Charleston County advisory board backs Polk Flynn conservation easement, asks council to fund $340,000

CHARLESTON COUNTY — The Charleston County Greenbelt Advisory Board voted Oct. 22 to recommend that County Council provide $340,000 in rural Greenbelt funds to secure a conservation easement on the 136-acre Polk Flynn property at the corner of Highway 174 and Old Jacksonborough Road.

The board’s vote followed a presentation by representatives of the Edisto Island Open Land Trust and questions from board members about valuation and subdivision rights. The land trust requested $315,000 for purchase of the easement and $25,000 for closing and due-diligence costs; the property owner is donating the remainder of the easement value as a match, the presenters said.

The recommendation matters because the easement would sharply limit development on land currently zoned under the Parkers Ferry overlay. Tom Austin of the Edisto Island Open Land Trust said the easement, as revised, will reduce the property’s potential buildable footprint from more than 100 home sites to a small number of large parcels with strict limits on building envelopes and impervious surface.

"This is a property with incredibly high…