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Council authorizes reimbursable green‑space grant to Bluffton for two Bluffton parcels, with covenants and further negotiations on adjacent parcel
Summary
Council authorized the county administrator to negotiate a reimbursable grant to the Town of Bluffton for Parcels 5A and 5B (Buckwalter), with restrictions on certain uses and continued negotiation over optioned acreage and valuation related to a potential future connector road; the motion passed after roll‑call vote.
Beaufort County council voted May 11 to authorize the county administrator to negotiate and execute a reimbursable green‑space grant to the Town of Bluffton for Parcels 5A and 5B in the Buckwalter area, subject to covenant language limiting certain uses and to guard against potential road‑building impacts.
County staff described the parcels as roughly 240 acres and recommended changing an earlier grant offer to a reimbursable grant, with conditions that exclude uses such as equestrian staging, drones and bocce courts and that set a formula for how acreage tied to a future road (referred to in the discussion as "5B" or a North‑South connector) would be handled.
McShane, speaking for green‑space staff, said the town closed on the property before final county covenants were agreed and that the recommended changes reduce county risk while preserving a large passive park: "Our recommendation is to award a reimbursable grant to the town of Bluffton... with the amendments we're recommending, limited, restricting a couple of those uses."
Richardson Labreuse, appearing for the Town of Bluffton, told council the town had closed on the land to preserve it and agreed to remove some requested uses; he said the town believes the reimbursement calculation should be based on the town's purchase price rather than current fair‑market value.
Council discussed several unresolved issues (how many acres could be repurchased or reimbursed if a road is needed, whether price should be fixed in today's dollars or appraised at time of purchase, and whether the town should pay before or after constructing any road). Councilmember Brown moved the motion authorizing the administrator to negotiate the reimbursable grant and the motion passed in roll call.
The council requested staff to continue negotiations with the town on the three outstanding points and to return quickly with recommended covenant language and any needed actions on the adjacent Parcel 5C.
(Reporting based on discussion and vote in SEG 2027'SEG 2760 and SEG 2686'SEG 3013.)
