Task force reviews Gullah Geechee preservation priorities, design-studio outcomes and family-compound rules

Sharonica Gavin, principal planner for historic neighborhoods, presented a multi-part update to the Gullah Geechee Land and Cultural Preservation Task Force on the town’s historic-neighborhood programs and 2025 priorities.

Gavin said the historic-neighborhood permitting and design studio—initiated October 2021—had received 95 design-studio requests through December 2024; 67 of those have been completed, 20 remain active and 8 have been withdrawn or marked inactive, which Gavin summarized as about a 70% completion rate. She described the studio’s mission as helping property owners with permits, family-compound and family-subdivision conceptual design, property access, business licensing and connections to resources for heirs property and tax matters.

Members pressed Gavin on a specific eligibility rule: whether a family must have owned property since 1956 to qualify for family-compound benefits. Gavin confirmed the 1956 ownership threshold currently applies to family-compound qualifications and said the requirement may need further discussion during the LMO (land-management ordinance) overhaul so that real-time cases can inform potential adjustments.

Gavin also reviewed broader 2025 task force priorities drawn from the Gullah Geechee Cultural Preservation Project Report (published April 2019): completing the Gullah history and cultural-awareness program’s video component, continuing the historic-neighborhood permitting and design-studio work, refining family-compound and family-subdivision provisions, supporting heirs property processes through the heritage library and the heirs-property family research project, and operating a delinquent-tax prevention fund via a contracted partner (Lowcountry Gullah Foundation).

Gavin said several actions are already operational: a Gullah history/cultural-awareness presentation was completed for town staff; the town established expedited permit procedures and flexible land-use provisions to support development in historic neighborhoods; and the heritage library is being used for genealogy research to assist heirs-property cases. She described outreach to Gullah churches and community organizations as ongoing and noted that more than 60% of the task force’s 16 immediate priority recommendations have been addressed or are actively pursued.

Members discussed outreach to younger residents (ages roughly 25–40) and suggested tying cultural-preservation work to economic benefits—citing the task force’s "money talk" series as an example of programming that drew a diverse demographic. Gavin agreed that combining economic education with cultural awareness and deploying social-media outreach could attract younger participants.

The chair and members closed the discussion by noting the need to keep the report visible to the public and the task force as the town proceeds with planning, coordination with the Gullah Geechee Community Development Corporation and the LMO overhaul.

Next steps: The task force will continue to review and refine recommendations during 2025, including further discussion of family-compound eligibility and completing the cultural-awareness video component; Gavin will continue outreach to community partners and provide updates to the task force.