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[1. CALL TO ORDER]
THIS MEETING TO ORDER YOU.STAND FOR THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
MY PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS.
ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY, JUSTICE FOR ALL.
BEFORE A NOTIFICATION BEEN POSTED, UM, WE HAVE
[4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
MINUTES TO APPROVE.THESE MINUTES GO BACK TO, TO REMEMBER.
I NEED, UM, COMMENTS, CORRECTIONS, IONS, DELETIONS.
IF NOT WITHOUT OBJECTION, MINUTES ARE APPROVED, WE'RE
[5. APPROVAL OF AGENDA]
ONTO THE AGENDA.UM, ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO ADD OR AMEND IN ANY WAY THE AGENDA? OKAY.
IF NOT, THE AGENDA'S APPROVED.
WE'RE IN THE CITIZEN COMMENTS PORTION.
UM, I WANT TO SAY A COUPLE THINGS BEFORE WE DO THAT.
I, IF YOU WANNA SPEAK, UM, PLEASE SUBMIT YOUR REQUEST TO SPEAK TO THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANT.
I THINK THAT'S GONNA BE KRISTEN.
SO IF YOU WANT TO FILL OUT A LITTLE FORM THAT WITH YOUR INFORMATION ON IT, SO WE CAN CALL UPON YOU WHEN WE HAVE THE TIME, UM, ALLOWED.
UM, YOU'LL BE ALLOWED THREE MINUTES TO SPEAK.
THE COMMERS COMMISSIONERS WILL RESPECTFULLY LISTEN TO YOUR COMMENTS AT THE PODIUM.
PLEASE CLEARLY STATE YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS FOR THE PUBLIC RECORD.
IN TURN, PLEASE BE RESPECTFUL TO THE PUBLIC FORUM THAT YOU'RE IN.
THIS PUBLIC MEETING IS RECORDED AND THEREFORE BECOMES A MATTER OF PUBLIC RECORD.
AS DOES ALL CORRESPONDENCE ON THIS ISSUE DIRECTED TO COUNTY OFFICIALS.
PLEASE PLACE YOUR CELL PHONES ON SILENT MODE.
THE PLANNING COMMISSION IS AN ADVISORY BODY TO COUNTY COUNCIL.
AS SUCH, THE PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION ON THIS ISSUE OR ANY ISSUE GOES FORWARD TO COUNTY COUNCIL THROUGH THE COMMUNITY SERVICE AND LAND USE COMMITTEE, THEN TO COUNTY COUNCIL FOR THEIR REVIEW AND VOTING.
SO, THE PC RECOMMENDATION PLANNING COMMISSION RECOMMENDATION IS A STEP IN THE NEW REVIEW PROCESS AND VOTING DETERMINATION BY COUNTY COUNCIL.
CAN I INTERRUPT FOR ONE SECOND? YES.
WE'RE HAVING TROUBLE HEARING YOU.
IS YOUR MIC ON? UH, IT'S THE LIGHT'S ON.
DID, DID YOU MISS ANYTHING? YOU WANNA HEAR IT AGAIN,
UH, THIS IS THE PORTION OF THE AGENDA, UM, WHEN WE ALLOW CITIZENS TO SPEAK ON NON AGENDA ITEMS. SO IF YOU HAVE ANYTHING SPECIFIC THAT YOU'D LIKE TO TALK ABOUT THAT'S NOT ON OUR AGENDA, THIS WOULD BE A TIME TO DO THAT.
DO WE HAVE ANY NON AGENDA SPEAKERS? NO.
[7. ZONING MAP AMENDMENT/REZONING REQUEST FOR 86.16 ACRES (R100 028 000 0264 0000) LOCATED AT 98 JENNINGS ROAD FROM T2 RURAL (T2R) TO C3 NEIGHBORHOOD MIXED USE (C3NMU).]
MOVING ON TO OUR ACTION ITEMS FIRST.AND THE FIRST, UH, ACTION ITEM WE'RE GOING TO HEAR ON IS A ZONING MAP AMENDMENT REZONING REQUEST FOR 86.16 ACRES LOCATED AT 98 JENNINGS ROAD FROM T TWO R RURAL TO C3 NEIGHBORHOOD MIXED USE.
WOULD THE, WOULD THE COUNTY PLANNING DEPARTMENT LIKE TO START THE CHAIR? THANKS.
UM, SO WHAT IS BEFORE Y'ALL IS, UH, REZONING FOR 98 JENNINGS ROAD.
UM, THIS IS A LITTLE OVER 86 ACRES THAT IS CURRENTLY ZONED T TWO R, WHICH, UM, ALLOWS ONE DWELLING PER THREE ACRES.
UM, SO THAT WOULD PERMIT APPROXIMATELY 28 HOMES.
UM, THE PROPOSED ZONING DISTRICT IS C3 NEIGHBORHOOD MIXED USE.
UM, THIS REQUEST CAME IN TO ACCOMMODATE 184 SINGLE FAMILY DETACHED HOMES.
UM, CURRENTLY IN THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, THE, UM, THE, IT IS IDENTIFIED FOR FUTURE LAND USE AS A HAMLET
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PLACE TYPE.UM, AND THIS SHOULD BE USED WHEN THE PROPERTY IS UP ZONED.
AND YOU CAN SEE AS WHAT WE HAVE GOTTEN TODAY THAT THAT IS NOT THE ROUTE THAT THEY HAVE PLANNED TO GO WITH THIS.
UM, ALSO OF, IF YOU LOOK AROUND, UM, COULD YOU SCROLL BACK UP TO THAT ONE, UM, FURTHER SOUTH, UM, OF THE PROPERTY IS A LOT OF C3 LAND THAT IS ALREADY THERE THAT, UM, IS NOT, THAT IS RURAL AREA THAT IS NOT BEING USED CURRENTLY.
SO, UM, REGARDING THAT, UH, STAFF RECOMMENDS DENIAL OF THIS REZONING BECAUSE OF THAT.
UM, THERE'S ANY OTHER QUESTIONS? UH, THE AIR STATION HAS BEEN NOTIFIED AND THEY REACHED OUT.
UM, AND ESSENTIALLY I WILL SHARE THAT.
BUT, UM, THEY STATED THAT THEY ARE NOT IN FAVOR OF THIS REZONING AS WELL, AND THE SCHOOL DISTRICT HAS NOT COMMENTED, BUT THEY HAVE BEEN NOTIFIED.
QUESTIONS, COMMENTS? IS THERE A LETTER FROM, FROM THE, UM, AIR STATION FOLKS? UM, I GOT THE RECORD.
I GOT AN EMAIL, BUT I CAN, UM, GIVE THAT OUT.
LIKE, WHILE WE WERE, LIKE AFTER HOURS, WHILE WE WERE JUST AS LONG AS FOR THE PUBLIC RECORD.
AND SCHOOL DISTRICT BATTERY CREEK HIGH VIS-A-VIS BATTERY CREEK HIGH ON JENNINGS ROAD.
THEY WERE NOTIFIED AND I GOT AN EMAIL THAT THEY RECEIVED THAT.
UM, BUT THEY NEVER GAVE US ANY DOCUMENTATION AS REGARDING ANY COMMENTS.
KRISTEN, WOULD YOU MIND, UM, AT LEAST JUST TOUCHING ON THE ISSUE OF THE PLAY SPACE, UM, COMPONENT OF THE COMP PLAN.
SO THIS, UM, RIGHT NOW IN THE COMP PLAN, THAT AREA, UM, HAS THE FUTURE LAND USE DESIGNATION AS THE HAMLET PLACE TYPE? UM, I CAN GO A LITTLE FURTHER IN THAT AND READ WHAT IT SAYS IN OUR COMP PLAN.
UM, TYPICALLY A LARGER AND MORE INTENSE THAN RURAL CROSSROADS.
UM, BUT IT OFTEN HAS SMALL PEDESTRIAN ORIENTED MAIN STREET, MAIN STREET WITH SURROUNDING AND SUPPORTING RESIDENTIAL, UM, THAT IS SCALED TO THE SIZE OF PEDESTRIAN SHED.
UM, A HISTORIC EXAMPLE OF A HAMLET INCLUDES THE ORIGINAL SETTLEMENT OF BLUFFTON ALONG CALHOUN STREET.
SO IT'S A LITTLE, YEAH, IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE, UM, LET'S SEE.
YEAH, IT'S A LITTLE BIT MORE INTENSE THAN A RURAL CROSSROADS, BUT NOT BY TOO MUCH.
KRISTEN, LET ME, LET ME, UH, ADD TO THAT QUESTION.
WHAT WOULD BE REQUIRED BY THE APPLICANT TO SUBMIT A HAMLET PLACE TYPE OVERLAY? UM, AS I RECALL, THE LAST TIME WE CONSIDERED WHEN THERE WAS A FULL PLAN IN PLACE SUBMITTED TO US MM-HMM.
WE'D ALSO NEED TO LOOK AT GREEN AND OPEN SPACE PLANS.
I THINK THOSE ARE THE MAIN THREE ONES.
SO, UM, YOU REMEMBER, UH, CHERRY? SURE.
A A, UM, WHAT WE CALL A REGULATING PLAN.
IT ACTUALLY BECOMES A ZONING MAP, BUT IT'S USING THE TRANSECT ZONES, UH, FOR THE PLACE TYPE OVERLAY.
AND THEN ALSO THE LAYOUT OF STREETS, WHICH WE WOULD CALL THE THOROUGHFARE PLAN.
AND THEN, UM, ALL DEDICATED OPEN SPACE.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, WE REQUIRE IT, IT'S KIND OF AN EXTRA LEVEL.
IT'S ALMOST, UM, PROVIDING A MASTER PLAN SO THAT YOU HAVE MORE SUREY OF THE CHARACTER AND TYPE OF DEVELOPMENT THAT'S OCCURRING ON THE SITE.
SO IF WE WERE LOOKING AT SOMETHING LIKE THAT, UM, THAT WOULD HAVE TO BE PRESENTED TONIGHT AS PART OF THE APPLICANT PROCESS AFTER WAS REVIEWED BY AND AGREED TO BY PLANNING, WELL, THAT'S NOT WHAT WAS SUBMITTED.
I'M JUST TRYING TO UNDERSTAND THE, THE ALTERNATIVE.
HAVE WHAT YOU'VE GOT DOWN HERE ISN'T ALLOWED.
SO WE WOULD BE, YOU KNOW, A SUBMITTAL SIMILAR TO WHAT YOU SAW AT CHERRY POINT.
UM, BUT THAT'S NOT, YOU KNOW, WHAT, WHAT WE'RE REVIEWING TODAY.
CAN I ASK, WHILE YOU'RE UP THERE, CAN I ASK YOU ONE OTHER QUESTION? UM, THE ORIGINAL APPLICATION THAT WE SAW, AND I THINK THEY HAD, I DON'T BELIEVE THEY'VE CHANGED FROM THE ONE WE SAW IN JANUARY.
UM, TALKED ABOUT TIA BEING COMPLETED IN
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THE FIRST COUPLE OF WEEKS OF JANUARY, UM, AND MORE EXTENSIVE TIA THAT TOOK INTO A NUMBER OF DIFFERENT THOROUGH FARES AND MM-HMM.UH, HAS THAT BEEN ACCOMPLISHED TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE BASE? TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE? YEAH.
UM, NOT TO MY KNOWLEDGE AS OH, YEAH.
IF YOU WANNA SPEAK TO THAT WHEN, WHEN YOU YEAH, WE CAN HOLD THAT TO YOU.
I JUST HAVE A, A QUICK QUESTION 'CAUSE I, I'M NOT SURE I DON'T HAVE IT IN FRONT OF ME, BUT IF THIS WERE TO BE REAPPLIED UNDER A HAMLET TYPE OVERLAY, HOW MANY DWELLINGS PER ACRE WOULD THAT BE IN COMPARED TO WHAT WE, WHAT THEY'RE REQUESTING NOW, WHICH IS A HUNDRED, 184 HOMES IN THIS 86 ACRE TRACK? WHAT WOULD THE HAMLET TYPE LIKE? I MEAN, IT WOULD REALLY COME DOWN TO WHAT THE APPLICANT IS PROPOSING.
I, UM, I BELIEVE IT'S, UH, THREE DWELLING UNITS PER ACRE.
UM, WITH A HAMLET PLACE TYPE, BUT IT REALLY COMES DOWN TO WHAT, WHAT THE, UH, APPLICANT IS SUBMITTING.
SO CAN YOU RESTATE THE REASONS FOR TURNING IT DOWN? I THINK YOU SAID SOMETHING ABOUT, UH, THE CULTURE AND THE CHARACTER OF THE AREA AS WELL AS, UH, THE DENSITY.
DID YOU WANNA ADDRESS THAT OR DO YOU UH, I MEAN, I, I THINK IT HAS TO DO WITH, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE EVALUATE THE LIST OF CRITERIA WE USE TO EVALUATE ZONING, A LOT OF THEM DEAL WITH, UM, COMPATIBILITY WITH THE SURROUNDING AREA.
AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE ARE CONCERNED WITH, WITH THIS SITE.
BUT THE OTHER IS THAT OUR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN POINTS TO A SPECIFIC WAY OF UP ZONING THIS PROPERTY BECAUSE OF, OF, OF WHERE IT'S LOCATED.
AND SO FOR THOSE TWO REASONS WE'RE RECOMMENDING N OKAY.
OTHER QUESTIONS IN THE COUNTY? I HAVE A QUICK QUESTION.
UM, ROB, TELL ME, UM, WHEN I READ IT, LET'S CALL IT 86 ACRES, I SORT OF FORGET AND 15 PLUS ARE WETLANDS.
AND I WENT OUT TO THE SITE AND IT'S A, A, A LUMBER PINE FORESTED AREA, CORRECT? MM-HMM.
