With so many styles and materials, selecting the perfect countertops for your home isn't always easy. Your counters must be practical enough for everyday use and unique enough to complement your style. They hold a demanding role as the go-to area for food preparation and cleanup and are often front-and-center when snacks are needed for parties. The very best kitchen countertops in Knightsville, SC mix beauty and style, setting your kitchen apart from your neighbors. But they must also be durable and useful, so you and your family can enjoy them for years to come.
At Stone City Kitchen & Bath, we create countertops and kitchen cabinets that make a statement in your home where other features fall short. You've worked hard to foster an attractive appearance throughout the rest of your home, so why should your countertops be any different?
Here at Stone City KB, we combine the durability and elegance of natural stone with personalized attention for each of our valued customers. Unlike other countertop fabricators, we source our materials from across the globe, searching high and low for the best stones available. In doing so, we are able to produce some of the finest remodeling and renovation products in our industry, from granite, marble, quartzite, quartz, and recycle glass countertops to new kitchen solid wood cabinets.
By providing high-quality materials and unmatched customer service, our clients have the chance to make informed decisions they feel great about. Our mission is to provide:
Impeccable Quality: You can count on Stone City KB to design and craft your countertops and cabinets exactly as you imagined, with globally-sourced, high-quality materials.
Honesty & Integrity: Trust is a must when you invite someone into your home to discuss new kitchen renovations. We are privileged to serve you, and our technicians are dedicated to treating your home like it was our own.
True Craftsmanship: When we say personalized service, we mean it. Our artistry lies in getting the details of your project right, whether we're installing custom countertops or completely remodeling your kitchen.
As our testament to creating a better product for our clients, we use innovative technologies and the brightest minds in the business to create stunning countertops and cabinets. Because when it comes to your home, it needs to be as close to perfect as possible.
We offer a wide selection of stones and materials for your next kitchen renovation project:
If you're in need of a professional, fast, reliable company for kitchen cabinets, countertops, and remodels, look no further than Stone City Kitchen & Bath.
When you're remodeling your kitchen or having new countertops installed, there are a lot of decisions to be made. From countertop material choices to counter placement preferences, each decision is impactful, making for an overwhelming experience. Luckily, at Stone City Kitchen & Bath, we have a team of countertop experts who are more than happy to offer assistance and advice on your new countertop journey.
Most of our clients start by selecting the type of countertop material they want to use. If you're at this stage and aren't sure what to choose, ask yourself these questions:
Still unsure? Swing by our showroom and let us help. Our kitchen remodeling experts can give you a rundown of the features and advantages of all our countertop materials, from durability to upkeep. Once you have those questions answered, you can begin narrowing down your selection. And what better way to do that than with a breakdown of our most popular countertop material choices?
Granite countertops are, without a doubt, the most popular choice for homeowners who want to install new kitchen countertops. Granite has held that position for years, and while it has competition, buyers love its luxurious looks and natural composition. Like some countertop materials, no two granite slabs will look exactly alike, giving your kitchen a unique aura.
Granite is a great choice for families, especially if you have children, as it has a hard surface that can withstand chips and scratches. Pricing on granite can vary depending on where it's sourced and how large the slab is. But one thing is for sure - if you're in need of a reliable countertop material for day-to-day use, granite should be atop your list.
One of the biggest reasons granite countertops are so popular is because they can be quite affordable. That's especially important for families trying to stick to a kitchen remodeling budget. Prices of granite can vary, so be sure to speak with one of our expert associates at Stone City KB for the most accurate pricing.
Another popular reason to choose granite countertops over other materials is granite's resistance to scratches and chips. If you're like most folks, you'll be using your new countertops every day. Over time, counters can take a beating, especially when you have younger children. Fortunately, granite can withstand many scratches and chips, making it a popular choice for longevity and beauty. Remember, though - never use your granite countertops for dicing, cutting, or slicing. Use a cutting board instead, or you may damage your new countertops.
When sealed properly, your granite countertops in Knightsville, SC can resist stains. In fact, if a spill dries on your counters, you should be able to scrape them off gently with a plastic scraping tool. That's not to say that granite can't be stained at all - acids and alkaline can do a number on granite, so avoid spilling those substances on your counters. With that said, if you seal your granite counters every year and clean up spills quickly with soap and water, you should be able to avoid most long-lasting stains. At Stone City KB, we are trained and certified for a permanent sealer with additional cost, that is warranty for 15 years. Don't forget to ask your sales representative for this permanent 15 years sealer as an option so you can be worry free.
