We asked nicely. We showed up by the hundreds. But unfortunately a majority of city council was dismissive and in April 2024 council voted 4-3 to approve The Hub at Keowee Trail. But it's not over!
Here is what you can do NOW:
1. Contribute to the Save Clemson PAC. The PAC is registered with the state and IRS. 100% of your donations will be used to support candidates for Mayor and City Council who pledge to fight huge student housing projects taking over the city.
2. A group of residents are in touch with an attorney. We will keep you apprised of their progress, as we are able. We will also let you know when and how you can donate to their legal fund.
3. Continue to tell your neighbors, friends and family and encourage them to join SaveClemson.org
4. If you are a donor to Clemson University write their trustees (best) or email through their secretary and let them that you believe this project is a conflict of interest for President Clements and that you expect the university to develop a written commitment with the City of Clemson to house a majority of their students. Consider redirecting your contributions to other endeavors for students until the university makes an agreement with the city on housing a signifiant percentage of their students on campus.
5. Contact your local SC Representative and Senator. Let them know you want a bill passed to require colleges and universities that receive state funding house at least 50% of their undergraduates on campus or face state funding reduction.
Our voices matter when we USE them!
Email Save Clemson at SaveClemson@gmail.com
Residents File Injunction Against City of Clemson
Upstate Today/Seneca Journal (May 16, 2024) - Residents File Injunction Against City of Clemson
Excerpts:
"The injunction alleges that council’s approval of Hub Clemson at its April 15 council meeting should not have happened as it did not meet the specifications of what a planned development (PD) should be."
"The injunction points to a section of Clemson’s municipal zoning ordinance which states, “The ultimate purpose of a PD district, pursuant to the South Carolina Local Government Comprehensive Planning Enabling Act of 1994, is to allow flexibility in development that will result in improved design, character, and quality of new mixed-used developments and preserve natural and scenic features of open spaces.”"
Developers Sued Clemson Over Housing. Now Neighbors are Suing Them Both.
Post and Courier (May 15, 2024) - Developers Sued Clemson Over Housing. Now Neighbors are Suing Them Both.
Excerpts:
"Parnell claimed The Hub's “combination of 98 percent apartment residential with 2 percent commercial does not meet the statutory requirement of ‘mixed-use’ for the approval of planned development and that it was unlawful for the City of Clemson to approve the planned development.”"
"Save Clemson, a grassroots organization that popped up in the later phases of The Hub’s approval process, is now accepting donations that “will be used to support candidates for Mayor and City Council who pledge to fight huge student housing projects taking over the city,” according to its website.
It also mentions potential for separate donations to the legal fund for a group of residents that are in touch with an attorney."
Shame on You: City Approves Housing Development Despite Resident Opposition
The Tiger (April 17, 2024): Shame on You: City Approves Housing Development Despite Resident Opposition
“Our residents know what’s at stake and are telling us how they feel… we are elected by these individuals,” (Councilwoman) Smith said during the meeting.
Lawsuit Against City of Clemson Ignites Concerns with Residents
Upstate Today/Seneca Journal (April 19, 2024): Lawsuit Against City of Clemson Ignites Concerns with Residents
"Who is Keowee Trail LLC?
Keowee Trail LLC was established in 2015 and is composed of Kevin Collins, a partner in a local home builder and remodeler company, and Greg and Clifton Smith, both Blue Vista Ventures angel investors, and the brother-in-law and father-in-law, respectively, of Clemson University president Jim Clements."
Does Halfacre Have Memory Problems?
In 2019 he said this about Keowee Trail: “I was personally hoping to see a deviation from our existing comprehensive plan with a mix of housing, as opposed to all high-density housing and/or apartments,” Halfacre said. “I personally believe our downtown is reaching a saturation point with student housing.”
Upstate Today/Seneca Journal (March 19, 2019): New Council Members React to Keowee Trail Issues
Apparently we were "reaching a saturation point with student housing" in 2019 (before the Bixby and Dockside plus others) but now 1325 beds and 7 stories is needed?
Rebuttal to City Council's Arguments for The HUB
Upstate Today Letter to the Editor (April 4, 2024): Rebuttal to City Council's Arguments for The HUB by Elaine Masceri
"This equation for the City of Clemson is: more students and student housing equals less taxes and quality of life for the residents. Who is drinking the cool-aid? "
City Votes in Favor of Housing Development Under Threat of Lawsuit
The Tiger (April 4, 2024): City Votes in Favor of Housing Development Under Threat of Lawsuit
"Core Spaces, LLC is the long-term real estate developer of the proposed Clemson Hub project. They have also purchased the Pier at Clemson and Clemson Lofts."
"A large factor in the decision to approve the development is a pending lawsuit."
"The current proposed development is much larger than what could be built at the site with existing zoning and the city’s height limit."
Clemson Rents on The Rise
The Tiger (April 4, 2024): Clemson Rents on The Rise
“Market demand for rental properties in the Clemson area has intensified, driven by factors such as increased enrollment at the university and growing demand for off-campus housing,” Cole Oraham, the director of property management operations at Tiger Properties, told The Tiger. Tiger Properties manages Clemson Village.
Public Sounds Off Before Vote on Clemson HUB
Upstate Today/Seneca Journal (April 4, 2024): Public Sounds Off Before Vote on Clemson HUB
Jo Ann Abernathy: “I am asking you with all my heart to please think about this long and hard. Not just money, not just Clemson University, I love Clemson (University), that was my life, it was part of Larry’s, too,” she said. “But this is not a good thing, you have got to know it is not a good thing. And I am praying with all my heart that you vote no.”
Elizabeth Vogt: “The lawsuit should be dropped first and then a vote should be taken, and I think you would instill far more public confidence in the validity of your decision, rather than essentially voting under coercion, and that’s exactly what it is. Let’s call a spade a spade.”