SO I'M WONDERING A LITTLE BIT MORE ABOUT, UM, IT, SO 86 MINUS 15 PLUS WHATEVER.
SO THAT'S WHERE EVERYTHING IS GONNA BE BUILT ON.
THEN I SAW IN THE PLANS, UM, THE, I DON'T KNOW, UH, SWALES AND, YOU KNOW, DRAINAGE AREAS.
ARE YOU CON I GUESS I'M NOT CONFIDENT THAT THERE'S BEEN ENOUGH ATTENTION PAID TO THE DRAINAGE IN, IN THAT AREA, SO I DON'T OH, RIGHT.
UM, ARE YUK CON, I MEAN, HAS ENOUGH WORK BEEN DONE TO YOUR SATISFACTION, THE PROFESSIONAL SATISFACTION ABOUT THE, UM, YOU KNOW, UH, DRAINAGE PONDS AND SO ON, AND DRAINAGE, UM, BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT BEACH, THEY'RE PINE TREES, WHICH IS DIFFERENT FROM LIKE A BUNCH OF LIVE OAK TREES AND A BUNCH OF UNDERBRUSH, WHICH, YOU KNOW, UM, PREVENTS, UH, WATER FROM THE LAND, ET CETERA, ET CETERA.
TYPICALLY IT, IT, UNLESS THERE'S A GLARING EXAMPLE, LIKE SOMEBODY'S REZONING A PROPERTY AND IT'S MORE THAN HALF WET, OR, YOU KNOW, WE TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION, BUT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT'S REALLY LOOKED AT WHEN THEY COME IN THE DEVELOPMENT PHASE.
SO, UM, NOTHING STOOD OUT SAYING THAT THIS PROPERTY JUST CAN'T BE DEVELOPED.
I MEAN, WHEN THEY COME IN, YOU KNOW, IF THIS WERE APPROVED AND THEY CAME IN FOR, YOU KNOW, UM, TO OUR STAFF REVIEW TEAM, THEN WE WOULD BE LOOKING AT DELINEATING THE WETLANDS IN A PROPERTY.
UM, THEY HAVE TO SET ASIDE NATURAL RESOURCES, ALL OF THAT.
AND THEN THAT'S GOING TO YIELD, YOU KNOW, HOW, HOW THEY COULD DEVELOP THE, THE PROPERTY.
AND, BUT THAT'S ONE OF THE ADVANTAGES OF THE PLACE TYPE OVERLAY, IS THAT GOES A LITTLE MORE INTO THAT.
YOU'RE, YOU'RE BEGINNING TO WORK AROUND NATURAL FEATURES OF THE SITE, SETTING ASIDE OPEN SPACES AND ALL THAT PRIOR TO GOING THROUGH THE, UM, THE, UH, AMENDMENT PROCESS.
I MEAN, THE, THE REASON I WAS ASKING IS THAT IT'S SO MUCH, UM, MORE DENSE THAN THE SURROUNDING AREA THAT I WAS WORRIED ABOUT WHETHER THAT DENSITY AND THE AMOUNT OF IMPERVIOUS SURFACE WAS GONNA PLAY OUT, UM, INTO THE SURROUNDING PROPERTIES.
WELL, THAT'S CERTAINLY WHEN WE LOOK AT COMPATIBILITY, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE KEEP IN MIND.
AND SO THAT WOULD BE A REQUIREMENT, YOU KNOW, IF, IF THIS WERE TO, TO BE APPROVED TO MOVE FORWARD.
UH, IF THIS WOULD, IF THEY CAME BACK WITH THE HAMLET TYPE APPLICATION THAT WOULD FIT MORE THE COMPATIBILITY OF THE SURROUNDING AREA IN YOUR VIEW?
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UM, WE WOULD STILL TAKE THAT INTO CONSIDERATION, BUT IT WOULD DEFINITELY, YOU KNOW, AND, AND THE OTHER THING ABOUT THE, THE HAMLET PLACE TYPE AND HOW THEY WOULD DEVELOP IT, UM, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF DIFFERENT WAYS THAT THEY COULD, UH, UH, YOU KNOW, LOOK AT THE SITE AND, AND WAYS TO MINIMIZE IMPACT ON THE, YOU KNOW, MAYBE STEP DOWN THE DENSITY AS YOU GET CLOSER TO THE RURAL AREAS.SO THERE'S, THERE'S A LOT OF WAYS THAT THAT COULD BE DONE THAT MAY PLAY INTO THAT COMPATIBILITY ISSUE, BUT OKAY.
UM, YOU KNOW, BUT THAT, THAT WAS ONE OF SEVERAL CONSIDERATIONS THAT WE LOOKED AT AND GIVEN OUR RECOMMENDATION.
ANYTHING ELSE, BOB? I HAVE A QUESTION.
SO THE CURRENT PROPOSED EFFORTS PASSED MEANS THEY'RE ABLE TO HAVE 184 DWELLINGS, CORRECT? WELL, IDEALLY, 'CAUSE THEY, UM, WE HAVE SOMETHING CALLED, UM, BASE SITE AREA.
SO YOU SUBTRACT OUT IF THERE ARE WETLANDS IN THE PROPERTY, BUT YEAH, BASED ON THE DENT, THE SIZE OF THE PROPERTY AND, AND WHAT THEY COULD HAVE.
SO MY QUESTION IS, GOOD ESTIMATE, IF THEY WERE TO DO THE HAMLET PLACE TYPE, WHAT WOULD BE THE PROJECTED NUMBER OF DWELLINGS THAT WOULD BE ABLE TO MAKE OR TO, WELL, IT, IT COULD BE A LITTLE BIT GREATER OR IT COULD BE LESS DEPENDING ON WHAT THEY SUBMITTED.
BUT THAT WOULD BE NEGOTIATION.
WELL, THAT WOULD BE SOMETHING, YEAH.
AND THAT COULD BE A CONDITION ATTACHED BY THE PLANNING COMMISSION OR, OR BY COUNSEL.
WE'LL HAVE ANOTHER CHANCE TO CRACK IT LATER ON IF YOU WANT TO TALK TO THE COUNTY REPRESENTATIVES.
BUT IF THERE AREN'T ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR ROB OR KRISTEN, AND WE'LL MOVE ON TO THE APPLICANT REPRESENTATIVE, I GUESS.
UH, THANK Y'ALL FOR YOUR TIME TONIGHT.
WANNA BE, LET ME ADDRESS JUST A FEW THINGS THAT WERE BROUGHT UP IN THIS.
UM, I WAS JUST SPOKEN TO, UH, YOU KNOW, ONE OF 'EM WAS, YOU TALKED ABOUT THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, THE FUTURE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE PARCEL ITSELF, IT DOES SHOW THAT IT'S A, UM, IT'S, UH, SLATED FOR A NEIGHBORHOOD MIX, UC THREE ZONING.
THE BIGGEST THING IS THAT HAMLET, UM, PLACE TYPE OVERLAY.
WHAT WE ARE PROPOSING HERE IS, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU'RE FAMILIAR WITH PULTE HOMES, BUT WHAT WE HAVE, WE HAVE THREE DIFFERENT FLAGS THAT WE HAVE.
YOUR PULTE HOME, WHICH YOU'VE SEEN PROBABLY SALEM BAY, MALIN BLUFF, AND SOME OF THOSE AREAS YOU'VE PROBABLY HEARD OF, SUN CITY, DELL WEBB, THAT'S ONE.
BUT THEN A, ANOTHER BRAND THAT WE OFFER IS OUR SYNTEX BRAND.
AND A NEIGHBORHOOD THAT WAS A STAPLE IN THE BEAUFORT COMMUNITY WAS SHADOW MOSS.
THAT BRAND IS GEARED TOWARDS YOUR AFFORDABLE WORKFORCE HOUSING BUYER.
IT'S FOR YOUR POLICE OFFICERS, YOUR FIREFIGHTERS, HOME PRICES FOR THAT, YOUR NURSES.
IT GIVES FOR THOSE, THOSE THOSE YOUNG FAMILIES THAT HAVE MOVED AWAY AND WANT TO COME BACK AND RAISE IN BEAUFORT, IT OPENS UP THAT ENTRY LEVEL TO BE ABLE TO OPERATE AND BE ABLE TO BUY A HOME IN THE BEAUFORT AREA.
ONE THING THAT WE'RE SEEING IN THIS SPECIFIC LOCATION, AS YOU SAID, IT'S 86 ACRES.
IF WE GO THIS, YES, YOU CAN DO 180 UNITS.
WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING IS 149 UNITS ON THIS.
IF YOU CAN PULL UP, ROB, I BELIEVE IT'S IN THE TRAFFIC.
IT ACTUALLY SHOWS THE, THE PROPOSAL OF THE PLAN THAT WE HAVE, WHICH IS THE LAYOUT OF A NEIGHBORHOOD.
IT'S A WALKABILITY NEIGHBORHOOD THAT YOU CAN HAVE LARGE HOME SITES.
THESE HOME SITES ARE LARGER THAN WE EVEN HAD IN SHADOW MOSS.
YOU'RE TALKING 70 BY 156 FOOT HOME SITES.
THESE HOME SITES ARE STANDARD HOME SITES THAT YOU WOULD FIND IN ONE OF THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS LIKE THAT.
THE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT WE BUILT IN ALL THE TIME WOULD BE ROUGHLY A 52 BY 120 FOOT HOME SITE.
SO WE'RE PROVIDING A TRADITIONAL NEIGHBORHOOD.
YOU TAKE A PLACE TYPE OVERLAY HAMLET LOCATION.
WHAT YOU'RE ASKING IS, YOU'RE ASKING THE BUS TO PUT A SMALL HABER SHAM LOCATION RIGHT HERE IN THIS, IN A MAIN STREET TYPE AREA, BUILDING TOWN HOMES AROUND IT, THINGS LIKE THIS.
IN THIS LOCATION, THE PROXIMITY DUE TO THE SHOPPING, THE SCHOOLS, THE MILITARY BASES ARE WITHIN FIVE TO 10 MINUTES OF IT.
YOU KNOW, WE'RE ABLE TO ACCESS ALL THAT FROM THIS LOCATION.
TALK ABOUT THE DRAINAGE AND THE FIELDS AND THE, THE, THE THINGS THAT ARE IN THE, THE NATURAL BUFFERS AND STUFF LIKE THAT.
WELL, THIS AREA'S BEEN TIMBERED MANY TIMES BEFORE, SO WE'RE TALKING A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF PINE TREES HERE.
BUT IF THERE WERE, YOU KNOW, ANY LARGE LIVE OAKS AND THINGS LIKE THAT, THOSE ARE THINGS WE WORK AROUND BE ABLE TO DO.
IF YOU NOTICE AND YOU TAKE IN THE STORM WATER AND THE DRAINAGE, AS WE PROGRESS FORWARD WITH A PROPOSAL AND AS WE GO INTO ENGINEERING, ALL THAT IS TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION.
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AS WE MOVE, AND THAT HA EVERY BIT OF THAT HAS TO RUN THROUGH THEIR STORM WATER REQUIREMENTS HERE.THE TRAFFIC IMPACT STUDIES THAT NEED TO BE IN PLACE.
YOU KNOW, NORMALLY IN A SITU WE DO MORE, PROBABLY FOUR INTERSECTIONS AT THE MOST.
SOMETIMES IT DEPENDS UPON THE LOCATION.
AND THIS ONE, THE BEAUFORT COUNTY ASKED US TO DO UP TO, I THINK IT WAS SEVEN OR NINE INTERSECTIONS, WHICH IS SIGNIFICANT, ALMOST DOUBLE THAN WHAT WE'VE EVER DONE ON ANY PROJECT THAT WE HAVE.
BUT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE WILLING TO DO, TO BE ABLE TO, TO, TO PROVIDE THE, THE INFORMATION THAT THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO MAKE THAT BEST DECISION.
SO IN THIS LOCATION, WE'RE NOT LOOKING FOR, WE ARE LOOKING FOR SOMETHING THAT IS A NEED FOR THIS AREA.
AND THAT HAS BEEN WHAT WE HAVE HEARD.
I'VE SAT IN MULTIPLE WORKSHOPS OF COUNCILS, DID MULTIPLE WORKSHOPS THERE.
WE HEARD WORKFORCE HOUSING OPPORTUNITIES FOR ENTRY LEVEL BUYERS, EMPTY NESTER RETIREES THAT CAN'T AFFORD TO GO INTO A SUN CITY OR A DELL WEBB, BUT WOULD LOVE TO BE IN THE LOW COUNTRY AND HAVE A, A SMALLER RANCH, UM, STYLE HOME.
THAT IS WHAT WE'RE OFFERING TO BE ABLE TO PUT IN THIS LOCATION.
AND FOR THAT, I MEAN, I'D BE WILLING TO, IF YOU'D LIKE TO SEE IT, THESE ARE, CAN I HAND THESE TO YOU? SURE.
THIS IS AN EXAMPLE OF SOME SYNTEX HOMES THAT GO IN THIS LOCATION.
NO, IT'S NOT DOUBLE FRONT PORCH HOMES THAT YOU'RE GONNA SEE IN YOUR TRADITIONAL STYLE.
THESE ARE, THESE ARE FOUR PLANS THAT ARE FIT FOR FAMILIES, GROWING FAMILIES, TWO CAR LODGES.
YOU KNOW, YOU'LL, YOU'LL SEE ONE NEIGHBORHOOD THAT WE'LL HAVE, YES MA'AM.
WE'LL HAVE, UM, MAYBE FIVE, SIX DIFFERENT FLOOR PLANS WITH DIFFERENT ELEVATIONS.
THEY'LL GO FROM THREE BEDROOMS UP TO FIVE BEDROOMS, DEPENDENT UPON THE, UM, THE HOME ITSELF.