Like stains, granite countertops are also resistant to heat. Granite is formed in nature with heat and pressure, so it makes sense that it would have inherent heat-resistant properties. This is great news if you use your oven or toaster oven to cook dinner. If you accidentally place a hot pan on your granite counters, you don't have to worry. While we recommend placing oven-hot pans on potholders, you should be safe to use your granite counters too.
Granite has many practical benefits over countertop materials, but it also has an aesthetic advantage. At Stone City Kitchen & Bath, all our granite slabs are unique. If your neighbors have new granite countertops installed, you can rest easy knowing their granite won't be exactly like yours. If you're looking for a one-of-a-kind, cost-conscious option for your kitchen countertops, granite is a fantastic choice.
Marble is a timeless material that exudes luxury. It has dynamic, detailed hues and is a very popular choice for homeowners in need of a high-end feel for their kitchen. Unlike granite counters, marble needs regular upkeep to maintain its beauty and durability.
Like granite, quartz are engineering countertops are durable and don't require too much maintenance. It is non-porous and doesn't need to be sealed, so scratches and stains are minimal. However, unlike granite, you should avoid placing hot items on quartz countertops or you could risk damaging them. If you like marble with white and gray vein movements, quartz countertops is your best choice.
No kitchen remodeling project would be complete without installing new cabinets. At Stone City Kitchen & Bath, our experienced craftsmen have created and installed hundreds of new cabinets. We know that deciding on your new kitchen cabinets' material, finish, and style can be hard. That's why we're here to help every step of the way!
Our team has the tools, training, and experience to help you choose the best cabinets for your kitchen. We'll consider your current kitchen layout, your color preferences, and more to provide personalized options for your project. And when it's time to install your new cabinets, you can rest assured we'll get the job done right at a price you can afford.
When it comes to kitchen remodeling in Knightsville, SC installing new kitchen cabinets is a great idea. If you're already upgrading or replacing your kitchen countertops, having new cabinets that match the aesthetics of your kitchen makeover is a no-brainer.
At Stone City KB, we believe that everyone deserves an elegant, versatile kitchen with stunning cabinetry. That's why our team will work closely with you to discover the material, texture, and style of cabinets you're craving. Once we do, we handle all the heavy lifting, including cabinet design and installation in your home.
So, why should you install new kitchen cabinets alongside your countertops? Here are just a few reasons:
Many customers install new kitchen cabinets because they're already remodeling their kitchen and need their cabinets to match the aesthetics of their updated space. Do you want your kitchen to feel more open and airier? Do you have specific lifestyle requirements that necessitate a particular cabinet material? Our kitchen cabinet experts can help you find the perfect cabinet setup for your needs.
Having a uniform aesthetic throughout your kitchen and home is important. But from a practical standpoint, new kitchen cabinets often mean more kitchen storage. That's a big deal for families, especially when younger children are involved. If you find that your countertops are magnets for clutter, new cabinetry can help remove the mess and stress less. The more storage your kitchen has, the easier it will be to use your kitchen for cooking and entertaining.
Take a few moments and check out the bones of your current cabinets. Low-quality, cheap cabinets are often a turnoff for potential buyers. If you plan on selling your home in the next few years, one of the best ways to boost resale value is with new cabinetry.
Is it a pain in the side to cook in your kitchen? Whether it's due to clutter, design, or something else, many of our customers want new cabinets so that their kitchen is functional again. New cabinets give you more storage, as mentioned above, but they can also make your kitchen more functional, depending on design and remodeling preferences. If you love to cook for your family and get-togethers, investing in new kitchen cabinets can help you do more of what you love.
Whether you're looking to "wow" a new client or work colleague or just want to make your neighbors a little jealous, upgrading your kitchen cabinets is a great way to do so. Of course, first impressions have always mattered, but particularly so in real estate. When the time comes to sell your home, having custom cabinets and countertops in your kitchen can set you apart from other sellers.
Here at Stone City Kitchen & Bath, we specialize in custom kitchen countertops and cabinets designed especially for you. Whether you've been dreaming of traditional wood cabinets or need sleek, elegant granite countertops, we've got you covered. We are committed to affordable options while holding true to our craftsmanship and skills, providing customers with the best kitchen renovations in South Carolina.
