By Lolita Huckaby
BEAUFORT
It may go down as the longest meeting in recent Beaufort County government history.
Reference last week’s Beaufort County Council meeting which lasted a total of 7 hours, 6 minutes with Pine Island development as the major item of interest.
And, as everyone in this little pierce of paradise knows the results of that marathon meeting were a resounding NO vote to those latest development plans.
After a four-hour public hearing, which followed three-and-a-half hours of “regular” council business, the 11 members, by a vote of 9-2, rejected the motion to continue negotiations to remove the Pine Island property from the Cultural Protection Overlay (CPO) map for construction of an 18-hole golf course and 49 homes.
More than 50 individuals rose from the over-packed Burton Wells Recreation Center to speak, some telling the council it was a terrible proposal, one that would destroy the surrounding Gullah-Geechee community, while others supported the plan which they noted allowed less development with only 49 homes.
Going into the meeting, which was the latest step in a three-year process, it appeared to be anyone’s guess on how the vote would come out.
When the council voted 5-4 during special meeting Aug. 20 to hire outside attorneys and continue discussions on a development agreement with the Pine Island representatives, there was genuine concern among those opposing the plans, that vote indicated some support for an amended agreement.
Indeed, by the time the council got their information package for the Sept. 22 meeting the developer had added an additional $6.5 million in enticements including money for the affordable housing/workforce housing program, assistance with heirs’ property issues, money for unidentified nonprofit grants, a cemetery survey on Daufuskie Island and a turn lane at the intersection of Dulamo Road and U.S. 21.
Apparently, the enticements were not enough and the council’s direction was made public when Councilman Tom Reitz, of Hilton Head, was the first of the south of the Broad River council members to cast his vote in further discussions. Past votes for the development had drawn general support from the S.O.B. council members as well as Councilman David Bartholomew of Lady’s Island and parts of St. Helena who surprised many at the Sept. 22 meeting when he voted to support continued deliberations with the Pine Island representatives.
But Bartholomew and eight council members followed Reitz’s lead in the roll call vote at the Sept.22 meeting and rejected the new development agreement and any changes to the CPO … to the loud applause from the citizens still present at 2 am when the final vote was made.
Only Councilmen Logan Cunningham and Mark Lawson, both elected from districts south of the Broad River, voted to allow the development agreement discussions to continue.
So the answer to last week’s question in this column, does “money talk” would appear to be no. But despite the celebration following that week’s council vote, the developer can come back with a new request for a zoning amendment to the CPO. And there’s a lawsuit out there challenging the county’s earlier denial.
Then there’s the promise of his lawyer that the property will be developed.
County moves forward on 2026 sales tax referendum
BEAUFORT — Least someone think all seven hours of last week’s County Council meeting was tied up on Pine Island matters, it wasn’t.
The council, with no discussion, agreed to create a Capital Projects Sales Tax committee to consider what projects should be included on referendum question next year, if they decide to put the go forward with the vote. Their biggest concern about scheduling another referendum vote has been a documented lack of confidence on the part of voters.
They officially “recognized” the Corners community – that commercial spot at the intersection of U.S. 21/Sea Island Parkway and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. The resolution, promoted by Queen Quet of the Gullah/Geechee Nation and others familiar with the history of the St. Helena island, clearly states that “Frogmore,” which the intersection is commonly referred to, actually refers to the Frogmore Plantation complex further south on Seaside Road.
They “recognized” a dozen employees for their years of service, and Treasurer Maria Walls gave an overview of the 411,000 county bills which will be going out in the mail within days. Her advice to the council, and the public about a somewhat new format which will be used: “let’s don’t freak out.”
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. The Rowland, N.C. native’s goal is to be factual but opinionated, based on her own observations. Feel free to contact her at bftbay@gmail.com.