BUT THAT'S WHAT WE'RE PROPOSING FOR THIS LOCATION.
AND WE HOPE THAT YOU SUPPORT US AS WE GO, BECAUSE WE BELIEVE THIS IS A NEED FOR THE AREA.
THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE'VE, UH, WE'VE PROVEN IT OUT WITH SHADOW MOSS AND THAT'S BEEN A FANTASTIC NEIGHBORHOOD.
AND, UH, WE'D LOVE TO DO THE SAME THING IN THIS LOCATION AS WELL.
JUST TO BE CLEAR, UM, TEX FAULT, SAME COMPANY IS, IS, IS PROPOSING TO BUY THIS PROPERTY FROM THE OWNER FOR DEVELOPMENT, BUT IT DOESN'T, YOU, YOU DON'T OWN IT AT THIS POINT? WE DON'T OWN IT AT THIS POINT, NOPE.
THE FAMILY THAT'S OWNED THIS PROPERTY, I BELIEVE THEY'VE HAD IT FOR 60, 70 YEARS, SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
IN YOUR APP, IN YOUR NARRATIVE THAT YOU ACCOMPANIED WITH YOUR APPLICATION, USED THE TERM ENTRY LEVEL HOUSING INTERCHANGEABLE WITH WORKFORCE HOUSING.
AND YOU, YOU DIDN'T MAKE A COMMITMENT TO WORKFORCE HOUSING, OR YOU JUST SAID THE LIKELIHOOD IN QUOTES, THE LIKELIHOOD OF WORKFORCE HOUSING.
WHAT DO YOU SEE AS THE PERCENTAGE OF WORKFORCE HOUSING AND THE PRICES OF THESE HOUSING, THE RANGE? CAN YOU GIVE US A FEEL FOR THAT? WELL, I THINK YOU CAN.
SO WHEN YOU TALK ABOUT, I GUESS E EACH MUNICIPALITY SEEMS TO BE A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT IN WHAT THEY, WHAT THEY GEAR.
SO FOR US, WHEN WE SAY A TA TCG FOUR, THAT'S A TARGET GROUP THAT WE'D BE LOOKING AT.
SO IN THIS LOCATION, WE'RE LOOKING AT LIKE A TCG FOUR AND A TCG 4.5.
WHAT IS THAT? THAT IS A, UM, IT'S A CHILDREN HOME MIXED, MIXED FAMILY, MONTHLY PAYMENT FOCUSED.
YOU'RE LOOKING RANGES FROM 70 TO 110% OF THE MEDIAN INCOME IN THE AREA.
SO THAT'S GONNA GIVE YOU THAT, UH, A NURSE AND A POLICE OFFICER, YOU KNOW, TWO SCHOOL TEACHERS, YOU KNOW, THINGS LIKE THAT.
THAT THAT'S THE TARGET GROUP THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT MOVING IN THIS LOCATION.
SO THE 70 TO 110% OF THE MEDIAN PRICE RANGE, WHICH I BELIEVE IS SOMEWHERE AROUND CLOSE TO 70,000, IS THAT RIGHT? SO THEY'D, THEY'D BE PEOPLE WHO MAKE MORE THAN $70,000 A YEAR, IT'D BE PROBABLY A TWO INCOME FAMILY.
JUST TRYING TO GET A FEEL OF THE ABSOLUTELY.
CLIENTS THAT YOU'RE GOING AFTER.
UM, I I, MAYBE I DIDN'T HEAR YOU CORRECTLY, BUT I, I'VE SEEN THE SITE AND, AND I REALLY DON'T THINK THAT SHOPPING OF, UH, TO A LARGE SUPERMARKET IS WITHIN FIVE OR 10 MINUTES.
YOU KNOW, I, I THINK IT'S MUCH MORE RURAL THAN THAT AND MUCH MORE UNDEVELOPED.
UM, SO COULD YOU TELL ME WHAT YOU MEAN BY THAT? AND IF YOU WANT, IF, I MEAN, I DON'T SEE IT ON THE PLANS.
IS THERE GOING TO BE A MAIN STREET WITH SHOPPING DESTINATIONS OR A PARKER'S, YOU KNOW, GAS STATION ON THE SITE? NO, MA'AM.
I MEAN, IT'S 80 ACRES DIRECTLY ACROSS THE STREET FROM BATTERY CREEK HIGH SCHOOL.
THIS LOCATION TO WALMART AT CROSS CREEK IS LIKE 15 MINUTES.
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IT'S NOT FIVE MINUTES FROM RIGHT HERE AT THIS LOCATION TO THE WALMART.UH, IF WE PROBABLY GOOGLED IT, I BET YOU YOU'RE PROBABLY, YOU'RE WITHIN FIVE TO 10 MINUTES OF BEING AT THE WALMART SHOPPING CENTER IF THERE'S NOT TRAFFIC.
I MEAN, BECAUSE YOU HAVE TO GO OUT EITHER ONTO, YOU KNOW, HIGHWAY 21 OR ON THE OTHER SIDE STREET.
YOU COME OUT OF, UH, RAMSEY ROAD, YOU TAKE A LEFT ON BROAD RIVER, YOU'LL COME OUT TO THE, UM, THING TAKE A RIGHT.
AND THE SHOPPING CENTER'S ON YOUR RIGHT HAND SIDE, ALL, UM, IT'S, I WAS JUST THERE.
SO, I MEAN, I'M JUST TELLING YOU, I WAS THERE ON A SUNDAY AND I CHIMED IT.
SO, I MEAN, I'M JUST CHALLENGING YOU.
THAT IS NOT FIVE TO 10 MINUTES.
AND BY THE WAY, NOT ALL OF THE FAMILIES WHO LIVE THERE ARE GONNA HAVE KIDS AT BATTERY CREEK HIGH SCHOOL.
AND, BUT WHAT WE UNDERSTAND, AND I DID REACH OUT TO THE SCHOOLS TO SPEAK TO THEM, TO ASK THEM ABOUT THE CAPACITY AND THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND I DID NOT GET A RESPONSE BACK.
BUT MY UNDERSTANDING AFTER TALKING WITH MULTIPLE COUNCIL MEMBERS, THE PRO, UH, AREA FOR GROWTH THAT THEY'RE LOOKING FOR IN SOME OF THE WORKFORCE AND THE SCHOOLINGS AND THE THINGS THAT CAN AFFORD THE GROWTH IS IN THE NORTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY AREA.
UH, YOU, YOU SAID YOU TALKED TO COUNCIL MEMBERS, UM MM-HMM.
HAVE YOU TALKED WITH THE PEOPLE? I MEAN, HAVE YOU HAD I DID.
HAVE YOU HAD DISCUSSIONS WITH THE COMMUNITY? I DID.
WE DID TWO COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS.
SO, UH, WE DID BEFORE WE DID THIS, UM, WE MET WITH, UM, COUNCIL ALSA DID TWO, TWO COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS.
AND, UM, THE FIRST WORKSHOP THAT WE DID, YOU KNOW, WE HAD APPROXIMATELY ABOUT 12 TO 15 PEOPLE IN THERE.
MAYBE IT WAS BACK IN OCTOBER TIMEFRAME.
UM, WE PRESENTED THE PROPOSAL.
AT THAT POINT, COUNCILMAN DAWSON ASKED IF WE WOULD COME BACK AGAIN, WHICH WE CAME BACK AGAIN.
UM, SO WE CAME BACK TO THAT COUNCIL MEETING AGAIN, THE OVERALL COUNCIL MEETING WAS GOOD.
WE DID, DID HAVE A COUPLE PEOPLE THAT WERE OUTSPOKEN AT THE END OF THE MEETING.
UM, WE WALKED OUT OF THERE FEELING VERY GOOD WITH THE COUNCILMEN AND THE PEOPLE THAT WERE AT THE MEETING.
LATER ON, WE DID FIND OUT THAT WE HAD A PETITION WITH SOME OF THE, THE NEIGHBORHOOD FOLKS, UM, THAT WERE IN THE MILLEDGEVILLE AREA.
SO WE DID, WE TOOK THAT, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE GOT THAT.
WE LISTENED TO THE FEEDBACK THAT THEY HAD ON THERE.
BUT A LOT OF THE THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO DO IN OUR COMMUNITY ARE THE SAME THING.
OUR COMMUNITIES THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS A WALKABLE COMMUNITY.
WE WANT A COMMUNITY THAT HAS FAMILIES EMPTY NESTERS.
WE WANT A COMMUNITY THAT THE PEOPLE CAN STAY TOGETHER AND BE ABLE TO, TO ENJOY.
WE WANT A COMMUNITY THAT THEY CAN FEEL SAFE IN.
SO ALL OF THE SAME THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING TO DO AND PROVIDE IN THIS COMMUNITY IS THE SAME THING THAT THEY'RE LOOKING AT IN THEIR COMMUNITY.
UM, ARE YOU GOING TO ADDRESS, OR MR. TILLER GONNA ADDRESS THE TIA, THE TIA THE TRAFFIC STUDY? THE ONE THAT WAS THE GONNA BE COMPLETED IN JANUARY.
NO ONE EVER STATED THAT WE WOULD HAVE A TRAFFIC STUDY COMPLETED IN JANUARY.
NORMALLY, ONCE WE GET TO A, WE SAY WHAT WE ARE WILLING TO DO IS, YOU KNOW, WHATEVER THE REQUIREMENTS THAT THEY'RE ASKING US TO DO AS FAR AS A TRAFFIC STUDY, AS WE'RE PUSHING THROUGH THE PROCESS, WE WILL COMPLETE THAT TRAFFIC STUDY.
ANY IMPROVEMENTS THAT ARE REQUIRED BY THE DOT THAT SAYS, YOU KNOW, WHETHER IT'S A TURNING LANE OR ANY OFFSITE IMPROVEMENTS, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE TO COMMIT TO BE ABLE TO DO THOSE, TO BE ABLE TO MOVE THE PROJECT FORWARD.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT, THAT WE KNOW THROUGH THE PROCESS THAT WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO COMPLETE.
SAME AS THE ENGINEERING, ONCE WE GET DOWN TO IT AND, YOU KNOW, WE GET THE PLAN APPROVED AND THINGS LIKE THAT, IT'LL BE THROUGH THAT SAME PROCESS.
UNDER THE, UH, I GUESS IT WAS THE BEAUFORT COUNTY ENGINEERING.
THERE WAS A, IT WAS GONNA BE EXPLANATION OF WHAT NEEDED TO BE DONE.
NOT THE WHOLE TIA, BUT TRAFFIC COUNTS WOULD BE, WILL BE PERFORMED DURING THE SECOND OR THIRD WEEK OF JANUARY, 2024.
I THINK THAT WAS HELD OFF BECAUSE WE WERE GONNA GET THROUGH THE FIRST PLANNING COMMISSION.
WE WANTED TO GET THROUGH THE FIRST PLANNING COMMISSION.
WHEN THAT GOT PUSHED OFF, THAT'S WHERE IT PUSHED THAT OFF.
SO WE CAN BIT THE TRAFFIC STUDIES AND PUT THEM IN PLACE.
I MEAN, WE CAN DEFINITELY GET THAT IN LINE.
BUT AS FAR AS THE FULL TRAFFIC STUDY, AS WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE PROCESS AND THEY'RE PULLING THOSE THINGS IN, WE'LL BE DOING THAT DURING THE PROCESS.
SO THE, THE ANSWER TO HIS ORIGINAL QUESTION WAS, IT HASN'T BEEN DONE YET.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR THE GENTLEMAN? NO.
THIS IS JUST A QUICK QUESTION FOR MR. MERRICK.
UM, I, I KNOW RIGHT NOW THE PLAN THAT'S SHOWN IS ALL, UM, IT IT LOOKS LIKE APPROXIMATELY EQUAL LOT SIZE SINGLE FAMILY DETACHED.
UM, DID YOU CONSIDER, UM, MORE OF A RANGE OF HOUSING TYPES? THAT'S MORE, I GUESS, IN KEEPING WITH WHAT THE HAMLET PLACE TYPE IS LOOKING FOR.
NOW? WE, WE LOOKED AT IT, BUT THE HAMLET PLACE TYPE OVERLAY PUTS A TREMENDOUS AMOUNT OF RESTRICTIONS ON THE PRO, THE USE AND THE, THE LAYOUT OR SAY THE, THE DESIGN OF THE HOME ITSELF DETACHED GARAGES, SET CERTAIN PARAMETERS,
[00:30:01]
UM, YOU KNOW, SO THEY PUT A LOT MORE RESTRICTIONS AS FAR AS THE DESIGN GOES, WHICH THEN INCREASE THE, THE, THE PRICE POINT OF THE HOUSE DRAMATICALLY.SO IN THIS SCENARIO, WE KEEP THIS, THE, THE HOME SITES THE SAME SIZE, BUT WE'RE ABLE TO BREAK UP THE VARIATION IN PROVIDING FROM TWO STORY TO RANCH STYLE HOMES WITH A BLEND OF DIFFERENT STYLE HOMES GOING FROM 1500 SQUARE FEET TO 3000 SQUARE FEET.
SO WE CAN HIT THOSE DIFFERENT TYPES OF, OF, UH, BUYERS AND WHAT THEY MIGHT NEED AT THAT TIME.
ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS AT THIS TIME? THANK YOU.
MR. TILLER, DID YOU WANNA SAY ANYTHING? I THINK WE'RE GOOD, UNLESS YOU'VE GOT QUESTIONS FOR ME.
UH, WE'RE AT THE, ANY QUESTIONS FROM MR. TILLER? OKAY.
WE'RE AT THE POINT WHERE, UH, CITIZEN INPUT WILL BE, UM, ALLOWED.
