Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Botany Bay Expansion topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
GAB approves Botany Bay expansion reimbursement and purchase request; members remove special condition on small parcel
Summary
The board approved $570,000 in rural funds for the Botany Bay Expansion (Ocella Creek Point) — a part-reimbursement, part fee-simple purchase of 18.2 acres — and declined to impose a special-condition requirement for the smaller reimbursable parcel after discussion of title and access issues.
The Greenbelt Advisory Board approved staff funding for Edisto Island Open Land Trust’s Botany Bay Expansion (Ocella Creek Point), a request that combines reimbursement for a recently purchased parcel and purchase of an adjoining peninsula under contract.
Chris described the project as an 18.2-acre expansion to Botany Bay Heritage Preserve; staff said the smaller lot had been purchased by the land trust and the larger peninsula parcel was under contract but faces heirs-property/title issues on access. The subcommittee recommended $570,000 in rural funds with a special condition that clear legal access and marketable title be demonstrated for the peninsula lot prior to release of funds. Staff noted the county had quitclaimed interest in an access road on July 18, 2024, and recommended substituting the term "marketable title" for "clear title" to match legal practice.
During discussion, Edisto Island Open Land Trust representatives and board members debated whether to apply the title/access condition to both parcels or only the larger peninsula. Board member Adam McConnell and others asked whether reimbursement for the smaller front rectangular lot could proceed quickly to allow the land trust to reuse funds for other acquisitions. After a motion to approve without the special condition (so that staff would not withhold reimbursement on the smaller parcel), the board voted in favor and the motion carried.
Staff said funds will not be released for any parcel until the necessary marketable title or title policy commitment is in hand for that parcel. The board also directed staff to include TMS numbers and to reflect the legal department’s recommended phrasing of "marketable title."
