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Hilton Head council debates shifting planning workload from single planning committee to two workshop committees
Summary
Council members discussed Mayor Orlando—s proposal to redistribute the town—s land‑use work (now largely handled by a public planning committee) across two standing committees to improve vetting and reduce last‑minute surprises; members sought legal clarity on FOIA implications and agreed to staff study code changes.
Mayor Perry opened the two‑day strategic workshop with a charge to focus the town—s priorities. Town Manager Mark Orlando told council he is seeing an 87‑item pipeline and proposed moving planning workload out of a single public planning committee and into two workshop‑style committees (finance/administration and community services/public safety) where all council members could participate in vetting before items reach first reading.
Supporters said widening committee participation would surface questions earlier and reduce the late‑breaking debates that stall council votes; Councilman Brown said broader vetting could "put us in a better place to succeed down the road." Opponents warned that having all seven members regularly on a committee dais risks creating an "assembly" that could trigger open‑meeting rules; several members asked the town attorney to confirm whether the proposed practice would run afoul of FOIA.
Town Manager Orlando described the current workflow as roughly seven agenda items per month and said redistributing the public planning workload would let the council and staff better schedule committee work and reduce duplicated effort. Council members proposed a two‑stage process: (1) staff and the mayor refine a short list of committee functions and meeting rules; (2) council consider a code amendment to formalize the change. Legal counsel and staff were asked to return a redlined draft of any joint resolution or ordinance language and a timeline for committee code changes.
Council did not adopt a formal ordinance during the workshop. Instead members signaled consensus to pursue options that preserve careful vetting, maintain transparency, and avoid unintended FOIA exposures. Staff will return with a code amendment timeline and a proposed interim operating approach that clarifies whether council members will sit at the dais during committee meetings and how public notice and voting will be handled.
The council agreed to stay engaged in the near term: town staff will present proposed committee definitions and draft municipal code changes for council consideration before any final vote. The town manager said he would aim to bring a draft ordinance or redlined resolution back within about 30 days for council review.