I HAVE, UM, TWO PEOPLE WHO HAVE INDICATED THEY WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK.
THERE'S MORE THAN THAT IN THE ROOM.
IF YOU, ANY OF YOU WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK, YOU KNOW, FEEL, PLEASE FEEL TO FREE TO DO IT.
UH, COME UP AND PUT YOUR NAME AND ADDRESS, UH, WITH THE ADMINISTRATIVE, UH, SUPPORT ORGANIZATION OVER HERE.
SO WE'LL MOVE FORWARD WITH THE TWO THAT, UM, INDICATED THEY'D LIKE TO SPEAK WITH US.
UH, JOYCE HAM, IS IT? THAT WOULD BE ME, YES.
AS A MATTER OF FACT, UM,
UM, YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS ARE SUPPOSED TO BE HERE FOR US, THE GOVERNMENT, YOU KNOW, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO REPRESENT THE PEOPLE AND TO PROTECT US FROM LARGE, BIG CORPORATIONS THAT WOULD COME IN AND TRY TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE SMALL PEOPLE.
THIS SMALL WALKABLE COMMUNITY THAT MR. ROBERT IS TALKING ABOUT.
THESE HOUSES ARE GONNA COST $77,000 BECAUSE HE SAID AT THE OTHER MEETING THAT THESE HOUSES COST ABOUT $300,000.
OKAY? NOW, NO MILITARY FAMILY TOO.
AND THOSE MILITARY FAMILIES, YOU KNOW, THOSE CORPORALS AND THOSE SERGEANTS AND THOSE PRIVATE, THEY'RE NOT GONNA BE ABLE TO AFFORD THE HOMES HE'S TALKING ABOUT.
BEAUFORT COUNTY RIGHT NOW HIRES ABOUT 527 PEOPLE.
AND OF THOSE 527 PEOPLE, THE MINIMUM SALARY FOR ABOUT 514 PEOPLE MAKES UNDER $77,000.
BEAUFORT COUNTY CAN'T EVEN AFFORD TO PAY A SUFFICIENT AMOUNT OF PEOPLE IN THIS COMMUNITY TO BE ABLE TO PURCHASE ONE OF THOSE HOMES.
SO IF BEAUFORT COUNTY CANNOT PROVIDE FINANCES FOR THE PEOPLE THAT ALREADY LIVE HERE, WHO THEY WANT TO BUY THESE HOMES, THE PEOPLE THAT DON'T LIVE HERE, WE ARE VOTING FOR Y'ALL.
AND Y'ALL SUPPOSED TO BE PROTECTING US FROM PEOPLE WHO WANNA COME IN, PUSH UP OUR TAXES, AND RUN US OUT OF OUR COMMUNITY.
WE ARE NOT LOOKING TO BE ANOTHER HILTON HEAD.
WE'VE BEEN HERE FOR A LONG TIME.
MATTER OF FACT, MY FAMILY, IF YOU LOOK AT THE CENSUS IN 1790, YOU'LL SEE SARAH GIVES ON THAT, ON THAT CENSUS.
THAT'S ME, THAT'S MY GRANDMOTHER.
AND WE DON'T WANNA BE PUSHED OUT BY BIG CORPORATIONS BECAUSE THEY WANNA USE THE RESOURCES THAT WE HAVE.
YOU UNDERSTAND? AND IT'S NOT JUST THAT THEY'RE BILLING OTHER THINGS AROUND IT.
YOU KNOW, YOU, YOU DRIVE DOWN THE STREET, YOU SEE ALL THESE STORES COMING, YOU KNOW, IN THE AREA.
AND WHEN YOU LOOK AT, YOU KNOW, ALL THESE THINGS THAT'S GROWING IN THE AREA, WE GOT DEERS IN OUR YARD RIGHT NOW.
WE, THEY DON'T HAVE NO PLACE TO GO.
WAIT, WHERE DO YOU WANT THE DEERS TO LIVE? IN OUR YARD, IN OUR FRONT YARD? THEY'RE NOT OUR, THEY NEED PLACES TO LIVE TOO.
SO ALL WE ARE SAYING IS THAT FOR THE VOTING PEOPLE OF THIS COMMUNITY WHO ARE PAYING TAXES AND VOTING FOR THE PEOPLE IN THIS COMMUNITY IS TO LOOK OUT FOR US.
WE'RE NOT MAKING THAT $77,000.
HE'S TALKING ABOUT THE PEOPLE IN THAT COMMUNITY IS MAKING LESS THAN $40,000.
AND BEAUT COUNTY TOO, BEAUT COUNTY IS PAYING ABOUT 270 PEOPLE, LESS THAN $40,000 THAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT.
I'M TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHO HE WANT TO COME HERE.
[00:35:01]
AND, AND IF BEAUFORD COUNTY IS GOING TO PUSH OUR TAXES UP, ARE THEY GONNA OFFER US JOBS? HOW MANY MORE PEOPLE ARE, WHAT'S THE IMPACT? IS IT GONNA BE ON BEAUFORT COUNTY WHEN BEAUFORT COUNTY NEED TO EMPLOY PEOPLE TO BE ABLE TO AFFORD THESE HOUSES? THAT'S AN IMPACT.YOU SEE WHAT I'M SAYING? AND IF BEAUFORD COUNTY ISN'T PREPARED TO HIRE HALF OF THE PEOPLE THAT'S ALREADY IN THE COMMUNITY NOW, AT LEAST $70,000 ANNUALLY, THEN, THEN, THEN WHAT DO WE NEED? HOUSES THAT COST, UH, 77,000, 70, I MEAN, $300,000 FOR, WHAT DO WE NEED THAT FOR? WE NEED MORE AFFORDABLE HOUSING.
BRING IT DOWN BECAUSE WE ARE MAKING UNDER $40,000 IN THAT AREA.
JESSE WHITE, THE COASTAL CONSERVATION LEAGUE.
UM, I CONCUR WITH EVERYTHING JOYCE SAID, UM, AND JUST WANTED TO HIGHLIGHT A COUPLE ADDITIONAL THINGS FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.
FIRST, WE, WE FULLY SUPPORT THE STAFF'S RECOMMENDATION FOR DENIAL.
AND WE HOPE THAT YOU WILL INDEED DENY, UM, THIS APPLICATION.
THERE'S A CLEAR PROCESS IN THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, IN THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, UM, AND IN, UM, THE PROCESS FOR AN UPZONING.
AND THAT IS NOT FOLLOWED HERE.
THE CUMULATIVE IMPACTS THAT THIS REGION IN NORTHERN BEAUT COUNTY IN PARTICULAR, BUT ALSO ZOOMING IN FURTHER INTO THE KIND OF GREATER BURTON AREA IS FACING CURRENTLY, BUT GOING TO BE FACING BECAUSE OF HOW MUCH DEVELOPMENT HAS ALREADY BEEN APPROVED.
I'M TALKING THOUSANDS OF UNITS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN BUILT OUT YET.
YOU SEE THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE GRAY TRACT GOING UP ALONG, UM, THE HIGHWAY WHEN YOU PASS, UM, WALMART, THERE IS A FI 500 UNIT, UM, MULTI-FAMILY DEVELOPMENT IMMEDIATELY TO THE SOUTH OF THIS THAT HAS NOT BEEN BUILT.
THE SITE HAS NOT EVEN BEEN TOUCHED.
NONE OF THIS IS BEING CONSIDERED.
UM, AND THAT IS PART OF WHY FORTUNATELY, THE, THE SOUTHERN LOW COUNTRY, UM, REGIONAL BOARD HAS RECOMMENDED THAT ALL THE PLANNING BODIES COME TOGETHER AND DO A GROWTH ANALYSIS TO KIND OF TAKE STOCK OF WHERE WE ARE.
YOU WERE JUST IN THE GREEN SPACE, UM, WORKSHOP, TALKING ABOUT THIS PROVISION FOR EXISTING PRE ALREADY APPROVED PUDS TO BE ABLE TO BUY DOWN THE DENSITY BECAUSE WE LEARN, WE LEARN BETTER IN THE FUTURE WHEN WE LOCK OURSELVES INTO SOMETHING THAT, UM, MAY NOT HAVE ALL OF THE PROTECTIONS IN PLACE FOR THE EXISTING COMMUNITIES AND WHAT THE REALITY OF THAT DEVELOPMENT IS GONNA LOOK AND FEEL LIKE.
AND SO I THINK IN THIS INSTANCE, WE'RE ALREADY SEEING INSUFFICIENT INFRASTRUCTURE IN THIS REGION.
UM, I'VE HEARD ANECDOTALLY THAT THERE'S CAPACITY ISSUES WITH BEAUFORT, JASPER IN THE SALEM BAY AREA, UM, WITH THE NEW A APART APARTMENT COMPLEX OVER THERE, THEM NOT BEING ABLE TO ACTUALLY PROVIDE THE CAPACITY THAT THEY SAID THAT THEY COULD.
UM, THAT'S ANECDOTAL, BUT THIS IS, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT WHAT'S ON THE SCREEN HERE, THIS IS NOT A TRADITIONAL COMMUNITY.
THIS IS NOT A FEW, UH, AN EXAMPLE OF OF HABERSHAM.
THIS IS A TRACK HOME, CLEAR CUT, SQUEEZE AS MANY HOUSES IN AS YOU CAN MODEL THAT WE'VE SEEN TIME.
AND AGAIN, AND AS JOYCE WAS SAYING, UM, THESE, THE PRICES COULD BE LOWER.
THE, THE DESIGN COULD BE SO MUCH BETTER.
AND THAT'S WHAT OUR PLAN RECOMMENDS AND THAT'S WHAT WE SHOULD FOLLOW BECAUSE WE HAVE TO DEMAND BETTER IN ORDER TO GET BETTER.
AND THESE LARGE COMPANIES CAN DO BETTER IF WE ASK THEM TO.
AND SO I WOULD, I DEFINITELY THINK IT'S VERY CONCERNING THAT THERE HASN'T BEEN A TRAFFIC, UM, COUNT AT ALL.
UM, GIVEN THE EXTENT OF THE DEVELOPMENT THAT'S ALREADY GOING UNDERWAY WITH THE BEAUFORT PLAZA SHOPPING CENTER AND THE, THAT GRAY TRACK.
BUT JUST IN, IN GENERAL CLOSING REMARKS, THE CUMULATIVE IMPACTS OF THIS DEVELOPMENT ARE SIGNIFICANT.
WE'VE ALREADY APPROVED SO MANY UNITS IN THIS VERY, UM, RURAL AREA, AND WE HAVE TO PROTECT OUR EXISTING COMMUNITIES AND THE CHARACTER OF OUR PLACES, AND WE'RE GONNA LOSE THEM FOREVER.
[00:40:03]
OKAY.I HAVE ONE FURTHER NAME THAT JUST CAME, CAME UP.
MY NAME IS JULIA BLAKE, AND I HEARD, UM, THE GENTLEMAN WHEN HE WAS SAYING ABOUT JENISON ROAD, WELL, WE LIVED NOT TOO FAR FROM THERE.
AND HE SAID HE NOTIFIED SOME OF THE PEOPLE.
WELL, THIS MY FIRST DAY KNOWN ABOUT IT.
AND I THINK THAT MANY PEOPLE, IF THEY HAD KNOWN, THEY WOULD, THEY WOULD, IT WOULD'VE BEEN FULL BECAUSE HE DOING SOMETHING LIKE HE DID IN, THEY DID IN SEABROOK BEHIND MY PARENTS' HOUSE.
AND WHEN THEY CAME AND THEY TOLD US ALONG WITH GERALD DAWSON, MR. DAWSON, THEY SAID THEY WAS GOING TO ZONE IN, AND YMC WAS GOING TO BE UP THERE.
THEY GOING TO HAVE A LITTLE MARKETING PLACE AND THEY GONNA PUT HOMES OUT THERE.
THEY GOT TWO MOBILE HOMES OUT THERE.
IF OTHER PEOPLE WANTING TO, YOU KNOW, PURCHASE THE HOME, THEY HAD TO PAY 250 OR MORE DOLLARS, THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS.
NUMBER ONE, WE DON'T HAVE THE INCOME IN BEAUFORT FOR THE TEACHERS.
I WORKED, I USED TO WORK TO BATTERY CREEK AND THEN PE THE TEACHERS GOING HOME WITH LESS PAY.
SO HOW THE TEACHERS GOING TO AFFORD A MILLION DOLLARS HOME WHEN THEY CAN'T AFFORD THE HOME THAT THEY HAVE? THEY GETTING KICKED OUT THEIR OWN HOME.
WHAT THEY HAVE NOW, OUR ROADS, YOU HAVE TO WALK ON THE EDGE OF THE ROAD BECAUSE WE DON'T HAVE A SIDEWALK.
WE NEED HELP YOU GETTING ALL THESE PEOPLE FROM NORTH, COMING DOWN TO THE SOUTH TO PURCHASE HOME AND HAVING PEOPLE HERE SUFFERING.
IF YOU EVER GO IN SOME OF THESE LITTLE AREAS, PEOPLE DON'T HAVE BATHROOM.
I HAVE A YOUNG LADY HAVE A TREE ON THE TOP OF THE HOUSE BECAUSE, AND I DONE CALLED DOWN FOR PEOPLE TO HELP HER.
AND NO ONE CAME TO HELP WHEN THE TREE FALL.
AND NOT IT JUST HER WHOLE SIDE.
SHE GOT TO GET STITCHES HER WHOLE SIDE.
SHE HAD NOT HAD THREE SURGERIES.
HELP US FIRST, PLEASE HELP US FIRST.
CAN WE CONSIDER THE LITTLE CHILDREN COMING UP DON'T HAVE ROOF OVER THEIR HEAD? WE HAVE PEOPLE LIVING IN THE WOODS AND THEY DON'T HAVE NO PLACE TO LAY THEIR HEAD.
