Committee advances due‑diligence funding for four green‑space tracts and a $1.545M Simmons Tract conservation easement for council review

The Natural Resources Committee on Feb. 3 approved sending several Green Space Program items to full council, including requests to fund due diligence and negotiate terms for proposed acquisitions and a conservation easement packet for council consideration.

Mike McShane, chairman of the Green Space Advisory Board, described four due‑diligence requests the board recommended: Pine Grove Plantation ($25,000), Harper Tract ($25,000), Palmetto Bluff/Pioneer Land & Timber Tract (up to $50,000) and Broad Creek Marina Tract ($25,000). McShane said the Palmetto Bluff parcel is large and contiguous to county‑owned lands and could create a substantial managed‑forest/recreation tract; he framed the county’s likely role as funding due diligence and facilitating state and federal grant participation rather than sole ownership. "We have a short window of time here," McShane said, urging timely due diligence and grant coordination.

The committee also reviewed a resolution authorizing the county administrator to contribute funds to assist Open Land Trust with a conservation easement on the Simmons Tract (Town of Hilton Head Island), with a fiscal impact not to exceed $1,545,000 from the Green Space Program Fund. Staff reported the Green Space Program Fund account balance as $95,862 as of Jan. 9. Committee members discussed equitable distribution across the county’s four regions and staff noted options to clarify the program map and regional accounting before council consideration.

The committee moved the Green Space due‑diligence packet and the Simmons Tract resolution forward for full council consideration; specific purchases or easements will return to council with complete due‑diligence results and recommended funding plans (staff indicated potential to seek substantial state and federal grant reimbursement for large purchases).