BEAUFORT COUNTY, S.C. () — Dozens of people packed Beaufort County’s courtroom Wednesday to voice their opinion on the proposed Pine Island development.

Some pushed for the county to move forward, while others pleaded not to approve of the next steps in the development.

Beaufort County Council was in executive session for two hours on Monday, discussing whether they would approve or deny negotiations on the Pine Island development.

They did not come to a decision on Monday and called a special meeting on Wednesday to re-discuss.

Residents for and against the developer’s proposal showed up on Wednesday to re-express their opinions to the council.

The proposed development has been in and out of council for several years.

“We urge you to dispense with this newest attempt to allow a development that would set a truly catastrophic precedent and destroy the protections of the CPO,” said an attorney with the South Carolina Environmental Law Project.

A St. Helena Island resident who agreed with the attorney’s opposition toward the development broke out in song to the council.

“Oh, don’t turn back” were the repeated lyrics. It was a message the resident said was important for the council to understand.

“It is very important to us as natives of Saint Helena, that you all don’t turn back and turn away from what has consistently been upheld since 1999, The Cultural Protection Overlay District for Saint Helena Island,” said the resident.

The Cultural Protection Overlay, or CPO, was created to protect the culture, history and native people on the island.

It also prevents resorts and golf-course communities from being built on land zoned under the CPO.

Several people who are against the development argued that breaking the CPO for Pine Island would open a door to other developers looking to build on the island.

But others at the meeting argued that the CPO holds islanders back.

Many said that the golf course proposed in the developers’ plans would bring jobs, new opportunities, and generational wealth to native’s on the island.

They stated that they’ve even lost opportunities with their own personal land due to the protection agreement.

“Right now, I currently have land on St Helena through my father that I’ve inherited for my son that I can’t do anything with right now because of the CPO,” said a St. Helena Island resident for the development. “And I’m still trying to acquire more land to create that generational wealth for my family. As we all should be looking forward to doing.”

Tropeano’s attorney stated that they have consistently adjusted the development plans to answer back to previous and current concerns about impacts on the island.

What we have proposed, is a responsible, low impact development that provides greater environmental protection, less impacts, all while creating more revenue than a larger, more dense neighborhood development, which is currently allowed under the CPO,” said Tropeano’s attorney.

After another multi-hour executive session, the county council ended up approving the negotiations with the Pine Island developer. The vote was 5-4.

This puts the development back on the council’s plate, and they’ll have more meetings and discussions on it in the next few months.