BUT WE TALKING ABOUT A MILLION DOLLARS HOME.
WHAT ABOUT US? THINK ABOUT US, JUST LIKE THE YOUNG LADY SAY, WE PAY TAX, BUT WE HAVE A HEART.
YES, WE NEEDED A LITTLE GROWTH, BUT THE FINANCE FOR THE PEOPLE WRONG IN THE AREA.
CAN YOU HELP US FIRST? THEN WE CAN STEP OUT.
BUT IT'S NOT GOING TO BE A GROWTH AND TELL YOU HELP US.
WE THE ONE WORKING HARD TO HELP WHEN THEY ZONE IN
[00:45:01]
OUR TAX MONEY, OUR TAX, WE GONNA HAVE TO PAY MORE TAX.WE CAN PUT ONE HOME ON A PROPERTY WITH THESE PEOPLE PUTTING A FIVE HOME HOME ON ONE PROPERTY IN SEABROOK.
WHEN YOU MAKE THIS DECISION, COME LOOK AT SOME OF THESE WHERE THESE PEOPLE LIVE AND TRY TO HELP THEM.
THEN WE ALL, WE CAN HELP YOU AND IT BE A ROOM ENOUGH SO EVERYBODY CAN HAVE A PIECE OF THE PIE.
BUT YOU CAN'T HAVE A PIECE OF THE PIE IF THE LITTLE, LITTLE PEOPLE DON'T HAVE NO WAY TO LAY THEIR HEAD.
YES, MRS. BLAKE, WOULD YOU ADDRESS US? THANK YOU.
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU.
UH, I HAVE NO FURTHER COMMENTS OFFERED, UM, JUST TO SPEAK.
SO WITH THAT, WE'LL, UNLESS THERE'S A LAST MINUTE ONE, WE'LL, WE'LL CLOSE THE DOOR TO PUBLIC SPEAKERS.
ALL RIGHT, NOW IT'S TIME WE ENTERTAIN A DISCUSSION AMONGST OURSELVES BEFORE WE MAKE ANY MOTION AND A FURTHER DETERMINATION, COMMENTS, QUESTIONS, ANYTHING YOU'D LIKE TO SAY? I, I GUESS I HAVE A COMMENT.
SO THE FUNDAMENTALLY THE EXACT, UM, PROPOSAL HAS COME TO US TWICE WITH NO CHANGES.
SO IS THIS A POINT THAT WE SHOULD ASK? ARE THEY LOOKING AT HAMLET DESIGNATION? I HEAR NO.
I MEAN, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT SHOULD GO INTO OUR CONSIDERATION? NO, IT'S NOT PART OF THE APPLICATION PROCESS, SO WE WOULDN'T BE CONSIDERING THAT TONIGHT.
OH, OH, WE DISCUSSED IT, BUT THAT'S NOT, YEAH, WE BROUGHT IT UP THE, BECAUSE IT WAS MENTIONED AS A PO POSSIBLE DESIGNATION BY THE COUNTY.
WELL, AND YOU, YOU, YOU'VE HEARD ME, UM, I GUESS TAKE THIS POSITION BEFORE, UM,
AND WHILE THE, UM, FUTURE LAND USE PLAN WASN'T SHOWN IN THE STAFF REPORT, IF YOU GO TO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND LOOK AT IT, IT DOES DESIGNATE THIS AREA AS A HAMLET TYPE PLACE-BASED AREA TO BE CONSIDERED AS PART OF ANY REZONING PROPOSAL.
AND, UM, IT, IT'S HARD FOR ME TO GET PAST THAT JUST BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW THAT, UM, UM, IF AS A COMMUNITY WE'VE SAID THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE THINK IS APPROPRIATE TO BE CONSIDERED IN THIS LOCATION, THEN IT'S OUR JOB AS A PLANNING COMMISSION TO, UM, DEFEND WHAT THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN SAYS UNTIL THE NEXT PROCESS CHANGES IT.
SO THAT, THAT'S A BIG CONCERN THAT I HAVE.
I KNOW, UM, IN THE STAFF REPORT, UM, IT ALSO MENTIONS THE FACT THAT, UM, THERE IS A LOT OF AREA OUT THERE THAT'S ALREADY CURRENTLY ZONED, UM, C3, UM, THAT ISN'T DEVELOPED.
UM, SO, UM, I THINK ONE OF THE, UH, QUESTIONS IN TERMS OF IF YOU'RE LOOKING AT, UM, THE RULES THAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE REVIEWING IN TERMS OF REZONING STANDARDS, UM, UM, YOU KNOW, HAS THERE A DEMONSTRATED COMMUNITY NEED BEEN MET? UM, I DON'T KNOW THAT I HEARD TONIGHT THAT A DEMONSTRATED COMMUNITY NEED HAS BEEN MET.
UM, UM, WOULD IT ADVERSELY AFFECT NEARBY LANDS? UM, I THINK THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN ENVISIONED AS THIS AREA DEVELOPS IN THE FUTURE, THAT THIS WOULD BE MORE OF A TRANSITION AREA.
UM, BECAUSE YOU HAVE, UM, MORE OF A HIGHER LAND USE PROPOSED IN THE FUTURE LAND USE PLAN, UM, TO THE EAST AND THE SOUTH.
AND THEN AS YOU MOVE FURTHER TOWARDS, UM, LAUREL BAY, UM, IT BECOMES MORE RURAL.
SO THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THIS TO BECOME THAT TRANSITION BETWEEN THOSE TYPES OF LAND USES.
UM, OBVIOUSLY THESE 70 FOOT WIDE MINIMUM LOTS AND THE HIGHER DENSITY IS A PRETTY BIG SHIFT OVER, UM, WHAT'S ALLOWED UNDER THE T TWO.
UM, SO I THINK THERE IS A, AN IMPACT THAT, UH, COULD ADVERSELY IMPACT THE NEARBY LANDS.
UM, UM, THE OTHER THING THAT I GUESS I CONTINUE TO BE A LITTLE BIT FRUSTRATED WITH IS
[00:50:01]
THAT THROUGH THIS PROCESS, WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE EVALUATING THESE DEVELOPMENTS IN TERMS OF, UM, WHETHER OR NOT THEY, UM, ADEQUATELY CAN BE SERVED BY VARIOUS INFRASTRUCTURE WE DIDN'T HEAR FROM THE SCHOOL.UM, WE DON'T REALLY HAVE ANYTHING TO INDICATE EVEN IN A PRELIMINARY FASHION THAT TRAFFIC CAN BE ADDRESSED.
UM, WE, WE SEE A LITTLE BIT OF THE SUGGESTION FOR STORMWATER.
I KNOW THAT THERE ARE STANDARDS IN PLACE AS YOU MOVE THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS AND YOU GET INTO MORE OF THE ENGINEERING.
BUT I THINK WE NEED TO AT LEAST HEAR A, A CERTAIN LEVEL OF ASSURANCE THAT THOSE THINGS CAN BE MET IN ORDER FOR US TO SAY YES, UM, OR CONFIDENT THAT INFRASTRUCTURE, UM, WON'T ADVERSELY BE AFFECTED BY THIS DEVELOPMENT.
WELL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR COMMENTS THERE.
WE DID RECEIVE, WE DID RECEIVE LETTERS FROM YOU FOR JASPER WATER AND SEWER THAT HIT, THAT SAID THAT SERVICE AVAILABILITY THROUGH THAT AREA AS WELL AS, UM, SOUTH CAROLINA ELECTRIC AND GAS.
SO AS FAR AS INFRASTRUCTURE, SOME OF THAT, WE DID RECEIVE, UH, LETTERS OF SERVICE FOR THAT SPECIFIC LOCATION.
I THINK WE'RE, I THINK MY REFERENCE TO WHAT YOU WERE SAYING WAS THAT, UH, A TIA THAT WOULD TALK WOULD ADDRESS THE TRAFFIC AND THE INFRA ROADWAY INFRASTRUCTURE, THE INGRESS AND EGRESS AND THE MULTIPLE ROADS THAT HAVE TO BE ADDRESSED FOR THE TRAFFIC THAT'S IN MIGHT BE ANTICIPATED IN THIS AREA.
AND WE HAVE NO IDEA, UH, AS, AS JOHN SAID, WE HAVE NO IDEA OF WHAT THAT IMPACT MIGHT BE, EVEN ON A PRELIMINARY BASIS.
WE WE'RE AT A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
I GOT A COPY OF THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN RIGHT HERE IN MY HAND.
WE'RE WE ARE NOT IN, IN AGREEMENT WITH THAT CONGRESS.
YEAH, SO MA'AM, MA'AM, THIS IS, THIS IS AT THE, I KNOW HE SAID SOMETHING TOO.
NO, WELL, I UNDERSTAND, BUT WE WE'RE GOOD.
WE'RE TRYING TO FOLLOW A PROCESS HERE.
EUGENE, I, I'M NEW HERE, SO I'LL TAKE A CHANCE ON SOME OF THE THINGS I CAN SAY.
CAN PEOPLE HEAR ME BEFORE I CONTINUE THIS EVENING? I DROVE THROUGH THE AREA AND IT WAS A, A RUDE AWAKENING BECAUSE OTHER TIMES I'VE DRIVEN THROUGH BEAUFORT AND I'VE DRIVEN THROUGH OTHER AREAS.
I SAW AREAS WHERE THE DRAINAGE LEAVES A LOT TO BE DESIRED, WHERE THE ROADS ARE NOT MAINTAINED, IF THERE ROADS THERE.
UM, I THINK THAT WE HAVE TO LOOK AND DEVELOPERS HAVE TO LOOK AT THE SURROUNDING COMMUNITIES, AND THERE WAS NO MENTION OF THAT, WHETHER THERE SHOULD HAVE BEEN OR NOT.
I DON'T KNOW WHETHER CHANGING THESE TWO ARMS STICKING INTO THE CURRENT ZONING WITH C3 IS DESIRABLE.
I WOULD FIND I WOULD SERIOUSLY QUESTION.
UM, I AGREE WITH WHAT I HEARD ABOUT ALL THE APPROVED DEVELOPMENTS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN STARTED OR JUST BARELY GETTING STARTED.
IT'S ALMOST LIKE, UH, AND I UNDERSTAND BUSINESSES, YOU, YOU BANK YOUR LAND WHEN YOU CAN GET IT AND YOU DEVELOP IT WHEN YOU HAVE THE FUNDS AND THE OPPORTUNITY TO DO SO.
BUT IT'S NOT GOOD THAT ALL THIS, THESE THINGS ARE CHANGING AND WE'RE NOT DEALING WITH THE EXISTING COMMUNITY WHILE THEY'RE CHANGING.
I HOPE I'M MAKING A LITTLE BIT OF SENSE OUT OF THAT.
UH, THIS IS NOT SOMETHING THAT OVERLY IMPRESSES ME AND, UH, WHILE I HAVEN'T VOTED IF, IF A VOTE'S GONNA BE TAKEN TONIGHT, UM, I'M NOT ENCOURAGED BY THIS.
I, I THINK THERE'S, AND, AND I UNDERSTAND THE EXISTING HOMEOWNER WANTING TO GET TO SELL THEIR PROPERTY AND REAP THE CAPITAL GAIN AND HAVE RESOURCES, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT'S OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO MAKE SURE THEY CAN DO THAT.
OTHER COMMENTS? DAN, DID YOU WANNA SAY SOMETHING? UH, AS, AS A DEVELOPER, I, I, UH, WOULD STATE MY, UH, MY OPPOSITION TO THIS, UH, TO THIS PLAN.
UH, AND I WOULD BASE IT ON THE FACT THAT THERE IS QUITE A BACKLOG AND WE HAVE A RESPONSIBILITY NOT TO OVER IMBIBE,
[00:55:01]
UH, WHICH I THINK IS THE CASE HERE.AND I WOULD ADD AS A DEVELOPER THAT I, I FIND THE PLAN EXTREMELY UNIMAGINATIVE.
UH, THIS IS TICKY TACKY HOUSES ALL IN A ROW.
AND I UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT OF AFFORDABILITY, BUT I, I HAVE TO SAY THAT, UH, AS DIFFICULT AS THIS SITE IS, THERE'S TWO LEGS AND A, AND A BODY AND, UH, IT'S A VERY AWKWARD SITE.
BUT, UH, IT'S VERY CLEAR THAT THE PLANNERS OF THIS SITE HAVE MAXIMIZED THEIR DENSITY.
UH, AND IT LACKS PLAN EXCELLENCE.
AND I THINK THAT WE ARE AT A POINT AS A BOARD WITH WHAT'S HAPPENING IN BEAUFORT COUNTY, THAT WE SHOULD ONLY APPROVE THINGS THAT GET AN A OR A B, AND THIS PLAN GETS A C OR A D, IT'S JUST NOT IMAGINATIVE.
AND, UH, GIVEN ALL THE OTHER THINGS THAT ARE GOING ON IN THIS AREA, UH, I WOULD EXPRESS MY OPPOSITION TO IT.
SO, YEAH, I, I GOT ONE MORE THING TO SAY.
YOU KNOW, THERE'S THE OLD SAYING ABOUT BUILD IT, AND THEY WILL, THEY WILL COME.
THAT'S WHAT THIS LOOKS LIKE TO ME.
AND, YOU KNOW, WE BUILD ALL THIS OUT, PEOPLE WILL COME AND THEY'LL MAKE THEIR MONEY AND EVERYBODY WILL BE HAPPY EXCEPT FOR THE PEOPLE THAT LIVE HERE ALREADY.
SO, AND THEY'RE JUST, WE DON'T HAVE THIS OVERARCHING PLAN FOR BEAUFORT, JASPER, FOR INFRASTRUCTURE TO ACCOMMODATE ANYTHING LIKE THIS.