Clemson HUB Squeaks by First Reading
Upstate Today/Seneca Journal (April 2, 2024): Clemson HUB Development Squeaks by First Reading
Some Interesting Quotes in the Article:
Mayor Halfacre: “Personally, I’ve been to every meeting, answered every email, returned every call. I’ve talked to people both for and against this development,” he said. “With that said, listening doesn’t necessarily lead to an agreement, and I can’t ignore the negativity that sometimes surfaced as a limited number of residents claimed they were not being heard, when in truth, they just weren’t being validated. Different residents express different opinions, we can listen and consider them all but clearly can’t agree with everyone.”
Brookover: “There’s lots of people when I look around this room, I don’t see a whole lot of people that are in my age group, or people that I hang around with that may have kids that are in sports or families that they’re home with,” Brookover said. “I’ve gone out and I’ve talked to a ton of people that I know now. And by and large, most people with kids, I have heard just as much, ‘I’m okay with this, I understand. It’s someone else’s property, their property rights that they have.”
Smith: “My concerns are still the seven stories, the density — simply because I grew up in Chicago, I grew up around density … and so that’s what we’re asking students to do, live on top of each other,” she said.
Watt: “This makes me really, really sad because you guys have come here and shown up and I worry that given the attitude here, you won’t show up anymore. … Next time we ask you to participate in the next project or comp plan, why would you show up if no one is going to listen to you?”
Controversial Development Moves Forward
Post and Courier (April 2, 2024): Controversial Development Moves Forward
"Over an hour into the meeting, Jo Ann Abernathy introduced herself to the council to take her two minutes at the lectern.
The Hub isn’t the right project for this piece of Clemson, she said, recalling how her husband, who was mayor for three decades, spoke of some of the same issues during his time on council.
Keowee Trail leads to the park named for Larry Abernathy. Nothing about this project mirrors the balance he worked so hard to create between the town and university, she said."
Video of 4/1 City Council Meeting Including Vote
Click Here to view the meeting. Note the public participation (and then vote) on the Planned Use Development proposed for Keowee Trail begins at the 1:48 mark of the video.
A Billboard in Clemson Blares No More Sprawl Y’all
Post and Courier (March 28, 2024): A Billboard in Clemson Blares No More Sprawl Y’all - Here’s the Group Behind It
“Save Clemson’s listed issues with the Hub include its size and scale, runoff into Lake Hartwell, lost community space, lack of parking and a potential conflict of interest by council members named in the Keowee Trail lawsuit who are scheduled to vote on the project April 1.”
Window-less Rooms and Town-Gown Battles: How Student Housing Got Expensive
Wall Street Journal (March 25, 2024): Window-less Rooms and Town-Gown Battles: How Student Housing Got Expensive
"Clemson University didn’t have enough dorms on campus for its students. Private developers—including the family of the school’s president—are stepping in."
Family of Clemson University's President Suing City of Clemson
The State (March 23, 2024): Family of Clemson University's President Suing City of Clemson
Proposed Development Sparks Controversy
Fox Carolina (March 21, 2024: Controversial Development Proposal on Lake Hartwell Sparks Controversy
Why is university president's family suing the city of Clemson?
Post and Courier (March 19, 2024): Why is university president's family suing the city of Clemson?
As noted in the article, Clemson University President's in-laws also personally named 5 sitting city council members in the lawsuit.
Per the article: "According to Keowee Trail attorney Rivers Stillwell, the lawsuit is ready to go back into action if yet another development fails to gain city approval".
Public Comments at March 18, 2024 City Council Meeting
http://https//www.youtube.com/watch?v=EwTyQgwn4yI
Two citizens speak out pointedly about the duties of Council and the problems with this Planned Development.
Clemson Residents Decry 7 Story Lakefront Housing
Post and Courier (March 7, 2024): With Lawsuit Looming Clemson Residents Decry 7-Story Lakefront Housing
"Following the March 4 public hearing, a letter supported by 60 residents — including former Clemson University First Lady Marcia Barker — landed in each city councilmember’s inbox requesting them to step back or step down."
How to Develop Keowee Trail According to the Candidates for Council
Upstate Today (October 22, 2022): How to Develop Keowee Trail According to Candidates for City Council
Fulmer: “It gives us an opportunity to utilize the lakefront property we have there, not as a park, but as a retail draw where people want to come there not only by car but also by boat,” he said. “Clemson is the only lakefront community on Lake Hartwell and this is Clemson’s last opportunity to capitalize on that feature. I don’t think we can afford to let it go."
Boatwright: "..I’d love to see height restrictions on any new construction that were to go in there,” she said. “I would love to keep them short, not to distract from the natural landscape of the area. When it comes to getting multiple landowners on board, I think if we could use that and know that their motivation is to put something like that in that location, maybe we can get them on board when it comes to a smaller development and try to get a give and take going.”
Smith: “I think if we’re wanting to make this a destination and want to bring what I think all of us and what I’ve heard our developers and property owners say they care about this community, I think we all have to do something and feel good about what that looks like,” she said.
Clemson President's Family Owns Land
Greenvile News (March 1, 2019): Clemson President's Family Owns Land Where Student Development is Planned on Keowee Trail
Proposed Clemson Student Housing Development Draws Controversy
WYFF (February 5, 2024): Proposed Clemson Student Housing Development Draws Controversy
Clemson Residents Oppose Controversial Development
Upstate Today (March 6, 2024): Clemson Residents Oppose Controversial Development
Fox Carolina: Clemson Residents Rally Against Proposed Housing Development
Fox Carolina: Clemson Residents Rally Against Proposed Housing Development