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Committee recommends Town Council consider MED‑district workforce‑housing text and PD‑2 map amendments
Summary
The committee voted to send a text amendment and PD‑2 zoning‑map change that would allow up to 114 mixed‑income townhomes near the hospital and require at least 30% of units meet town workforce rules (income eligibility, employment on the island). Planning Commission recommended approval with stormwater conditions.
The Community Development & Public Service Committee recommended forwarding a pair of land-use changes to Town Council that would allow workforce housing in the MED zoning district and amend the Palmetto Headlands (PD‑2) master plan to permit residential uses adjacent to Hilton Head Hospital.
Planning Director Zach Gordon said the request consists of a text amendment to Title 16 to permit residential workforce housing in the MED district (independent of commercial conversion) and a separate zoning‑map amendment to apply that allowance to specified PD‑2 parcels totaling about 12.6 acres adjacent to the hospital. Gordon described a schematic plan for roughly 114 mixed‑income townhomes in 12 two‑story buildings, with a community pavilion, pool and wellness amenities; the developer team named in the presentation includes Novant, Coastal Community Development Corporation and private partners.
Under the proposal, workforce housing would be limited to identified PD‑2 parcels and would follow a maximum density of 10 units per acre. Gordon said at least 30% of the units in the project would have to comply with the town’s workforce housing program—meeting income eligibility, a requirement that those workforce units’ residents work on Hilton Head Island and long‑term occupancy restrictions—and short‑term rentals would be prohibited for those units. He said the Planning Commission recommended approval and that a key condition requires all stormwater generated on site be retained and managed within project limits, with no discharge directed toward Hilton Head Plantation.
Peter Pearson, speaking for Hilton Head Plantation, told the committee the developer had reduced the project’s size to accommodate neighbors and pledged cooperation with review boards. He emphasized the proposal advances the town’s jobs‑housing goals and noted the town is only changing the ordinance; no land or funding is being provided.
Committee members compared the project’s workforce‑unit employment requirement to earlier projects: staff clarified that the 30% workforce threshold here requires that those workforce units be occupied by residents who are income‑qualified and have jobs on the island (staff contrasted that with 100% job‑on‑island requirements for Northpointe and a 20% threshold on another downtown conversion). Gordon and staff also noted that council approval would not itself authorize construction; development plan review remains required.
A committee member moved to recommend Council adopt the ordinance and map amendment (including Planning Commission conditions). The motion was seconded and approved by voice vote.
The committee did not authorize construction; if Council approves, the project will proceed to the standard development‑plan review and permitting process, including stormwater engineering review.