SO LET'S JUST JAM MORE PEOPLE IN.
ANYTHING FURTHER? IF NOT, I MAY ASK FOR A MOTION REGARDING THE ZONING MAP, AMENDMENT REZONING REQUEST.
JOHN, UM, MR. CHAIRMAN, UM, IN REGARD TO THE 98 JENNINGS ROAD, UM, REZONING REQUEST, UM, BASED ON THE STAFF REPORT AND THE TESTIMONY WE'VE HEARD TONIGHT IN OUR DISCUSSION, UM, IN THE REVIEW AGAINST THE, UH, AMENDMENT REVIEW STANDARDS, UM, I WOULD MAKE A MOTION FOR A RECOMMENDATION TO THE, UM, UM, COUNTY COUNCIL, UM, TO DENY THIS ZONING, UM, REQUEST SECOND, SECOND.
WE HAVE A MOTION FOR RECOMMENDING DENIAL OF THE ZONING MAP AMENDMENT.
ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION BEFORE WE TAKE A VOTE? ALL THOSE IN FAVOR? RECOMMENDATION.
DENYING THE ZONING MAP AMENDMENT? RAISE YOUR HAND.
THE ZONING MAP AMENDMENT IS RECOMMENDED FOR DENIAL TO THE COUNTY COUNCIL.
ALL RIGHT, FOLKS, WE, WE HAVE TO CONTINUE ON HERE, SO IF YOU COULD PLEASE, IF YOU WANNA STAY, THAT'S FINE.
IF YOU DON'T WANNA STAY, THAT'S OKAY TOO.
WE'RE GONNA BE, WE HAVE A COUPLE MORE ISSUES TO DECIDE IF THIS ISSUE IS DECIDED FOR TONIGHT BY US.
WE READY TO MOVE FORWARD? NO, SORRY.
UM, THERE IS A PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO APPENDIX C FOUR BUCKWALTER PARKWAY TO THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CODE.
UM, DO WE HAVE, UH, ROB YOU GONNA ADDRESS THAT? YES.
UM, THIS IS A STAFF INITIATED AMENDMENT AND, UM, WE RECOMMEND THAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DELAY ACTION ON THIS BECAUSE, UM, STAFF IS STILL REVIEWING THE ENGINEERING STUDY THAT IS BEHIND THE, THE RECOMMENDED OKAY.
SO WE JUST WANT TO, TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE READY TO BRING THIS FORWARD.
BUT IT, IT'S A VERY SIMPLE CHANGE HAVING TO DO WITH, IF YOU'RE AWARE IN OUR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CODE, WE HAVE, UM, CORRIDOR SPECIFIC ACCESS MANAGEMENT PLANS AND APPENDIX C, AND THIS IS MOVING ONE OF THE INTERSECTIONS.
WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE, UM, THAT WE HAVE ALL THE INFORMATION, UM, OKAY.
TO, TO BRING IT FORWARD AND READING THE DOCUMENT, IF I COULD ASK ONE QUESTION, UM, IT WAS NECESSITATED THIS AMENDMENT OR IS NECESSITATED BY THE PROPOSED LOCATION RELOCATION OF THE BLUFFTON PARKWAY.
UM, AND THAT'S SOMETHING, YOU KNOW, IN, IN THE FUTURE PLANS THAT
[01:00:01]
WE WILL, WE'LL EXPLAIN WHAT WE, BUT THAT'S NOT KNOWN YET.SO I MEAN, THE PLAN COULD CHANGE WHAT THE ENGINEERING PLAN COULD CHANGE FOR THE TRAFFIC ACCESS.
I MEAN THE, UH, THE LIGHT ACCESS AND SO ON.
NEXT, COULD, COULD I MAKE A COMMENT? SURE.
UM, I READ WHAT YOU, WHAT WE RECEIVED ON THE PROPOSAL.
UM, AND IT WOULD SAY, IT SAID THINGS IN THERE LIKE THE PROPOSED OR THOUGHT ABOUT RELOCATION OF BLUFFTON PARKWAY.
IT WOULD HELP ME TREMENDOUSLY WHEN YOU SUBMIT NEXT TIME, IF THERE, AND I'M NOT TALKING PHOTOGRAPH PICTURES, BUT DRAWINGS THAT GIVE ME AN IDEA OF WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT.
BECAUSE TRANSLATING ONE, AND IT'S THE SAME WITH THE NEXT REPORT WHERE THEY'RE SAYING IF RAINFALL IS SO MUCH AND IT GOES, THE LEVEL OF WATER IS GONNA GO UP A CERTAIN AMOUNT, SEEING WHAT THAT IMPACT WOULD BE IS A LOT BETTER FOR ME.
AND I KNOW THERE ARE A LOT OF VISUAL PEOPLE MM-HMM.
SO I THINK IT'LL BE VERY HELPFUL IF WE HAD SOMETHING.
THE LAST TIME YOU SUBMITTED SOMETHING TO US BACK IN 2021 ON THE BUCK WAL PARKWAY, WHERE YOU, YOU CHANGED THOSE? YES.
YOU SHOWED A MAP WITH THE UPDATED ENGINEERING STUDY.
WE'LL HAVE THAT INFORMATION FOR YOU WHEN WE BRING THIS FORWARD.
[9. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT TO ADD THE BEAUFORT COUNTY LONG-TERM RESILIENCE STRATEGY AS AN APPENDIX TO THE 2040 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.]
OKAY.I GUESS WE'RE UP TO, UM, COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT TO ADD THE BEAUFORT COUNTY LONG-TERM RESILIENCE STRATEGY AS AN APPENDIX TO THE 2040 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
WELL, I WOULD LIKE TO GIVE AN INTRODUCTION SURE.
AND THEN I'M GONNA HAND IT OFF TO, I THINK MANY OF YOU REMEMBER JULIANA SMITH.
UM, SHE'S BACK WORKING FOR US.
DOING A LOT OF WORK WITH THE GREEN SPACE PROGRAM, BUT ALSO, UM, PICKING UP ON SOME OF THE, THE, UH, RES RESILIENCE PLANNING THAT WE'VE BEEN, WE'VE BEEN DOING.
SO, UH, SHE'LL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE A PRESENTATION.
THE DOCUMENT THAT YOU HAVE BEFORE YOU REALLY IS A COMBINATION OF, I WOULD SAY, FOUR OR FIVE YEARS OF WORK THAT WE'VE HAD TO PUT OFF FOR VARIOUS REASONS.
UM, IT STARTED WITH A, UH, WHAT WE CALL THE, THE SEA LEVEL RISE TASK FORCE.
AND IT WAS A, A GROUP OF PEOPLE MADE UP OF, UM, DIFFERENT PLANNERS IN THE COUNTY AND THE MUNICIPALITIES.
WE HAD, UH, REPRESENTATIVES FROM THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY, FROM THE ENVIRON ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY, UM, ALL ON THIS, THIS TASK FORCE LOOKING AT THE RISKS THAT BEAUFORT COUNTY FACES DUE TO OUR LOCATION ON THE, ON THE COAST AND THE, AND THE PATHS OF HURRICANES.
AND ALSO WITH THE, WITH THE FUTURE, YOU KNOW, WITH CONCERNS ABOUT, UH, CLIMATE CHANGE AND SEA LEVEL RISE.
UM, THAT WORK WAS KIND OF PUT ON HOLD WITH COVID.
AND THEN AS SOON AS WE, UM, GOT IT UP AND RUNNING AROUND OUT OF COVID, THEN THE COMP PLAN REALLY TOOK OVER.
AND SO A LOT OF THE IDEAS THAT WE, WE WERE BEGINNING TO DEVELOP THIS DOCUMENT MADE ITS WAY INTO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
BUT WHAT WE REALLY WANTED TO DO WAS FINISH THIS WORK BECAUSE WE BELIEVE THIS STUDY REALLY TAKES THE DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, PUTS 'EM IN ONE DOCUMENT THAT KIND OF DEFINES AN OVERALL STRATEGY OF HOW WE WANT TO ADDRESS RESILIENCE PLANNING.
ANOTHER EXCITING THING THAT HAS HAPPENED IS THAT WE HAVE INTERESTS FROM OTHER, UH, DEPARTMENTS IN THE COUNTY AS WELL.
UM, OUR ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, OUR, UH, CIP UH, DEPARTMENT, STORMWATER PUBLIC WORKS, HAVE ALL HAVE AN INTEREST IN THESE RESILIENCE STRATEGIES BECAUSE A LOT OF WHAT WE DO AS A COUNTY WHERE WE BUILD FUTURE ROADS, FUTURE BUILDINGS, IS IMPACTED BY, YOU KNOW, WE, WE WANNA MAKE SURE WE'RE PUTTING 'EM IN THE RIGHT LOCATION TO PUT 'EM OUT OF HARM'S WAY.
AND SO WE HAVE REPRESENTATIVES FROM THOSE DEPARTMENTS HERE TODAY AND, UM, THEY'LL BE ABLE TO PROVIDE SOME INFORMATION AS, AS WE GIVE THIS PRESENTATION.
UM, AND THEN TOPPING THAT OFF AS WE WERE FINISHING OUR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, THE STATE, UM, FOR ONE THING, THEY CREATED A, AN OFFICE OF RESILIENCY.
AND THEY CHANGED THE PLANNING, ENABLING LEGISLATION TO, UM, REQUIRE A RESILIENCE ELEMENT IN A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
SO IN OUR, IN OUR CURRENT COMPREHENSIVE PLAN THAT WE ADOPTED TWO YEARS AGO, WE ADDRESS THESE ISSUES, BUT THEY'RE SCATTERED THROUGHOUT.
THE DOCUMENT IS KIND OF ONE OF THE, THE THREE THEMES.
THIS IS WHAT WE'RE RECOMMENDING TODAY WILL BE, UM, WE'RE RECOMMENDING TO BE ADOPTED AS A, AN APPENDIX OF THE PLAN WHERE ALL THE RESILIENCE STRATEGIES ARE IN ONE DOCUMENT AND MEETING THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE STATE ENABLING LEGISLATION.
SO WE'RE HOPING TO ACCOMPLISH A LOT OF GOALS,
[01:05:01]
UM, AND WE BELIEVE THAT THE TIMING IS GOOD.AND, UM, I'M GONNA LET, UH, JULIANA TAKE OVER AND, AND JUST GIVE YOU AN OVERALL BRIEF OF THE DOCUMENT.
IT'S NICE TO SEE SOME OF YOU ALL AGAIN.
AND FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE NOT MET ME ALREADY, MY NAME IS JULIANA SMITH.
I'M A LONG RANGE PLANNER LIKE KRISTEN HERE AT BEAUFORT COUNTY.
AND AS ROB MENTIONED, I WORK ON OUR GREEN SPACE PROGRAM AND I WORK ON RESILIENCE ISSUES.
AND WE FIND THAT THOSE THINGS KIND OF ARE RELATED TO EACH OTHER IN MANY WAYS.
BUT TONIGHT I'M GOING TO BE SPEAKING SPECIFICALLY ABOUT OUR LONG-TERM RESILIENCE STRATEGY.
SO ROB ACTUALLY INCLUDED AN IMAGE IN HERE AND WE KIND OF BREEZED OVER IT, BUT I THOUGHT, LET'S LOOK AT IT SINCE WE PUT IT IN OUR PRESENTATION.
SO WE'RE GONNA GO BACK ONE SLIDE.
SO THIS IS WHAT WE SAW AT WATERFRONT PARK IN DOWNTOWN BEAUFORT.
AND MR. MYERS, YOU WERE TALKING ABOUT VISUALIZING WHAT SEA LEVEL RISE LOOKS LIKE.
NOW, WE ARE NOT ANTICIPATING THIS LEVEL OF SEA LEVEL RISE BY 2050.
WE ARE EXPECTING MAYBE ABOUT A FOOT TO A FOOT AND A HALF.
UM, SO JUST THAT BASICALLY EQUATES TO OUR, OUR KING TIDES ESSENTIALLY, THAT WE GET NOW WILL BECOME OUR NORMAL TIDES.
THAT'S WHAT WE'LL SEE AS A NORMAL HIGH TIDE.
AND IN THE LONG-TERM RESILIENT STRATEGY, WE DO TRY TO BREAK THAT DOWN WITH A, A CHART CALLED A TOTAL WATER APPROACH.
AND IF YOU'VE HAD A CHANCE TO LOOK AT IT, IT'S ON PAGE 16.
KIND OF JUST HELPS US VISUALIZE WHAT WE SEE TODAY AND WHAT THAT WILL BE IN THE FUTURE.
WILL THAT BECOME THE NEW NORMAL? AND HOW DOES THAT CHANGE? SO I JUST WANTED TO MENTION THAT AT THE TOP.
SO, AS ROB MENTIONED, WE HAVE A SOUTH CAROLINA OFFICE OF RESILIENCE AND THEY DEFINED RESILIENCE 'CAUSE YOU CAN REALLY USE RESILIENCE TO TALK ABOUT ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING.
AS FAR AS THE STATE IS CONCERNED, IT IS THE ABILITY OF OUR COMMUNITIES, OUR ECONOMIES, AND OUR ECOSYSTEMS TO BE ABLE TO ANTICIPATE, ABSORB, RECOVER, AND THRIVE IN THE FACE OF ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS.
WELL, ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGE IN NATURAL HAZARDS.
SO THAT'S WHAT THE STATE IS LOOKING AT AND I LIKE TO LOOK AT THINGS A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENTLY.
I DON'T ALWAYS JUST WANNA BE ABLE TO READ THEM.
SO I INCLUDED THESE CHARTS HERE AS WELL TO HELP US UNDERSTAND WHAT RESILIENCE LOOKS LIKE.
