ST. HELENA ISLAND, S.C. (WSAV) — Over 200 people filled the room on Monday night for a controversial topic that has been in front of the Beaufort County Council several times before.

The Pine Island Development LLC requested that the property be removed from a cultural protection overlay (CPO), a decades-old agreement which protects and preserves St. Helena land and culture of the Gullah Geechee community.

“The developer has never understood what this is about. Never. It’s not about incentives that most people will never see. It’s about the CPO, the preservation of the history, the culture, and the heritage of the Gullah Geechee Nation that spans six generations,” said one St. Helena Island resident who is against the development.

Several people attended the meeting with signs in hand t

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