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Bluffton council adopts wetlands UDO amendments after hours of public comment
Summary
Council adopted UDO amendments expanding wetland buffers and adding waiver/administrative processes after extended public comment from environmental groups, property owners, developers and staff Q&A; the motion passed unanimously on second/final reading.
After an extended public hearing and detailed staff presentation, the Town of Bluffton council voted unanimously to adopt amendments to the Unified Development Ordinance that expand wetland buffers and add a local wetland certification and administrator waiver process. The proposed changes expand the town's existing protections (previously a 25‑foot buffer in the UDO) to stronger buffer language and provide exemptions and procedures intended to reconcile development agreements and permits from other agencies. The staff presentation explained the legal context since the Sackett decision and noted that valid U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permits predating September 1, 2023, remain vested.
The public record included speakers urging adoption to protect isolated freshwater wetlands and biodiversity, and other residents and developers urging postponement to allow more study and to avoid unintended consequences for existing development agreements. "Wetlands are an essential thread in the fabric environment," Kinsey Poole, a staff attorney with the South Carolina Environmental Law Project, told council in support of the changes. Staff also noted that the ordinance grants limited discretion to the UDO administrator to grant waivers in specific cases and that most development agreements with preexisting buffers would continue to control where applicable. After questions and discussion, a council motion to adopt the amendments passed unanimously.
