Working Together

Written by Charlie Wetmore

ave you ever wondered if anyone ever thinks about what will be built in Beaufort County? When you see another store, road or housing development going up, do you wonder if anyone thought about it and how it would relate to the rest of the area? I know I have.

In South Carolina, each town and county are required to have a Comprehensive Plan that is updated every 5 years and rewritten every 10 years. These can be very detailed documents that address the future growth in certain areas. Both Beaufort County and Bluffton have put much thought and time into their Comprehensive Plans – each of which were rewritten in 2007.

One of the most important features in the Comprehensive Plan is the Future Land Use Map. A copy of the Town of Bluffton’s can be found at: www.townofbluffton.com/comp/futurelanduse_blowup.pdf

This map was developed in conjunction with Beaufort County in order to help guide what could, or would be developed in our area in the future. Beaufort County also has a map that you can view at: www.bcgov.net/Planning/documents/DraftLandUseElementMaps.pdf (see page 7). The goal is to work together to come up with the best use for land in our area. While it is not perfect (and the government’s don’t always agree), it is a large improvement over what was done in the past.

The key in seeing the most responsible development is two-fold. First, we must listen to the people who live in the area where the development is proposed – this should be a given, but sometimes it is forgotten. Secondly, everyone within the various commissions and governments must work together to achieve the best results. Recently, two things have happened that help to ensure that the governments talk – one on the state level, and one on the local level. The state of South Carolina enacted the Priority Investment Act. The Priority Investment Act requires adjoining governments to inform each other when they are considering developments or zoning changes. This is something that Bluffton and Beaufort County had started doing already. However, it is nice to see it as a requirement now.

The other thing that happened recently was a public meeting in mid-March. It was a Future Land Use workshop. Town Council, the town Planning Commission, Historic Preservation Committee and the public were invited. It was a pleasant surprise to count over 40 people in attendance - we so often see very little public participation in town events. There were six tables set out around the room, each one with a large town map on it. The crowd was separated into groups that (after some direction) poured over the planned use of properties in the town and beyond. These groups looked at the proposed future use for every parcel in the area. They considered the historical and geographic implications and then each group suggested to either keep the current designation for an area or change it. The town staff is now in the process of compiling the recommendations. These recommendations will then be brought to the Planning Commission and to Town Council for recommended changes to the overall plan. Most (if not all) of the suggestions from the groups were to further limit the use of properties in sensitive areas – such as along the Highway 46 corridor.

While nothing is perfect, it can come much closer to perfection with input from all of the people and governments involved.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions or concerns at:
cwetmore@Townofbluffton.com
Charlie Wetmore
Council Member, Town of Bluffton