Is it a good thing to be Daniel Island?

If the Mark Clark Expressway is extended as planned, Johns Island could become the new Daniel Island.

That could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on whom you ask.

The 4,000-acre Daniel Island community between Mount Pleasant and North Charleston was a rural, wooded island inhabited by just a handful of residents until the last 10 years or so.

The island was owned by the Guggenheim Foundation as an old hunting preserve. In 1991, plans for the Mark Clark Expressway were in the works to connect Mount Pleasant and North Charleston, with the expressway running past Daniel Island.

The city of Charleston annexed the island in 1991 and the Mark Clark was completed in 1992. The island was sold to development company The Daniel Island Co. in 1995 with a specific master plan on how to develop it.

It was the Mark Clark link that gave motorists easy access to Daniel Island.

Before the expressway was built, motorists used Clements Ferry Road and Highway 41 to get to the island, down a series of back roads. Older residents will recall that one needed a four-wheeler to get to parts of Daniel Island, and cows, deer and wild turkeys used the island as their home.

In 1996, the first homes on the island were sold. Twelve years later, the community boasts more than 5,000 residents, an established downtown area with a grocery store and a plethora of condominiums, bars and restaurants. The Family Circle Tennis and Blackbaud Soccer stadiums call Daniel Island home. Minimum home prices are in the $300,000 range, according to local real estate agents, and one home on Daniel Island last year sold for more than $6 million.

The island continues to grow. At an upcoming city of Charleston Planning Commission meeting to be held Wednesday, the commission is expected to consider a plan for 775 more lots to be developed on the island.

Daniel Island and Johns Island are similar — their landscapes, rivers and marshes and their location between other major areas in the Lowcountry. Johns Island also has been annexed by the city of Charleston.

Real estate is growing on Johns Island, with developments and new neighborhoods being built. Home prices are rising. Realtors say that buying a home on Johns Island now is a good investment.

Some residents who bought homes on Daniel Island in 1997 have seen their property values nearly triple.

If the Mark Clark is extended, it will provide easier, faster access to Johns Island and increase property values. Development on Daniel Island spurred an out-of-state immigration. Many of the island's residents are from places other than South Carolina. If Johns Island has easier, faster access, more out-of-towners will learn about the waterfront views and rural feel of the island and consider moving there.

Easier access to Johns Island likely will appeal to some locals as well. For some who work in North Charleston or in West Ashley, living on Johns Island right now is too far to commute. The Mark Clark would make the area more attractive for area residents.

For some, that type of development and growth is welcomed. More people mean more money, businesses and economic growth. On Daniel Island, the development was carefully planned and structured with a master plan.

Johns Island also has a master plan, conceived by city of Charleston planners, on what can be developed where.

Daniel Island's careful development plan, immaculate houses, golf courses and pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods have been showcased in a number of prestigious publications, including The New York Times and Southern Living magazine. Berkeley County's Daniel Island School opened on the island in 2006 and has an active and involved Parent-Teacher Association that raised $347,000 in the school's first three months for reading programs, playground equipment and other student activities.

Despite Daniel Island's success, some feel that same type of development on Johns Island would destroy the natural character of the island, run out wildlife, increase land values and property taxes and create another suburb in an area that doesn't need more growth.

Growth on Johns Island is already happening — more so in the last five years than ever before. With a Johns Island plan in place, the city now can control how development will occur.

Extending the Mark Clark could result in development occurring sooner and at a higher demand.

The Coastal Conservation League and Concerned Citizens of the Sea Islands are adamantly opposed to extending the Mark Clark and have offered some alternatives to the project.

It's up to residents to either support these alternatives or not, but they need to let their elected officials know their wishes.

The Mark Clark extension, if it goes through as planned, will no doubt change the landscape of Johns Island.

It's up to residents to decide if that's the type of change they want.