If you're looking for the largest selection and the best prices, visit our showroom or contact us today. You've worked hard to make your home special, so why not your kitchen too? From design to installation, our team is here to help you every step of the way.
SUMMERVILLE — Tables begin to fill up just past noon at a restaurant 31 miles from downtown Charleston.Surrounded by chain eateries in a Publix-anchored strip mall, La Cuisine Du Chevalier — or La Chev, as most call it — has the buzz of an energetic lunch crowd ready for some midday human interaction.A trio of women attempt to corral four children while dunking grilled bread into large white bowls of bouillabaisse, brimming with mussels, shrimp and white fish, all steeping in saffron broth.Empty black s...
SUMMERVILLE — Tables begin to fill up just past noon at a restaurant 31 miles from downtown Charleston.
Surrounded by chain eateries in a Publix-anchored strip mall, La Cuisine Du Chevalier — or La Chev, as most call it — has the buzz of an energetic lunch crowd ready for some midday human interaction.
A trio of women attempt to corral four children while dunking grilled bread into large white bowls of bouillabaisse, brimming with mussels, shrimp and white fish, all steeping in saffron broth.
Empty black shells are pushed aside at another round mahogany table, where two friends catch up over mussels and glasses of iced tea.
A man sitting solo at a two-top finishes his meal and tells the server he will be back next week.
These are the sights and sounds of a restaurant that’s become a neighborhood lunchtime favorite less than a year after quietly opening in November 2022.
I would have never found La Chev without a tip from a colleague, but I’m glad I came. That satisfaction extends to residents of the Knightsville and Summerville area, who have thanked owner Jason Tucker for bringing his Southern take on French cuisine to them rather than downtown Charleston.
“A lot of people were confused about why I did it here,” said Tucker, a Summerville resident. “I saw the direction of where the homes are going.”
Tucker struck out on his own after cutting his professional teeth at restaurants in Charleston’s French Quarter. Inside the strip center space that previously housed a Ladles sandwich and soup shop, the Johnson & Wales University graduate is teaming up with La Chev’s chef de cuisine, Jonathan DuPriest, who grew up in Knightsville.
Whether it’s crab dip with grilled bread or seared scallops over French onion cheese risotto, DuPriest is consistently coming up with new daily specials that the restaurant posts on its Facebook page, which takes the place of an actual website.
La Chev boasts separate lunch and dinner menus, but there are several crossovers, including the shrimp and grits, crab croquettes and yellowfin tuna — a dish that stood out after two visits to the restaurant.
The lightly-seared tuna, served cold, rests on a steaming hot medley of chopped asparagus, corn, confit tomato and cubed bacon. A speckled cream sauce pulls the vegetables together, adding sweet smokiness to the fresh but mild fish.
“It doesn’t just play with your taste buds, it plays with the temperature sensitivities of your palate, as well,” Tucker said.
With a nice crust and firm pink center, the tuna hits all corners of my mouth, leaving soft, peppery spice behind. Though served as an appetizer, I enjoyed it as my full meal with an order of duck coq au vin dumplings — a fun riff on a French classic — on the side.
During dinner, the white tablecloths are brought out and topped with larger appetizers and mains that allow for some “Lowcountry liberties,” Tucker said.
For instance, crab croquettes are more petite crab cake than filled-and-fried roll, but the flawed descriptor doesn’t take away from each delicate bite. Paired with a light and bright diced cucumber salad, the patties’ crab-to-filler ratio favors the former.
A trio of cheese-adorned meatballs, floating in tomato ragù and served with small wedges of garlic bread, is another appetizer that satisfies without reinventing the wheel.
The same can often be said for the restaurant’s dinner entrees.
Roasted salmon, stuffed with crab and served atop crisp green beans, is one example of an expertly cooked daily special. On the side, Carolina Gold rice is bound with cheese to form a thick patty, bringing substance and salt to the Southern grains.
Steak, which appears to have been marinated and spent some time in the oven, makes up for a lack of crust with a juicy, tender texture — almost reminiscent of the roasted filet of beef my mother serves at Christmas.
Of the six dishes I sampled at La Chev, each one left me without complaints.
There isn’t much in the way of décor, more noticeable during a Monday night dinner service that saw just two occupied tables between 5:45 and 6:45 p.m. This was a far cry from the crowded lunch service I witnessed weeks before, making me ponder if ownership might consider closing their doors on Monday, typically the slowest dining day of the week.
