At the May 23 meeting of the North Regional Planning Committee, staff described a proposal for a facilitator-led symposium and follow-up workshops to develop a shared land-use vision for Beaufort County, Jasper County and nearby municipalities, saying the effort could cost about $75,000 and be scheduled for the fall.

Committee staffer Rob, who presented the plan, said the region already has tens of thousands of approved but unbuilt housing units and that coordinating growth is urgent. “Planning jointly and having a shared land use vision is something that is vital for this region,” Rob said.

The recommendation grew out of a growth subcommittee charged with reviewing comprehensive plans across the region. Staff told the committee the region currently has roughly 53,000 potential future dwelling units in approved developments in southern Beaufort County, Bluffton, Hardeeville and parts of Jasper County — units that could be built without any further rezonings or annexations. Staff and some committee members said that level of entitlement, coupled with rising housing costs and workforce shortages, creates pressure on roads, water and sewer systems.

Rob said the staff proposal favors a concentrated public process rather than a full rewrite of each jurisdiction’s comprehensive plan: either a one-day symposium or two half-day events with an independent facilitator, elected officials and key stakeholders. He told the committee the estimated cost to hire a facilitator and do background work is about $75,000 and that the recommended cost-sharing formula would allocate contributions by population; preliminary staff figures showed Beaufort County bearing the largest share under an earlier $100,000 scenario.

Staff also described practical steps and timing: jurisdictions would first decide whether to participate, staff would prepare an RFP/RFQ to procure a facilitator (a process Rob estimated would take roughly a month and a half), and the earliest realistic schedule was the coming fall so participants could seek funds in upcoming budgets. Rob said staff would present refined funding numbers to the regional coordinating group at a Tuesday meeting of Soloco (as referenced in the presentation).

Committee discussion ranged from logistics to policy tools. Members asked whether the workshops could lead to firm commitments such as mapped growth boundaries or voluntary agreements on annexation and upzoning; Rob said the symposium could produce a vision and recommendations and might lead to further formal steps at each jurisdiction’s discretion. Members raised infrastructure and timing concerns, including references to pending state legislation on adequate public facilities that would give local jurisdictions more authority to tie development to infrastructure availability.

No vote or formal commitment was taken at the meeting. Staff will present the refined cost-sharing formula and next steps to the regional body referenced as Soloco, after which participating jurisdictions would decide whether to fund and proceed with procurement.

Background: presenters emphasized prior regional work — including the Northern Beaufort County Regional Plan adopted about 15–20 years ago, joint land-use studies tied to military installations, and coordinated stormwater guidance — as a foundation for the proposed workshops. Beaufort Jasper Water Sewer Authority staff were identified as active participants in coordinated planning and infrastructure analysis.