SO ON THE LEFT YOU SEE A CHART WITH A LESS RESILIENT SYSTEM.
FUNCTIONAL CAPACITY IS THAT Y ACCESS ON THE LEFT SIDE OF THE CHART.
AND TIME IS THERE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE CHART.
AS OUR X ACCESS BUSINESS AS USUAL, IS JUST OPERATING AS WE ARE TODAY WITHOUT IMPLEMENTING ANY ADAPTATIONS TO ADDRESS RESILIENCE.
SO WE'RE MOVING ALONG THE TIMELINE.
ONE OF OUR SYSTEMS HITS A POINT WHERE THERE'S AN ACUTE HAZARD.
THIS COULD BE THE BUILDINGS OR THE ROADS THAT ROB WAS MENTIONING EARLIER, THAT ACUTE HAZARD AFFECTS THOSE BUILDINGS AND ROADS.
WE HAVE A RESPONSE TIME AND WE HAVE A RECOVERY TIME.
NOW, WE EITHER RECOVER FULLY AND WE GO BACK TO BUSINESS AS USUAL, BUT IN THE MEANTIME, WE'VE LOST THAT FUNCTIONAL CAPACITY FOR A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF PERIODS, AMOUNT OF TIME.
SO IF IT WAS A ROAD AND THE ROAD WAS OVERTOPPED BY A HIGHER THAN USUAL TIDE, THAT ROAD IS NO LONGER FUNCTIONAL FOR AS LONG AS THAT TIDE IS THERE FLOODING IT.
SO THAT MEANS FOLKS WHO NEED TO GET FROM POINT A TO POINT B USING THAT ROAD, CAN'T DO THAT ANYMORE.
MAYBE THEY'RE GETTING TO JOBS, MAYBE THEY'RE GETTING TO MEDICAL, UM, SYSTEMS LIKE HOSPITALS OR PHARMACIES.
MAYBE THEY'RE JUST GOING TO VISIT FAMILY AND FRIENDS.
MAYBE THEY'RE GOING TO GROCERY STORES.
BUT EITHER WAY, WE'VE LOST THAT FUNCTIONAL CAPACITY.
MY POINT IS, EVEN IF WE RETURN BACK TO THAT BUSINESS AS USUAL BASELINE, THERE ARE INSTANCES WHERE WE WON'T RETURN TO THE BUSINESS AS USUAL.
WE'LL HAVE A PERMANENT LOSS, WHICH IS WHAT THAT LESS RESILIENT CHART SYSTEM IS SHOWING.
ON THE RIGHT SIDE, WE HAVE A MORE RESILIENT SYSTEM.
THIS IS WHERE WE TAKE PROACTIVE APPROACHES TO IMPROVE THE RESILIENCE OF OUR SYSTEMS, OUR ROAD NETWORKS, OUR BUILDINGS THAT BRINGS OUR BUSINESS AS USUAL LEVEL UP HIGHER THAN WHAT IT WAS BEFORE.
SO THAT WHEN AN ACUTE HAZARD HAPPENS, YES, WE EXPERIENCE A RESPONSE, YES, THINGS HAPPEN, BUT IT IS A SHORTER RECOVERY TIME AND WE RETURN BACK TO THAT PRE OR ABOVE BUSINESS AS USUAL, MORE RESILIENT STATUS.
SO REALLY OUR GOAL HERE WITH OUR LONG-TERM RESILIENCE STRATEGY IS TO ANTICIPATE WHAT OUR, OUR EXPECTED IMPACTS ARE AS WE ARE THINKING ABOUT
[01:10:01]
BASICALLY THREE THINGS AS FAR AS THIS PLAN IS CONCERNED, AND THAT IS SEA LEVEL RISE, MORE FREQUENT INTENSE STORMS, NOT NECESSARILY MORE INTENSE STORMS, BUT MORE FREQUENT INTENSE STORMS AND THE IMPACTS OF TROPICAL CYCLONES AND HOW DO WE ANTICIPATE THOSE IMPACTS AND UPGRADE OUR INFRASTRUCTURE AND PUT INTO PLACE POLICIES FOR FUTURE INFRASTRUCTURE TO, TO BASICALLY IN CONSIDER THOSE THINGS AND ABSORB POTENTIAL IMPACTS.NOW, WE DO KNOW THAT IMPACTS FROM SEA LEVEL RISE HAVE ALREADY BEEN HAPPENING.
HERE IS THE CHARLESTON SOUTH CAROLINA TIDE GAUGE.
IT'S BEEN ONLINE FOR OVER A HUNDRED YEARS, WHICH IS PRETTY EXCITING TO HAVE THAT KIND OF DATA SET.
WHAT IT SHOWS US SINCE THE EARLY 1920S IS THAT WE HAVE SEEN ABOUT 1.1 FOOT OF SEA LEVEL RISE IN THE CHARLESTON HARBOR AREA.
NOW, IT'S NOT A STEADY AMOUNT OF SEA LEVEL RISE.
YEAR TO YEAR, WE'RE STARTING TO SEE A CHANGE ABOUT 2000.
THE YEAR 2000 IS WHEN WE STARTED TO SEE, WELL, HOLD ON, LET ME BACK UP.
HALF OF THAT FOOT OF SEA LEVEL RISE HAS HAPPENED SINCE THE YEAR 2000.
SO SIX INCHES OF THAT 1.1 FOOT HAS OCCURRED SINCE THE YEAR 2000, WHICH INDICATES WE'RE SEEING A RAPID INCREASE IN HOW MUCH SEA LEVEL RISE IS OCCURRING IN RECENT HISTORY.
SO IT'S MOVING ALONG A LITTLE FASTER.
NOW, WE DO EXPECT IN THE CHARLESTON HARBOR AREA TO SEE A FOOT TO A FOOT AND A HALF OF SEA LEVEL RISE BY 2050, DEPENDING ON A VARIETY OF SCENARIOS.
OUR LONG-TERM RESILIENCE STRATEGY FOCUSES ON THE FORT PULASKI TIDE GAUGE.
IT IS CLOSER TO US AND IT EXPERIENCES A SIMILAR TITLE AMPLITUDE.
THEY'RE GETTING THOSE NINE FOOT TIDES REGULAR REGULARLY.
THERE'RE JUST LIKE WE ARE UP HERE AND THEY'RE SEEING THE SAME TREND.
SO IT DOESN'T QUITE HAVE THE A HUNDRED OR YEARS WORTH OF DATA COLLECTION.
IT WILL BY THE 1930S OR NOT 1930S, THE 2030S.
UM, BUT WHAT WE'RE SEEING IS IT'S ON TRACK TO SHOW US ABOUT 1.8 FEET OF SEA LEVEL RISE HAVING OCCURRED BY THE TIME WE GET TO THAT DECADE.
SO IT'S ALSO SHOWING THAT RAPID INCREASE IN THE AMOUNT OF SEA LEVEL RISE WE'RE SEEING ON AN ANNUAL BASIS OVER THE PAST 24 YEARS.
SO IT'S STICKING TO THAT TREND, AND AGAIN, WE'RE SEEING ABOUT A FOOT TO A FOOT AND A HALF OF ANTICIPATED SEA LEVEL RISE IN THE NEXT 25 YEARS BY 2050.
HERE'S A DIFFERENT WAY TO LOOK AT IT.
I'M GONNA LET Y'ALL ABSORB THAT WHILE I TAKE SOME WATER.
SO WHAT DOES SEA LEVEL RISE MEAN TO US, THOSE HIGHER TIDES? IT ALSO MEANS THAT WE START SEEING MORE SOMETHING THAT'S CALLED SUNNY DAY FLOODING.
SO THAT'S WHERE YOU'RE FLOODING, NOT BECAUSE IT'S RAINING OR BECAUSE OF HURRICANE CAME BY YOUR FLOODING BECAUSE THE TIDE IS HIGHER.
AND SO DIFFERENT AREAS WILL IN IN EXPERIENCE WATER COMING INTO PROPERTIES OVER TOPPING ROADS.
AND WE'RE ALREADY SEEING THIS OCCURRING AT THAT FORT PULASKI TIDE GAUGE.
SO THIS CHART HERE SHOWS YOU ON THE LEFT ON THAT YXI, THE NUMBER OF FLOOD DAYS AT THE FORT PULASKI TIDE GAUGE.
A FLOOD DAY HAPPENS WHEN THE HIGH TIDE HITS HIGHER THAN 9.5 FEET AT THE FORT PULASKI TIDE GAUGE.
THAT'S WHEN THEY START TO SEE IMPACTS OF FLOODING IN AND AROUND THE AREA.
SO WE HAVE HAD A REALLY STARK TREND OCCURRING WHERE YOU SEE AT THE END OF, UH, THE CHART HERE IN OUR RECENT YEARS, OVER THE PAST 20 YEARS, WE'RE SEEING MUCH MORE FLOOD DAYS HAPPENING AT THE FORT PULASKI TIDE GAUGE.
I DID THE MATH SINCE 2010, 70% OF THOSE FLOOD DAYS HAVE HAPPENED OF ALL OF THE FLOOD DAYS THAT YOU SEE HERE.
SO IT'S FOLLOWING THAT GENERAL TREND THAT THESE THINGS ARE HAPPENING MORE FREQUENTLY IN RECENT YEARS.
IT'S NOT A CONSISTENT THING THAT WE'VE SEEN OVER THE PAST A HUNDRED YEARS.
AND I SAY THIS NOT TO BE SCARY, THAT'S NOT MY POINT.
I SAY THIS TO SAY, HEY, THIS IS HAPPENING.
AND IT WOULD REALLY BEHOOVE US TO START THINKING ABOUT WHAT THAT MEANS FOR OUR FUTURE.
AND IT WOULD BEHOOVE OUR OUR COMMUNITIES, OUR ECONOMIES, AND OUR ENVIRONMENTAL SYSTEMS. SO THAT'S WHAT THIS PLAN IS ALL ABOUT.
HOW DO WE CONTINUE TO THRIVE HERE? NOW, AS ROB MENTIONED, WE ADOPTED OUR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PLAN IN 2021.
IT ADDRESSED RESILIENCE AS ONE OF THREE OVERARCHING THEMES.
SO IT'S INTERWOVEN THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PLAN.
THERE ARE A FEW, UH, SPECIFIC THINGS THAT COME FROM IT THAT DIRECTLY ADDRESSED RESILIENCE.
BUT BASICALLY, AS FAR AS A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN IS CONCERNED, RESILIENCE IS OUR ABILITY TO ADAPT AND THRIVE IN A DYNAMIC COASTAL ENVIRONMENT AND A CHANGING ECONOMY.
SO WE'RE KIND OF LOOKING AT BOTH SIDES BECAUSE WHAT'S HAPPENING
[01:15:01]
TO SEA LEVEL RISE IMPACTS OUR ECONOMIES.IT IMPACTS WHAT WE CAN DO HERE.
IT IMPACTS WHAT BUSINESSES ARE SUCCESSFUL HERE.
THE PLAN ADVISES STUDYING, MONITORING AND ADDRESSING THE IMPACTS OF HIGHER TIDES AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS.
AND IT ALSO RECOMMENDS VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENTS FOR CRITICAL COUNTY INFRASTRUCTURE.
OVERALL, IT'S PROMOTING PROACTIVE RESILIENCE PLANNING.
SO WE COME TO THE MORE RECENT YEARS SINCE WE'VE ADOPTED THE PLAN TO THE LONG TERM RESILIENCE STRATEGY NOW, BROADLY SPEAKING.
AND IT IS ABOUT A 52 PAGE LONG DOCUMENT SO YOU CAN GET INTO THOSE NITTY GRITTY DETAILS.
IF YOU'RE KIND OF A DETAILS NERD LIKE I AM, IT'S THERE FOR YOU.
BUT BROADLY SPEAKING, FOR THE PURPOSES OF TONIGHT'S MEETING, WHAT OUR LONG-TERM RESILIENCE STRATEGY DOES IS IT STARTS OUT BY SUMMARIZING THOSE PAST ENVIRONMENTAL TRENDS THAT I TOUCHED ON ALREADY GOING INTO RAIN DATA AS WELL, AND EXPERIENCES FROM TROPICAL CYCLONES TOO.
SO OUR HISTORY WITH THAT, IT GAUGES ANTICIPATED FUTURE TRENDS.
IT'S LOOKING AT DATA THAT'S COMING FROM NOAA THAT IS BROKEN DOWN TO REGIONS FOR THE UNITED STATES.
SO WE'RE LOOKING AT OUR SOUTHEASTERN REGION AND WHAT WE EXPECT TO HAPPEN HERE.
THE WHOLE COUNTRY IS NOT EXPERIENCING THE SAME THING.
IT'S DIFFERENT ACROSS THE BOARD.
I THINK THIS IS JUST A CRAZY FACT.
BUT IN ALASKA, THEY'RE EXPERIENCING SEA LEVELS DROPPING, NOT RISING.
SO IT JUST DEPENDS ON WHERE YOU ARE.
IT'S NOT UNIFORM ACROSS THE COUNTRY.
AND THEN IT RECOMMENDS STRATEGIES TO FORTIFY BEAUFORT COUNTY RESILIENCE, AND I'LL TALK ABOUT THAT HERE IN A SECOND.
AND OVERALL IS SUPPLE SUPPLEMENTING AND SUPPORTING THE 2040 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
SO WE REALLY SEE IT AS A MORE INTENTIONAL LOOK AT RESILIENCE, AND THAT'S WHY WE THINK IT SHOULD BE AN APPENDIX TO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, ESSENTIALLY AS OUR RESILIENCE CHAPTER.
SO THERE'S FOUR RESILIENCE STRATEGY GROUPS ARE PROBABLY GONNA BE THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS FOR A STAFF TO BE AWARE OF BECAUSE THESE ARE THE THINGS THAT WE WOULD BE CARRYING OUT IN ORDER TO IMPROVE OUR RESILIENCE.
