CHARLESTON, S.C., Oct. 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The Bank of South Carolina Corporation (Nasdaq: BKSC) announced unaudited earnings of $1,726,937, or $0.31 and $0.30 basic and diluted earnings per share, respectively, for the quarter ended September 30, 2021 – an increase of $23,666, or 1.39%, from earnings for the quarter ended September 30, 2020 of $1,703,271, or $0.31 and $0.30 basic and diluted earnings per share, respectively. Unaudited earnings for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 increased $480,271, or 10.16%, to $5,205,696 compared to $4,725,425 for the nine months ended September 20, 2020. Annualized returns on average assets and average equity for the nine months ended September 30, 2021 were 1.23% and 12.64%, respectively, compared with September 30, 2020 annualized returns on average assets and average equity of 1.28% and 11.77%, respectively.

The Bank of South Carolina Corporation also announced a new future banking office at 1730 Maybank Highway on James Island. The bank will occupy an existing building, which will undergo renovation next year, and anticipates opening in the second quarter of 2023.

Fleetwood S. Hassell, President of the Bank of South Carolina, stated, "We are encouraged with our earnings to-date despite relatively low loan demand. Nonetheless, considerable contributions provided by our mortgage operation have helped to offset the impact of compressed lending margins. We have processed all forgiveness requests related to round one of the PPP program, and we are actively assisting clients with round two. The bank remains well capitalized by regulatory measures, and we'll continue to manage our expenses closely.

As we approach the second anniversary of the opening of our North Charleston office, which continues to grow and prosper, we are pleased to announce further growth within our market. This new office on James Island will not only allow us to better serve our existing clients on James Island and the surrounding islands, but it affords us the opportunity to introduce our kind of banking to new clients as well. We look forward to the future opening of this office and to finishing out another successful year."

About Bank of South Carolina Corporation

The Bank of South Carolina Corporation is the holding company of The Bank of South Carolina ("The Bank"). The Bank is a South Carolina state-chartered bank with offices in Charleston, North Charleston, Summerville, Mt. Pleasant, and the West Ashley community and has been in continuous operation since 1987. A sixth office at 1730 Maybank Highway on James Island is anticipated to open in the second quarter of 2023. Our website is www.banksc.com. Bank of South Carolina Corporation currently trades its common stock on the NASDAQ stock market under the symbol "BKSC".

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SOURCE Bank of South Carolina Corporation

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JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - The James Island Yacht Club was founded in 1898. But more than 100 years later, the by-laws regarding its male-only policy have yet to change.

According to a statement from the James Island Yacht Club, the female spouses of the members have become more “involved and are an integral part of the Club,” but they are not considered members.

“The James Island Yacht Club is a family-focused social organization run by its membership as outlined by the Club by-laws. Potential new members of our Club must be sponsored by a current resident member. Our Club was founded in 1898 as a male-only organization and over time females have become more and more involved and are an integral part of the Club. Females of the Club have full access and use of all JIYC facilities and participation in all social activities.”

Females are only offered access to the Club facilities and able to participate in social activities if their male significant other is a member.

In 2020, the members of the club voted to potentially change the club by-laws to make women full members. But when the men voted, it did not pass.

“While this motion was thoroughly debated it did not garner the necessary % of votes required to change the Club by-laws. The by-laws govern our Club and changing them is the only way to change our membership practices. Proposals to change the Club by-laws are brought up from time to time, often taking multiple attempts to garner sufficient membership support for implementation.”

The Chair for the City of Charleston Commission on Women Jennet Robinson Alterman calls this discrimination.

“It’s discrimination, plain and simply,” Robinson Alterman said. “And although it is legal discrimination because it’s a private club and they’re pretty much allowed to do what they want to, just because it’s legal doesn’t mean it’s right.”

The CEO of South Carolina Women and Leadership Barbara Rackes says she is surprised to learn there are still clubs in South Carolina with these types of laws.

“What do you think about your daughters,” Rackes asked. “Are you going to tell her that in order for her to be a member she has to be married? Do you really want you daughter to be precluded from joining the club you like so much?”

As the by-laws of the club currently stand, no women will be able to vote on this matter until the men-only members vote to include them.

Copyright 2021 WCSC. All rights reserved.

On Johns Island, longtime residents’ complicated relationship with change is nothing new.

Devonne Hammond, manager of Fields Farm Market on River Road, said growth on the historically rural island feels inevitable. Hammond grew up on his family’s 40-acre farm and moved away for college but eventually found his way back to an island that looked different than the one of his youth.

