By Mike McCombs
The Island News
Local nonprofit Protect Beaufort announced earlier this month that it has filed a lawsuit seeking to preserve public access to Beaufort’s Downtown Marina.
In a release dated Dec. 11, Protect Beaufort said it was seeking “a declaration from the Court that plans put forth by the City of Beaufort to effectively privatize the Beaufort Downtown Marina violate federal, state and local laws and legal covenants that prohibit the privatization of a public resource.”
Beaufort’s Downtown Marina was opened in 1976 through an agreement between the South Carolina Department of Parks, Recreation, and Tourism, the Economic Development Administration, and the Bureau of Outdoor Recreation.
Under the original contract agreement, the City of Beaufort accepted federal financial assistance through the Land and Water Conservation Act to construct the 5-acre park on which the marina sits. Among other requirements the Act calls for the property to remain for “public outdoor recreation use” and specifies the property may not be “sold, leased, transferred, conveyed or mortgaged” without the prior written consent of the Secretary and Assistant Secretary of the Interior of the United States.
Recently, the City of Beaufort has admitted to failing to seek or secure approval before entering a lease agreement with Safe Harbor.
Also, Protect Beaufort contends that plans submitted by Safe Harbor “appear to put an undue burden on taxpayers by requiring the City of Beaufort to provide not only use of valuable public land but to cover costs for insurance, upgrades and repairs and the exclusive use of limited parking spaces in the area for private members.”
Protect Beaufort contends that the “proposed use of this public asset by a for-profit company with a responsibility to shareholders, not the local community, will ultimately injure residents and visitors by restricting access to the waterfront to a select number of members. Further, a burden will be placed on taxpayers to fund projects that will be used by this select few rather than for the public good as has always been intended.”
Beaufort City Manager Scott Marshall said there’s really nothing new to this lawsuit and that the specific issues brought up in the lawsuit either have been or are being addressed. Marshall said the plaintiff simply wants to exclude Safe Harbor from managing the marina.
“It doesn’t matter whose managing the marina,” Marshall said, “Someone is going to operate the marina, be it Safe Harbor or another company or even if the city ran it, and there are going to be safeguards to protect private property. The access will be controlled no matter who operates the marina.”
Marshall maintains that controlled access to the part of the marina where boats are tied doesn’t make the marina private.
The Protect Beaufort Foundation, Inc., according to an earlier news release, “seeks to engage residents, business owners, and local leaders in meaningful dialogue and action to ensure that Beaufort remains a vibrant, sustainable community for generations to come. The organization’s efforts will focus on critical issues such as growth management, environmental conservation, and maintaining the cultural integrity of the area.”
The group lists as its purposes 1) To protect and enhance the unique public community and environmental qualities that exist in Beaufort, S.C.; 2) To oppose and reverse the privatization and commercialization of property owned by governmental entities in the city and the county; and 3) To promote the adoption and enforcement of laws and contracts of the city, the county, the state, and the nation for the purposes stated in 1 and 2.
Developer Graham B. Trask, who is involved in several lawsuits that involve the City of Beaufort, is listed among the group’s Founding Board of Directors.
Mike McCombs is the Editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.
