Despite rising sea levels and increasing hurricane threats, developers have sought for more than two decades to build an exclusive resort community on a barren sand spit south of Charleston.

But each time they’ve taken their case to the S.C. Supreme Court, they’ve lost. On Wednesday, Kiawah Development Partners II suffered its latest setback, when the court sided with environmentalists against the high-end project at Captain Sam’s Spit.

The court again turned down the development company’s push for an extensive seawall to protect the backside of the spit from rising water levels and erosion. The steel wall, which would be nearly a half-mile long, would have made it easier to build the 50-home project at Captain Sam’s.