“I don’t know if I can reasonably think of any place where growth doesn’t mean change for some people,” Hammond said. “I just hope it doesn’t have as much of a negative impact on our residents as we might expect.”

The farm has been in his family since Reconstruction, when formerly enslaved laborers took over former plantations on Johns Island.

“Its not until you move away that you see everything people go through to attain what my family already has,” Hammond said.

From 2010 to 2020, census data shows the island’s population within Charleston city limits doubled from nearly 5,300 residents to almost 12,000.

A new taxing district established by the city of Charleston aims to use funding from the island’s commercial and residential growth to help ease its growing pains like lagging road and drainage infrastructure.

The district, approved by City Council Oct. 12, places a tax on new development on the part of the island that falls within Charleston city limits to help fund municipal projects. It doesn’t apply to any existing developments or developments that were in the permitting process at the time of the council vote.

“Folks view development on the island as coming before the infrastructure,” said John Zlogar, chairman of the Johns Island Task Force. The task force was established in 2013 to bring together residents and local officials to address Johns Island-specific issues.

At one point, City Council considered a six-month moratorium on new housing on Johns Island proposed by Mayor John Tecklenburg. He advocated for the proposal as a way for the city to catch up on long-needed infrastructure improvements. After a mixed response, the 2018 proposal failed.

Over its 30-year lifespan, the newly approved taxing district, known as a Municipal Improvement District or MID, is projected to generate $60 million of additional revenue specifically for Johns Island, consultants hired by the city estimate. Developers will pay $480 per year per new apartment unit or single-family home. New individual single-family homes that are not part of subdivision will only be subject to the $480 per year tax if they are on properties over 2-acres. New commercial business owners will pay an equivalent tax based on the size of the property. A 10,000-square-foot commercial space would pay about $2,600 per year, city planning department officials estimate. The tax will increase by 2 percent each year.

As a lifelong resident of the island and new business owner, Estuary Beans & Barley brewery owner Scott Harrison said he is concerned about the potential burden the MID may place on new businesses. His brewery on Meek’s Farm Road is located on the same lot as the new Charleston Distilling, which relocated from King Street in November.

“It takes a long time to open up a business here and it takes a long time to get the approvals,” he said. “I am sure things at the city are backed up, but especially with COVID-19, time is important.”

Harrison opened his brewery in 2020, so he won’t be subject to the new tax, but he wants the city to encourage new development as long as it respects the island’s agricultural roots.

“We have a farm-to-table kind of feel out here that Johns Island has always been known for,” he said. “On the one hand, I would hate to see the farms go away, but it would be nice if city planning helped growth happen the way it does in the rest of Charleston.”

Charleston County’s Urban Growth Boundary limits dense development on much of the island outside of Charleston city limits, which has helped preserve farmland in the area.

Zlogar, the Johns Island task force chair, said he could see the MID benefiting efforts to balance urban development and rural preservation. With new funding sources, the city could buy land for park space or conservation areas to create a buffer between the urban growth boundary and the rest of the island where more development will take place.

“It’s all about community, how do you use these funds to bring the community together,” he said.

Along with the Johns Island Task Force, other community groups have endorsed the MID, including the Johns Island Council and the Johns Island Community Association.

Councilman Karl Brady Jr., who represents Charleston’s portion of Johns Island, said he pursued the MID designation because many proposed improvements on the island struggle to receive sufficient funding.

“Improvements are coming, but I’m sure it’s not as fast as some people would like,” Brady said. “This will give us the ability to do some homegrown improvements like the Johns Island Park expansion and road and infrastructure projects.”

Johns Island is the first area of the city to get a MID, mainly because it has the most potential for new development, Charleston Planning Director Robert Summerfield said.

“Johns Island has quite a bit of future development, unlike West Ashley or the peninsula where most of the development will be redevelopment,” he said.

The district will likely not create significant revenue for at least three years, Summerfield said. However, once revenue is generated, the city may be able issue bonds with it to jumpstart its use.

Transportation improvements in particular are crucial, said Michael Johnson, president of the Headquarters Island Property Owners Association on Johns Island. Johnson grew up on Johns Island and returned after stints in Houston and New Orleans.

“Charleston has become one of the most unsustainable places I’ve visited in a long time,” he said. “The traffic is horrendous.”

Not all proposed road projects are popular. An ongoing plan to extend Interstate 526 from West Ashley through James and Johns Island is seen by some as a threat to Johns Island’s Gullah-Geechee heritage. That plan is largely funded by the S.C. Department of Transportation and Charleston County and will not likely be impacted by the MID.