It also made me wonder if this type of restaurant — a place that skirts the line between neighborhood establishment and one worthy of a special night out — can work in this location.
I remain optimistic.
While it’s just four miles from the town’s top restaurants — Laura, Bexley and La Rustica, among others — it’s less crowded and closer to home for many Summerville restaurants.
And as those who have dined at La Chev have likely realized, there isn’t anything like it in Knightsville.
Jason Tucker reports that business is booming at the boîte known as La Cuisine du Chevalier, or La Chev, by the locals. The 40-seat restaurant, which translates to “the knight’s kitchen,” garnered rave reviews by online contributors when it opened in November at the former soup restaurant called Ladles in the Shoppes of Summerville.It only recently held a grand opening celebration.Tucker, who has lived in Summerville for the past 16 years, is no stranger to the restaurant business.“My backgr...
Jason Tucker reports that business is booming at the boîte known as La Cuisine du Chevalier, or La Chev, by the locals. The 40-seat restaurant, which translates to “the knight’s kitchen,” garnered rave reviews by online contributors when it opened in November at the former soup restaurant called Ladles in the Shoppes of Summerville.
It only recently held a grand opening celebration.
Tucker, who has lived in Summerville for the past 16 years, is no stranger to the restaurant business.
“My background is extremely diverse and it started back when I was 15-years’ old scooping ice cream in Central Pennsylvania,” he said.
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Over the years, Tucker has worked in numerous restaurants, from chains like Buffalo Wild Wings, Cracker Barrel and the Hilton, to groups like Charleston Hospitality and more. After bartending his way through college in Virginia, the hard-working transplant accepted a management position from his employer, which took him to Summerville, where he has been ever since.
The father of two boys is also the operating partner at Wine & Tapas in Summerville and was buoyed by the popularity of the business. This inspired him to open a new restaurant, this time with a French flair.
“They call the area the French Quarter, but it lacked a French-themed restaurant, which never made sense to me, especially with the growth we are seeing in this area,” he said.
Tucker said that La Chev was designed to evoke the feeling of walking down the Champs-Élysées.
“It’s a cute café that’s quaint and all about the food and wine,” he said.
It doesn’t hurt that Tucker worked in the wine distribution business and is well-versed on what’s exceptional. He said that his goal is to bring people in by rivaling the quality that a customer would get in downtown Charleston.
“It’s all about the ingredients and there’s a lot of precision and thought that goes into each of our dishes,” he said, adding that chef de cuisine Jonathan DuPriest, who grew up in Knightsville, is Johnson and Wales-trained.
When it comes to dishes, Tucker said that the most popular lunch items that they serve are the French Dip and the shrimp and grits.
“A lot of people judge the quality of the restaurant by their shrimp and grits,” he said.
As for dinner, Tucker offers quite a few specials, ranging from steak dishes, to surf and turf, scallops, crabcakes, and salmon.
“Everyone says that it’s the best salmon served in the Atlantic Coastal area,” Tucker said.
For now, La Chev is taking reservations, except for the bar and outside area, so last-minute plans to dine can be accommodated if guests don’t mind sitting in either area.
Tucker also recently announced that they will be open on Sundays for brunch.
“We’re currently working on the menu which we will implement sometime around the end of July,” he said.
Kurry Seymour was a Ladles customer who was wowed by his first visit.
“This place brings a refreshing vibe to the Knightsville area and I am impressed by the décor, which was converted into a very fine, but very cozy dining experience,” he said.
Reviews like this are music to Tucker’s ears.
“I never thought I’d be in a situation where I’d be running two separate restaurants, but I love the feeling one gets when someone is happy with an experience. Making moments special is the best feeling in the world and having the opportunity to have someone really love what you’re doing, well, it doesn’t get any better than that,” he said, with a smile.
Stefanie Kalina-Metzger is a contributing writer for SC Biz News.
The droves of people moving to the Lowcountry for the low cost of living and plentiful jobs aren’t coming alone.Often those workers have families that include young children who will attend public schools. Of the more than 750,000 people who live in the region, about 22 percent are age 18 or younger, according to the Census Bureau.That growth leaves school systems struggling to keep up as they strive to find funding, space and dozens of teachers to instruct those new students each year.“Right now, we are tryi...
