Charleston County Council approves several Greenbelt projects amid debate over forward spending and fund shortfalls

Charleston County Council on April 20 received an annual update on the county Greenbelt program and approved multiple winter-cycle projects while members sharply debated policy limits on "forward spending" from urban allocations that are currently overdrawn.

The update, presented by a county staff member identified in the meeting as Mr. Davis, said council has awarded 229 Greenbelt projects since the program began in February 2007, protecting more than 26,000 acres at a total Greenbelt expenditure of about $166.4 million. The program has leveraged roughly 140 percent in matching funds (about $232 million), and about 12,641 acres — roughly 45 percent of Greenbelt acres — have some current or planned public access, Davis said.

The presentation said conservation easements account for more than half of protected acres (about 17,436 acres) and that the average cost per acre across the program is just under $6,000. Lifetime projected Greenbelt balances for both transportation sales tax tranches were shown at roughly $163 million; current available funding before the committee took action was stated to be just over $13.3 million. The county’s urban unincorporated allocation was shown as having a negative balance of about $4.25 million, a result staff attributed in part to a prior large award (Red Top) that drew from multiple allocation buckets.

Davis also described an ongoing technical effort to update Greenbelt mapping and priorities using a GIS geodatabase and new data from the State Conservation Bank, Charleston County Parks and Recreation Commission and regional planning partners. He said the Greenbelt Advisory Board (GAB) has agreed to a stepwise, mapping-driven approach and expects to make recommendations later this calendar year.

Council considered five applications in the FY25 winter cycle and voted on the items individually. Key votes and staff descriptions were: - Botany Bay Expansion (Edisto Island Open Land Trust): part-reimbursement/part fee-simple request for two parcels adjacent to Botany Bay Heritage Preserve. Motion to approve passed on voice vote; the application requested $570,000 from rural Greenbelt funds and reported a 45% match. - Mount Pleasant Way (Town of Mount Pleasant): the eleventh segment of a multi-segment shared-use path (Rifle Range Road/Ben Sawyer to Venning Road). The town requested $1,073,100 from its urban allocation (funds that staff said were currently negative) to acquire recreation easements outside the right-of-way. Council approved that application after roll-call (motion carried 5–4). - Station 24 boardwalk (Sullivan’s Island): $29,595 requested from the town’s urban funds to replace and raise a deteriorated public beach boardwalk. Approved on voice vote; staff noted the town’s 1,300% match and said beach-season timing was a reason to move now rather than wait months. - Freeman Anderson conservation easement (Kiawah/Kewa Conservancy and property owner Lewis Anderson): a proposed conservation easement on just over five acres adjacent to Boca/Cox Creek intended to protect natural resources and create a wildlife corridor. Council approved the easement on voice vote. The property owner indicated limited, invitation-based public access is expected. - Coakley Chapel Park / Hamlin Beach (Lowcountry Land Trust): Lowcountry Land Trust sought $1,614,500 from urban unincorporated funds to purchase and help develop roughly 6.5 acres (park, chapel renovation, and eventual transfer to the Hamlin Beach Community Association). Council debated contingency around unsecured fundraising and matching commitments; a motion to defer the item failed and the project was approved after further discussion.

The discussion drew sustained concern from several council members about the practice of "forward spending" — approving awards that rely on anticipated future allocations (for example, FY26 distributions expected in July). Council members including Middleton, Pryor, Moody and others pressed staff on whether awards should be limited when an allocation shows a negative balance. Councilmember Pryor argued projects should not be approved when the local allocation is negative, saying municipalities should wait until they have funds on hand. Other members — including representatives of districts with safety and connectivity needs — argued that delaying some projects would jeopardize matching grants (for example, a USDOT Safe Streets grant tied to Mount Pleasant Way) and delay federally funded safety improvements for school corridors.

As a policy outcome, council directed staff and the Greenbelt Advisory Board to develop guardrails and return with recommendations on forward spending and allocation management. Several council members asked that the issue be brought to a follow-up committee meeting quickly so staff could propose specific thresholds or a procedural approach for forward spending. Staff committed to produce further materials and to work with the technical advisory group forming the GIS priority mapping.

Quotations from the meeting included council members and applicants who spoke during the item. Councilman Pryor said during debate: "If a municipality is $7,000 or $20,000 under, they're gonna get back over the next year, I'm fine with that," while urging that negative municipal balances should disqualify applications in his view. James Aton of the Town of Mount Pleasant told the committee, "Per state law, [golf carts] are illegal to operate on bike and pedestrian facilities. The Town of Mount Pleasant Police Department is enforcing, and will continue to enforce as these segments are completed." Sam Sewell, community lands director for Lowcountry Land Trust, described the applicant's plan for Coakley Chapel Park and said the trust "will be working on securing that $100,000 prior to closing."

Why it matters: Greenbelt has protected tens of thousands of acres and uses local transportation sales tax funding that is finite; decisions about forward spending affect whether project awards rely on future allocations or must wait, which in turn affects grant leverage, project schedules and local access to recreation and safety improvements.

Council actions and next steps: Council approved the winter-cycle projects listed above (voice votes for some items and a recorded 5–4 approval for the Mount Pleasant Way segment). Council asked staff and the Greenbelt Advisory Board to draft a forward-spending policy and to complete the GIS mapping work this calendar year to inform prioritized funding recommendations. Staff also said they will return with clarifying financial breakdowns requested by councilors (for example, an itemized total of conservation easement spending without public access).