Residents of Johns Island are likely years away from seeing improvements funded with MID dollars, but the development will continue.

The city of Charleston has enacted a broad plan that discourages new development in flood-prone areas.

City Council members voted unanimously Oct. 12 on final approval of the city’s new Comprehensive Plan. It is the first in South Carolina that not only limits new development in flood-prone areas but also encourages development in areas with higher elevation and less flood risk.

Cities in South Carolina are required to adopt one every 10 years to use as a guide for decisions such as land purchases, development regulations and budget priorities. Although much of the plan is nonbinding, it does serve as a guide for the city to rewrite its land-use code.

“It’s fascinating to think we may be on the cutting edge of implementing this,” said Charleston Chief Resilience Officer Dale Morris.

Preliminary land-use maps included in the comprehensive plan serve as a guide for changes to the city’s zoning ordinance.

“Everything has in it this component of resiliency and a more comprehensive view of resiliency,” Planning Director Robert Summerfield said.

Zoning changes could help the city avoid costly home buyouts and expensive infrastructure improvements in the coming decades. The city already spent millions of dollars to buy flood-prone homes along Church Creek in West Ashley, and city officials don’t want to repeat those types of purchases.

“Let’s be proactive for these changes in climate that we see coming and stop putting the risk on the people who are just trying to find a place to live,” Morris said.

Neighborhoods have different suggested areas for dense development.

The plan also assesses Charleston’s affordable housing needs.

It found that the cost of living in the Charleston area is now more expensive than Atlanta; Charlotte and Asheville, N.C.; Virginia Beach and Richmond, Va.; and Jacksonville Fla., according to additional data presented in the city’s comprehensive plan. The only large metro area in the region that is more expensive is Washington, D.C

Over the past 20 years, public and nonprofit efforts have created or preserved an average of 94 affordable housing units per year, the plan states.

Summerfield said many Charleston residents could benefit from a greater variety of housing types.

“You’re not just looking at ultra low-income people potentially on public assistance. You’re looking at them up through the people who have good jobs but aren’t paid enough,” he said. “We’re talking firefighters, nurses and city employees.”

Based on population projections, the city will need about 16,000 new units at a range of affordable rates by 2030 to meet demand.

Also at the Oct. 12 meeting, council members approved the creation of a Municipal Improvement District for Johns Island.

The district, which will exist for 30 years, will require new developments to pay a new tax to the city for use on infrastructure projects in the area. It does not apply to existing developments.

JAMES ISLAND — Authorities have arrested a man who barricaded himself inside a Briarfield Avenue home, accusing him of attacking his wife and then detonating a Molotov cocktail near her and sheriff’s deputies.

The Charleston County Sheriff’s Office arrested Jonathan Andrew Hill, 36, on Oct. 8 and charged him with four felonies.

Hill was charged with two counts of possession of an explosive device and one count of intentionally causing an explosion in an attempt to injure people or a building. He was also charged with first-degree domestic violence.

Hill was acting manic and throwing items in his house at 4 a.m. Oct. 8 and subsequently got into a verbal dispute with his spouse, according to an arrest warrant affidavit.

Hill pushed his spouse and stomped on her face and chest. He then hit her several times with a belt, ultimately strangling her with it, the affidavit said. The victim was able to run outside the house and seek help, it said.

If convicted of first-degree domestic violence, Hill could face up to 10 years in prison, according to the S.C. Code of Laws.

Deputies went to the James Island home at about 7 a.m. in response to reports Hill was violent toward his spouse. Deputies met the spouse outside the home when they arrived.

Hill had barricaded himself in the house, according to another arrest warrant affidavit. Moments after their arrival, Hill opened the front door and threw a flaming incendiary device, often referred to as a Molotov cocktail, in the direction of the spouse and deputies, the affidavit said.

The device exploded on the driveway near the deputies, the affidavit said. No one was injured, said Capt. Roger Antonio, sheriff’s spokesman.

Hill then escaped through the house’s back door. Deputies later searched the home and found two additional cocktails manufactured inside the residence, the affidavit said.

If convicted of intentionally causing the explosion to cause injury, Hill could face up to 25 years in prison.

Hill appeared for a bond hearing Oct. 9. He was denied bail on all charges. He is currently being held at the Charleston County jail.

Charleston and North Charleston were among the top 10 cities in the state with the highest number of people contacting the National Domestic Violence Hotline during 2020, according to the S.C. Attorney General’s Office.