The droves of people moving to the Lowcountry for the low cost of living and plentiful jobs aren’t coming alone.
Often those workers have families that include young children who will attend public schools. Of the more than 750,000 people who live in the region, about 22 percent are age 18 or younger, according to the Census Bureau.
That growth leaves school systems struggling to keep up as they strive to find funding, space and dozens of teachers to instruct those new students each year.
“Right now, we are trying to basically take inventory of what we have, and trying to find different ways to deal with the growth,” said Berkeley County Senior Associate Superintendent Deon Jackson.
In many cases, districts’ annual growth is enough to fill a new school.
This year, for instance, Berkeley planned for 800 new students, but 1,400 came.
“And Volvo hasn’t moved the first car off of their plant yet,” Jackson said of the carmaker that plans to bring 4,000 new jobs to the county and will roll out its first S60 sedan later this year. “At this rate, there is no doubt in our minds that yes, we are going to need additional schools at some point.”
Dorchester, on the other hand, got an unexpected break this year. After more than a decade of 400 to 1,000 additional students per year, only 149 new students enrolled in that district this year. Officials had planned for 600.
Predictably, the schools near new development are the most overcrowded.
Cane Bay elementary and middle schools near bustling Carnes Crossroads are currently under the biggest strain in Berkeley, and the Philip Simmons schools off Clements Ferry Road are expected to feel a pinch in coming years.
Dorchester 2’s crush is in the Knightsville area on the district’s northeast side, where Reeves Elementary and DuBose Middle share a campus.
“We have a lot of development coming that could impact those schools,” said Dorchester 2 Chief Financial Officer Allyson Duke.
Lack of funding
But those new houses don’t contribute to school districts’ operating budgets.
State law, Act 388, limits the kind of taxes a school district can levy, including a prohibition on taxing homeowner-occupied residential properties for operating expenses.
“They build all these houses, but we don’t benefit from the property taxes from them,” Duke said.
Property tax bills reflect an amount for the school operating budget that is then deducted as a credit.
“There’s still confusion,” Duke said. “A lot of people do not realize that they’re not paying school operating taxes. They see it on their tax bill and don’t look and see that school tax credit at the bottom.”
Funding for capital needs like new buildings or maintaining existing ones has to come from somewhere else, often special obligation bonds.
“What we are trying to do is make sure that we’re utilizing everything that we have to the fullest extent before we start building additional schools,” Jackson said.
Charleston County, which is also growing by about 1,000 students annually, funds its building program through a 1 percent sales tax. The district expects to collect $575 million to fund new school buildings and renovations through the tax, first approved in 2010 and renewed in 2014.
But Berkeley and Dorchester 2 have both turned to homeowners. In 2012, those districts floated “Yes 4 Schools” campaigns with an eye toward easing some of the overcrowding that existed then.
At the time, they said several schools housed hundreds more students than they could comfortably hold and students were being taught in trailers, work rooms and libraries.
Seventy percent of voters in Berkeley approved the ballot measure to fund a $198 million building program that added four new elementary schools and a high school, while Dorchester 2’s $179.9 million campaign to add three elementary schools and a magnet middle school of the arts passed by a 60-40 margin.
The measures added $102 on a $150,000 owner-occupied house in Dorchester County for 20 years. In Berkeley, homeowners paid $60 more on a $150,000 house the first three years, and are now paying $120 annually until 2023, when it goes back to $60 for another decade.
“The referendum was definitely a success,” Duke said. “If we didn’t have these new schools, I don’t know what we would have done.”
End of Yes 4 Schools
Both Berkeley and Dorchester 2 will see the end of their building campaigns this year. In August, Berkeley plans to open Bowens Corner and Foxbank elementary schools, and Dorchester 2 students will move into the new Rollings Middle School of the Arts.
The extra seats have helped some but not enough, officials said.
“We need more schools, that’s all there is to it,” said Duke.
In the 5½ years since the referendums were approved, Berkeley has grown by about 5,000 students to 35,192 this year. Dorchester has gone from 23,245 to 26,240.
“We’ve completed that building program, and the growth is still coming,” Jackson said. “We’ve made our adjustments; however, it’s still not sufficient. When you have a 900-student school opening up at 750 students, it doesn’t leave you much room, not the way that Berkeley County is growing.”
