Hooray for more open green spaces
By Lolita Huckaby
BEAUFORT
Beaufort County’s been getting some pretty good media attention this month, and not just the usual appearance on Southern Living or USA TODAY’S “top 10” lists, which always mean more folks will be coming to visit.
This time, it’s because the County Council, with some nudging by other groups, approved a $1 million expenditure for the county’s first acquisition through the one-year-old Green Space program. And it’s not just because this was the first expenditure; it’s because the 4,409 acres purchased happens to be in another county.
“What?” you might ask. That group up there in the County Council chambers are now spending “our” tax dollars over in JASPER COUNTY? “Are they CRAZY? Like we don’t have enough boat landings to be fixed or roads to be resurfaced or more deputies to deal with all these shootings we seem to hear a lot about?”
No, the good news of this expenditure is that the County Council WAS wise enough to listen to partners like the Open Land Trust, the Nature Conservancy, the S.C. Conservation Bank, and the Department of Defense and agree to chip in on the $35 million purchase of Gregorie Neck in northern Jasper County to protect it from development.
The Council is actually following the wishes of the voters who agreed to support the Green Space program in November 2022, becoming the first county in South Carolina to take advantage of this sales tax plan approved by the General Assembly two years ago.
When state Sen. Tom Davis approached the County Council and recommended the program, there was some speculation about how it all would work, imposing a new penny sales tax to buy land to keep it from being developed. Especially the provision that allowed the expenditure of taxes in another county.
In other words, Davis and his legislative colleagues were ready to endorse the Green Space program because they realize the rapid development and growth taking place in South Carolina, particularly along the coast, was outpacing the governments’ abilities to provide services.
To sweeten this first purchase, the Nature Conservancy, the Conservation Bank and Department of Defense agreed to throw in part of the money. The DoD saw the value in the acquisition because of its proximity, and need to protect from development encroachment, to the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort flight patterns.
The environmental groups saw the value in protecting the wetlands and the 13 miles of river front property within the Port Royal Sound watershed.
So the various players followed the procedures for using Green Space dollars. The six-member committee appointed by the County Council vetted the proposed purchase, found it worthy of meeting the program’s mission of preventing development and recommended the Council allocate $1 million of the Green Space revenues for the purchase of a perpetual conservation easement. The rest is history.
The easement agreement calls for subdivision for no more than six homes and our Open Land Trust, itself the living example of successful land preservation, will manage that easement.
At last week’s celebration of the purchase out at the wooded site, Col. Mark Bortnem, commanding officer of Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, had this to say: “That noise you hear is the sound of freedom, and the silence you hear is the sound of conservation.”
Wow.
Frustrated about traffic? County, municipalities have plan to tackle it
BEAUFORT – Speaking of sales taxes, the County Council is trying to drum up public support for the upcoming 1 percent transportation sales tax to be on our ballot in November.
A series of four public hearings has been scheduled throughout the county in the next month to give citizens an opportunity to consider the projects and voice their opinions.
If last week’s first session, in Beaufort, was an indication, there’s interest but not “overwhelming” interest.
Designed to raise up to $1.625 billion (yes, BILLION) during a 15-year period (that’s 15 years, not two, four, even 10 … but 15), the sales tax language was drafted by a citizens group, lead by Spanish Moss Trail guru and former Beaufort Jasper Water and Sewer Authority (BJWSA) mastermind Dean Moss of Port Royal (who, on vacation when the committee first met, was drafted as chairman of the committee.)
The ordinance outlining how the money will be spent is somewhat vague, giving the local municipal councils the option of fine-tuning the expenditure plans.
For example, the $75 million designated for Ribaut Road “improvements” no longer talks about “Reimagining” Ribaut Road, since a number of residents didn’t even want to consider that option. (The plan for narrowing a portion of the road through the city’s residential neighborhood, plus three traffic circles, could pop back up if the City Council wants to pursue it. But that’s not likely.)
Then there’s the “Lady’s Island Corridor Traffic Improvements,” which, equally vague, include another traffic study on how to fix the problems of too many vehicles.
Most sales dollars would go to fix south-of-the-Broad River problems, which is where the majority of rapid development is happening and where the majority of the county’s residents live.
But there’s a nice mixture of projects thrown in for all of us, including $85 million for a “green belt” program designed to buy more property to keep it from being developed. There’s money for infrastructure changes to deal with flooding caused by rising sea level and for a mass transportation system.
In other words, there’s probably something in there for everyone that lives here.
A lot of folks don’t even want to think about the November election but it’s coming faster than we may like. There will be plenty of opportunity to learn about this sales tax proposal, stay tuned. Because you will get a chance to vote on it in November.
Lolita Huckaby Watson is a community volunteer and newspaper columnist. In her former role as a reporter with The Beaufort Gazette, The Savannah Morning News, Bluffton Today and Beaufort Today, she prided herself in trying to stay neutral and unbiased. As a columnist, these are her opinions. Her goal is to be factual but opinionated, based on her own observations. Feel free to contact her at bftbay@gmail.com.
