional cost of continued growth.
“The loss is profound,” she said.
“It’s the loss of community, losing the chance to walk to your friend’s house for a chat, to have your kids play together in the shared green spaces.”
“It’s the loss of a rural lifestyle with chickens and fruit trees, fresh air, sensitive wildlife like fireflies and box turtles.”
“It’s the loss of ancestral lands, where relatives were born and died.”
Yeh says many of her neighbors have lived on family land for generations.
“My neighbors, whose family land they have lived on for more than 100 years, are being pressured to move,” she said.
She worries the area’s unique character could disappear forever.
“It’s a loss of culture,” she said. “An agrarian enclave that knows everyone, shares produce, goes to church together.”
Environmental Concerns
Yeh also believes the land surrounding her property contains significant ecological resources.
“This land has deep ecological significance,” she said. “It’s a lowland remnant of a Carolina Bay.”
She says native plants and other scarce species continue to thrive there.
“We are losing great oaks and mature pines that clean our air and give refuge to the remaining wildlife,” she said.
Yeh fears development could negatively affect wildlife populations that have long called the area home.
“Why would a Red-cockaded woodpecker stay in a longleaf pine forest despite it being logged and cleared?” she asked. “Because that’s its home. That’s where its family lives. That’s the only habitat it knows.”
During the recent Planning Commission hearing, several residents similarly raised concerns about tree removal, flooding and impacts on wildlife habitat.
Fears About Access
Among Yeh’s biggest concerns is access to her property.
She says her family’s driveway and right-of-way cross neighboring parcels that could eventually be affected by future land sales or development.
“It’s our only way in and out,” she said.
While no plans have been publicly announced regarding those access routes, Yeh says she worries about what could happen if ownership changes around her property.
“I’ve seen many cases lately where easements and rights-of-way become disputed,” she said. “I’m very afraid of what will happen.”
Feeling Left Behind
Yeh says she was shocked to learn about the proposal after returning home.
“I only found out June 5,” she said. “I am shocked, overwhelmed and panicking.”
She believes nearby property owners should have received more direct communication.
“We have not received any formal communication and are having to seek out information ourselves,” Yeh said.
The Berkeley County Planning Commission recently delayed a vote on the project after residents packed a public hearing and voiced concerns about growth, traffic, schools, healthcare access and environmental impacts.
The commission is expected to revisit the proposal following additional discussions.
‘I Will Not Leave’
Despite her fears, Yeh says she has no plans to sell.
“I will not leave,” she said. “I will plant more trees. I will pray.”
She says she is currently exploring options to preserve additional nearby land and protect what remains of the rural landscape surrounding her home.
“I pray that I can find a way to preserve what we have,” she said.
For now, she says her faith remains stronger than her fear.
“I have nothing to say to the developers,” Yeh said. “Jesus instructs me to pray for my enemies. I pray for them.”
As Berkeley County continues to grapple with explosive growth, Yeh believes the debate extends far beyond a single development proposal.
“They need to unite soon because this indeed affects them,” she said. “And beyond this, what is next?”
Berkeley County Planning Commission Meets Tuesday
The Berkeley County Planning Commission will meet Tuesday, June 23, at 6 p.m. where members will once again take up a long list of rezoning requests from developer Ben Gramling and his affiliated companies.
The proposals involve multiple large properties across the Cane Bay and Live Oak Drive areas, with each request seeking to shift the land into a new zoning category called the Planned Development Mixed Use Village (PD‑MUV) district.
All items were previously deferred at the May 27 meeting and are returning for further discussion.
Residents can review the full agenda and attachments at this link.