The county is outpacing even the aggressive predictions of a 2015 study by Clemson’s Strom Thurmond Institute that forecast the student population could skyrocket to 55,000 by 2035. That study called for 20 new schools in 20 years.
Moving forward
But aware that taxpayers are still putting money into the 2012 program, officials are doing everything they can to maximize space.
“We are not so certain that a referendum is the only solution,” Jackson said. “We’re working with the county government and working with our Legislature to figure out what’s the best way for Berkeley County to deal with the situation we have.”
The trailers the districts removed from schools a few years ago are now being added back. At DuBose, for instance, six additional units will be added to the 18 already there for next school year.
Dorchester is not yet talking about redrawing attendance lines — always a hot topic — but Berkeley is.
“Where do you move them? To a less overcrowded school?” said District 2 spokeswoman Pat Raynor.
Officials at both districts said they have a commitment not to increase class size, which can be a detriment to learning for students and a stress for teachers.
“Talk to just about any teacher, and they would rather have lower class sizes,” Duke said. “That’s probably more important to most of them than pay, really.”
Berkeley is looking at some unconventional ways to increase capacity, such as using a “college model” of office space or shared spaces in jam-packed high schools instead of assigning teachers to classrooms. That allows each class to be used every class period, in theory increasing capacity by 25 percent.
“We’re trying to use every resource that we have to the fullest before doing something that’s going to cause us to borrow more money,” Jackson said.
Although they aren’t ruling out future referendums, both are aware that they may not get taxpayer support.
“We’re taking a collaborative approach because we are coming out of a building program that drew a lot of attention,” Jackson said. “We are definitely cognizant of that.”
Opposition to Berkeley’s referendum led to a State Law Enforcement Division investigation and guilty pleas on ethics charges from former Superintendent Rodney Thompson and Communcations Director Amy Kovach.
In addition, in the aftermath of the investigation, authorities uncovered a scheme by former Chief Financial Officer Brantley Thomas to embezzle nearly $1 million from the district and shuffle money between accounts to cover up construction cost overruns of about $7.2 million.
Dorchester 2 was also sued over its referendum. In March 2017, Summerville lawyer Mike Rose filed a lawsuit claiming that the district broke state law and its own rules during the building campaign, leading to cost overruns, delays in opening new schools and shoddy work. That lawsuit is ongoing.
By Casey L. Taylor, JDTucked away near Summerville, SC – the place known as “Flowertown, USA” – is a sanctuary dedicated to gibbons (small apes). It’s a jungle-like wonderland that has lifesaving at the core of its mission.The International Primate Protection League (IPPL) sanctuary is a secret to many locals. It is situated on over 40 acres of land surrounded by lush woods. Neighbors are lucky enough to hear the songs and great calls of these interesting primates throughout the da...
By Casey L. Taylor, JD
Tucked away near Summerville, SC – the place known as “Flowertown, USA” – is a sanctuary dedicated to gibbons (small apes). It’s a jungle-like wonderland that has lifesaving at the core of its mission.
The International Primate Protection League (IPPL) sanctuary is a secret to many locals. It is situated on over 40 acres of land surrounded by lush woods. Neighbors are lucky enough to hear the songs and great calls of these interesting primates throughout the day and night.
The sanctuary is home to 36 gibbons, the smallest of the apes, who have been rescued or retired from laboratories, deplorable “roadside” attractions, or the pet trade. IPPL provides lifetime care to these incredible endangered species and works to educate the community on the plight of gibbons in the wild.
The gibbon residents at the sanctuary have indoor night houses that are hurricane-grade, expansive outdoor habitats, and aerial walkways that give them the choice to safely move about their designated areas as they wish. It is important to the organization that each sanctuary resident is given as much freedom of choice as possible in a captive environment, while keeping them safe. Despite most residents having a rough start to their lives, they thrive at IPPL. They even have some residents nearing the age of 60!
International Outreach
IPPL is a grassroots nonprofit organization dedicated to protecting and preserving the world’s remaining primates, great and small. For the last 45 years, IPPL has made a global impact by securing an export ban on primates from Thailand (saving thousands and thousands of lives) and working with over 20 reputable primate rescue and rehabilitation centers in Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America.
IPPL not only supports their efforts to care for native primates who have been rescued and are in need of rehabilitation or lifetime care, but also to thwart poachers and illegal wildlife traffickers, as well as educate local villages and communities on how they can help be part of the solution in preserving native populations of primates.
