Lady’s Islanders:
We Want Your Comments!
The Lady’s Island Area Plan, an initiative of Beaufort County and the City of Beaufort, has been posted in draft form, and is available for public review on a special website, Lady’s Island Area Plan.
The planning process, overseen by a ten-member steering committee drawn from the community and supported by planning staff from the City, County and Town of Port Royal, has been underway since last year. A planning consultant, McBride Dale Clarion of Cincinnati was retained to help guide the planning effort.
This is the first time a plan has ever been developed specifically for Lady’s Island, and is one of the outcomes of the successful Designing Lady’s Island effort by the Sea Island Coalition and Coastal Conservation League.
A series of public meetings to review and discuss the draft plan is being organized and will be announced once dates are firm. Members of the public are also encouraged to review the draft planand provide comments to the steering committee. An e-mail link to provide feedback has been provided on the plan’s website at https://ladysislandplan.wordpress.com/
Once complete, the plan must go before the Northern Regional Plan Implementation Committee for adoption as a part of the Northern Beaufort County Regional Plan. Subsequently, the plan must be adopted by Beaufort County and the City of Beaufort as a part of their comprehensive plans, and endorsed by the Town of Port Royal. Endorsement by the Lady’s Island Business and Professional Association, the Sea Island Corridor Coalition, and the Coastal Conservation League will also be sought as part of the approval process.
A Park For Lady’s Island!
Plans to purchase about one-half of the Whitehall Plantation property for parkland took a big step Monday night, as the County Council voted unanimously to make an offer for the property.
The total purchase price has not yet been determined, but County Council voted to spend “up to” $4.3 million from the Rural & Critical Lands program for an 9.72 acre portion of the 20.5 acre property along the bluffs of the Beaufort River at the east end of the Woods Memorial Bridge.
The City of Beaufort, Beaufort County and the Open Land Trust have reached a separate agreement to manage park maintenance, with Whitehall Development Group, owner of the property, contributing one acre, and agreeing to provide architectural plans for the park as well as access to water, sewer and electric utilities as part of their installation to support approved development on the remaining property at Whitehall.
More than 50 Lady’s Island residents and Friends of Whitehall Park travelled to Bluffton last night to urge the Council’s approval. Friends of Whitehall Park has been instrumental in gaining support for the project, and among other things, have garnered more than 6.000 signatures on a petition supporting the project.