Small Team, Big Impact
With a small but mighty team of animal caregivers, maintenance technicians, office staff, and dog nannies, IPPL provides compassionate lifetime care for every resident, which includes nutritious and delicious fresh produce three times a day for the gibbons, as well as veterinary care and enrichment — to stimulate those intelligent minds of theirs!
Forms of enrichment vary from food puzzles that the gibbon must figure out in order to get their healthy treats, to special time with their favorite caregiver. Bubble-blowing is a big hit with some of the gibbons. Tong, who was one of the first four original residents at the sanctuary, loves a good foot rub — what girl doesn’t?
Absolutely nothing beats a life in the wild, but for these residents that is sadly not a reality. The team at IPPL feels that the least they can do is make the rest of these individuals’ lives the happiest and healthiest they can be. From residents used in invasive human vaccination studies and locomotion tests, to those kept in less-than-favorable conditions, IPPL’s sanctuary is a safe and loving place for them to thrive and to live as gibbons should.
Casey L. Taylor, JD is the Executive Director of IPPL.
MORE ABOUT IPPL
The sanctuary is not open to the public as an attraction, but it holds educational events in the community and offers options to visit during special times. Sign up to receive their e-newsletters on their website (www.ippl.org) and be the first to know about opportunities and events.
Dorchester County is continuing with its plans for a large-scale rezoning effort to stop the over-building of additional apartment complexes and townhomes.At a County Council meeting Monday, members voted and approved the rezoning of dozens of parcels of land from multi-family residential to mostly single-family. Under single-family zoning, property owners aren’t allowed to build apartments or townhomes.Knightsville LLC is a property owner with plans for building townhomes that was exempt from the rezoning ordinance after...
Dorchester County is continuing with its plans for a large-scale rezoning effort to stop the over-building of additional apartment complexes and townhomes.
At a County Council meeting Monday, members voted and approved the rezoning of dozens of parcels of land from multi-family residential to mostly single-family. Under single-family zoning, property owners aren’t allowed to build apartments or townhomes.
Knightsville LLC is a property owner with plans for building townhomes that was exempt from the rezoning ordinance after filing a complaint in county court. County officials say there have also been some additional complaints from residents about the rezoning.
“The complaint from Knightsville LLC held more significance because of the level of investment involved,” said Kiera Reinertsen, the county planning and zoning director.
In 2004, the county’s zoning ordinance was amended and led to an increase in approvals of multi-family zoning.
After hearing complaints about traffic, infrastructure and flooding during the organizing of its 2018 Comprehensive Plan, the county announced mass rezoning plans for multi-family spaces.
According to officials, most of the property owners under the rezoning project already live within single-family spaces. The project will help bring property owners who have spaces for commercial use into compliance. Using a property for commercial use is not permitted in a single-family residential district.
The project will also help balance population densities and available county infrastructure.
Some of the multi-family areas highlighted for rezoning include property southeast of Ladson Road toward North Charleston and between Ladson Road and Central Avenue in Knightsville.
In April, Knightsville LLC filed a complaint in the county court over proposed rezoning. The owner had purchased three parcels of land off of Central Avenue in Knightsville with the goal of building townhomes.
In the complaint, the owner alleged that the rezoning plans undermined and violated their investment-backed expectations and denied them the right to pursue a planned development project.
During the Monday meeting, attorney Ellis Lesemann spoke on behalf of Knightsville LLC. He said they paid just under $1.1 million for the land in 2019. He also argued that there is enough infrastructure in place to develop the project.
“They’ve been incurring permit fees, legal fees, engineering, doing a wetlands delineation and going through other types of carrying costs to bring that project forward,” he said.
Lesemann said his client learned about the rezoning plans for their property in February. After a Monday executive session, the council agreed to exclude property under Knightsville LLC from its rezoning ordinance.
“We were pleased to be able to resolve the matter with the county,” Lesemann said.
Future approval of multi-family zoning will be based on the county’s available infrastructure and future land use.
The area above Central Avenue in Knightsville is next on the county’s list of mass rezoning. The county’s planning commission is scheduled to meet on Oct. 8 to review proposed rezonings.
A County Council public hearing is expected to follow on a later date. Officials say property owners impacted by the rezoning should’ve already been notified.
Many owners have likely received a flier on their property notifying them about the rezoning.