IT IS A CYCLICAL PROCESS AND IT'S DIVIDED UP INTO FOUR GROUPS.
AWARENESS IS KIND OF THE FIRST GROUP THAT WE'RE STARTING WITH.
SO IT'S AN EDUCATION CAMPAIGN, NOT JUST FOR COMMUNITIES, NOT JUST FOR LEADERSHIP AND DECISION MAKERS, BUT ALSO FOR OUR OURSELVES STAFF INCLUDED.
IT ALSO ENCOURAGES FACILITATING AND BUILDING DATA, SHARING NETWORKS WITH OUR PARTNERS IN THE COMMUNITY WHO ARE INTERESTED IN THE SAME GOALS.
AND SO WE DO HAVE INCLUSION IN HERE FROM BOTH OF OUR MILITARY INSTALLATION, WELL, TWO OF OUR MILITARY INSTALLATIONS, UM, BECAUSE THEY TOO ARE CONCERNED ABOUT RESILIENCE.
THIS IS BASICALLY LOOKING AT OUR DATA GAPS AND FILLING THOSE SO THAT WE CAN BETTER PLAN FOR RESILIENCE.
THERE'S AN ACTION PHASE, SO THAT'S IMPLEMENTING RECOMMENDATIONS THAT ARE DERIVED FROM OUR STUDIES.
AND THEN THERE'S THE REASSESS PHASE.
AND I THINK THAT THIS PHASE SHOULDN'T BE UNDERSTATED, EVEN THOUGH IT'S THE SHORTEST, SMALLEST CATEGORY IN THE LONG-TERM RESILIENT STRATEGY.
BECAUSE THIS PHASE HAS US RETURN TO WHAT WE'VE DONE.
LOOK AT THE POLICIES WE'VE PUT IN PLACE, LOOK AT THE PROJECTS WE'VE IMPLEMENTED, LOOK AT THE MOST RECENT SCIENCE DATA ON CLIMATE, AND MAKE SURE EVERYTHING'S STILL FUNCTIONING THE WAY WE INTENDED IT TO DO.
WE NEED TO TWEAK THINGS, DO WE NEED TO ADJUST? SO I THINK THAT'S REALLY IMPORTANT AND A PRUDENT PART OF OUR RESILIENT STRATEGY GROUPS.
AND THEN WE GO BACK TO AWARENESS AND IT JUST KEEPS GOING.
LEAVE Y'ALL HANGING THE SUSPENSE.
AND I TEND TO TALK FASTER THAN I CAN BREATHE, WHICH IS WHAT YOU ALL ARE HEARING RIGHT NOW.
UM, IN THE MEANTIME, A COASTAL RESILIENCE WORKING GROUP WAS FORMED AND ROB MENTIONED THIS.
SO IT'S AN INTERDEPARTMENTAL GROUP THAT HAS COME TOGETHER TO REALLY ADDRESS KIND OF DEPARTMENT SPECIFIC STRATEGIES FOR PURSUING A MORE RESILIENT FUTURE IN BEAUFORT COUNTY.
IT INCLUDES THE PLANNING AND ZONING DEPARTMENT, THE FACILITIES MANAGEMENT AND CAPITAL PROJECTS DEPARTMENT, THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, AND THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENTS.
AND WE DO HAVE TWO REPRESENTATIVES HERE TODAY.
WE'VE GOT MR. BRIAN BAUER FROM THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT, AND MR. ERIC LARSON FROM THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT.
AND I'M GONNA YANK THEM UP HERE TO TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THEIR INCLUSIONS.
WHAT THEY, WHAT WE HAVE ALL DONE IS ADDED ANOTHER APPENDIX TO THIS LONG-TERM RESILIENCE STRATEGY THAT DETAILS WHAT THOSE DEPARTMENTS WANT TO DO TO PURSUE RESILIENCE.
CAN I ASK ONE QUESTION BEFORE YOU? YES.
UM, THE SENSE OF URGENCY IS, IS IMMINENT.
I MEAN, YOU ALREADY SHOWED THAT WE HAD A TIPPING POINT.
UH, DO WE HAVE A, WHAT I WOULD CALL A, UH, RESILIENCY CZAR, SOMEBODY WHO'S CRACKING
[01:20:01]
THE WHIP AND MAKING SURE THIS STUFF IS HAPPENING IN REAL TIME? WELL, I WOULD SAY THAT THE SOUTH CAROLINA OFFICE OF RESILIENCE IS SORT OF DOING THIS AND THAT THE STATE LAW THAT HAPPENED IN 2020 IS REQUIRING ALL COMPREHENSIVE PLANS MOVING FORWARD.INCLUDE RESILIENCE AS A CHAPTER.
SO YOU HAVE WHAT, 10 ELEMENTS ALREADY? I THINK NOW WE'RE ADDING AN 11TH AND IT'S RESILIENCE.
UM, SO YEAH, I WOULD SAY THAT THERE'S A BIT OF WHIP CRACKING HAPPENING WITH REGARD TO THAT COMING DOWN FROM THE STATE REQUIRING COMMUNITIES TO THINK ABOUT THIS.
BUT I DO THINK THAT TO SOME DEGREE WE HAVE TO BE SELF-MOTIVATED.
I I'M THINKING OF A HOMEGROWN, UH, CZAR, SOMEBODY WHO IN BEAUFORT COUNTY WHO'S GONNA LEAD THE INITIATIVE, WE'RE THREE WEEKS, THREE MONTHS AWAY FROM THE NEXT HURRICANE SEASON.
AND IT'S GONNA CONTINUE THAT WAY BASED ON WHAT YOU'RE SHOWING US AND, AND WHAT I'M PERSONALLY EXPERIENCING WHERE I LIVE.
UM, HAD WE THOUGHT ABOUT, I MEAN, YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT, AND THROUGHOUT THE DOCUMENT, A LOT OF, A LOT OF PARTNERSHIPS.
A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE TO MAKE THIS THING HAPPEN.
BUT THERE'S GOTTA BE SOMEBODY LEADING THE CHARGE LOCALLY YES.
TO MAKE SURE IT HAPPENS IN REAL TIME.
DO WE? DO YOU WANNA ANSWER THIS? THAT'S OR THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN? IS THAT WHERE YOU'RE GOING? YEAH, I WAS SIMPLY GONNA SAY, I THINK IF YOU WAIT TILL THE NEXT SLIDE, IT IS ONE OF THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN OUR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
SOMETHING, I MISSED THAT BECAUSE I READ, I WAS A NERD THAT READ EVERY PAGE OF IT.
SOME, IT'S, YEAH, IT'S IN THE COMP PLAN.
UM, I'LL TURN IT OVER TO THESE GUYS AND THEN I'LL COME BACK TO SUM UP.
THANK YOU COMMISSIONERS FOR LETTING ME COME SPEAK TODAY.
MY NAME'S BRIAN BAUER AND I'M REPRESENTING THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT.
SO JUST TO ECHO WHAT ROB AND JULIANA SAID, THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT IS COMMITTED TO IN STARTING TO INCLUDE RESILIENCE IN THIS AND SUPPORTS THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THIS LONG RANGE RESILIENCE STRATEGY.
UM, THROUGH WORKING WITH JULIAN HANE COMING UP, WE'VE COME UP WITH A FEW IDENTIFIED A FEW KEY AREAS WHERE WE CAN WORK TO IMPLEMENT RESILIENCE IN WHAT WE DO.
THE FIRST IS WE UNDERSTAND THE NEED FOR VULNERABLE VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT TO LOOK AT OUR CAUSEWAYS OR LOW LYING ROADWAYS THAT, YOU KNOW, DO SEE ISSUES WITH THE KING TIDES OR STORM TIDES OF OVER TOPPING, ESPECIALLY THOSE THAT SERVE AS EVACUATION ROUTES ARE THE ONLY ENTRANCE AND EXIT TO A COMMUNITY.
SO THAT'S THE FIRST THING IS JUST SO WE CAN FIGURE OUT WHERE THE ISSUES LIE AND WE CAN START ADDRESSING IT.
AND THAT ALSO, UH, THROUGH THE BIPARTISAN INFRASTRUCTURE LAW, THE INFLATION REDUCTION ACT, THERE'S A LOT OF MONEY OUT THERE FOR RESILIENCE RIGHT NOW.
AND HAVING THIS STUDY IN PLACE AND A LIST OF PROJECTS IDENTIFIED IS KEY TO HELPING US, YOU KNOW, BE ABLE TO QUALIFY FOR SOME OF THAT GRANT FUNDING THAT'S OUT THERE.
UM, THE OTHER THING IS, AS PART OF THIS, WE NEED TO ESTABLISH A MINIMUM ROADWAY ELEVATION FOR WHEN PLANS ARE COMING THROUGH.
I THINK Y'ALL MIGHT MENTION IT EARLIER.
WE CAN SET A MINIMUM SO THAT WE CAN TRY TO KEEP THIS FROM HAPPENING BEFORE IT BEGINS IT'S PART AS THE REVIEW PROCESS.
STATE THIS TO, YOU KNOW, A ROAD NEEDS TO BE THIS ELEVATION IF IT IS ONLY ENTRANCE OR EXIT OUT OF THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND THE LAST THING IS WE NEED TO REALLY BE ABLE TO GO BACK AND ACCESS WHAT'S GOING ON AND WHERE WE CAN IMPLEMENT THIS AND COMING UP WITH A RESILIENCE REVIEW PROGRAM TO LOOK AT OUR PROJECTS AND SEE WHERE WE CAN IMPLEMENT MORE RESILIENCY.
WHETHER IT'S GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE TO HELP, UH, WITH WAVE MITIGATION OR, UM, SO THAT'S THE BIG THING WE NEED TO REALLY DO IS AN RESILIENCE REVIEW.
AND I THINK ONE OF THE SLIDES SAID, ENVISION THERE IS A PROGRAM OUT THAT WAS STARTED BY THE, UH, A PWA IN THE US UH, ASSOCIATION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS CALLED ENVISION, WHICH IS FOR REVIEWING INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS TO RATE THEM FOR RESILIENCE AND SUSTAINABILITY.
SO THOSE ARE ALL THINGS, AND YOU TALK ABOUT THAT URGENCY, THESE ARE ALL THINGS THAT CAN BE ACCOMPLISHED IN, I WOULD SAY THE SHORT TO MIDTERM.
SO THIS IS SOMETHING THAT WE ARE GONNA LOOK AT ADDRESSING.
UM, AND NEIL DESAI IS LISTED ON HERE.
SO I WILL SPEAK FOR THE PUBLIC WORKS AS WELL.
UM, AND THE BIG THING FOR THEM IS ANOTHER VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT, LOOKING AT THE STORM WATER, THE MARINE, THE LANDINGS, THE FISHING PIERS, AND SEEING WHERE THOSE CAN BE ADDRESSED AND UPDATED AS WELL.
SOME OF THIS HAS ALREADY BEEN DONE.
THEY HAVE LOOKED AT STORMWATER ON LAYS ISLAND, ST.
HELENA, UM, AND BLUFFTON AS WELL.
SO THEY ARE ON THE START TO SOME OF THAT.
AND THEY'VE DONE A MARINE FACILITY ASSESSMENT AS WELL.
SO THOSE ARE, CAN BE BUILT ON WITH MORE RESILIENCE
[01:25:01]
FOCUS, BUT THEY'VE LOOKED AT SOME OF THAT ALREADY.UM, AND THEN UPDATING THIS EXISTING STANDARDS, THERE'S THE, SO LOCAL MANUAL FOR STORM WATER, SO THEY CAN LOOK AT UPDATING THAT WITH MORE RESILIENCE FUNCTION, UM, AND BUILD ON THAT THAT THEY'VE ALREADY ESTABLISHED.
UM, SO THAT'S THE ENGINEERING PUBLIC WORK.
SO I'LL PASS IT ON TO ERIC LARSON NOW WHO'S THE DIRECTOR OF THE FACILITIES MANAGEMENT CAPITAL PROJECTS.
ONE THING, UM, THE, THE MILITARY DID AN EXTENSIVE RESILIENCY STUDY.
IT TOOK, I THINK THEY TOOK TWO YEARS TO DO IT AND HAD ALL KINDS OF ACTION PLANS AND PRIORITIES AND IMPORTANCE OF WHAT THEIR MESSAGE IS HITS US SQUARE BECAUSE THEY'RE SUCH A BIG PART OF OUR ECONOMY.
UM, I'M, I'M, I'M THINKING THERE'S LOTS OF INFORMATION THERE THAT'S SCIENTIFICALLY BASED THAT THEY'VE COME ACROSS AND PRIORITIZE.
I BELIEVE YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT THE MIRROR, WHICH ELKCOCK DID.
THEY'RE ACTUALLY WORKING, UH, HAVE ONE OF THEIR FIRST, UH, PROTOTYPE PROJECTS OUT THERE NOW.
UH, I BELIEVE IT'S OUT TO BID, SO THEY SHOULD BE HOPEFULLY STARTING THAT SOON.
BUT YEAH, THAT'S A GREAT DOCUMENT SO THAT WE CAN FOLLOW ON.
UM, AND THAT IS WHERE WE PROBABLY NEED TO GET, IS A COMBINATION OF ALL THE DEPARTMENTS MM-HMM.
SO LOOK AT THINGS HOLISTICALLY, UM, AND COME UP WITH A DOCUMENT LIKE THAT.
UM, IT MAY BE DIFFERENT CONSULTANTS OR DIFFERENT TEAM MEMBERS THAT WILL LOOK AT EACH ITEM INDIVIDUALLY, PERSON REVIEWING THE ROADS.
WE DIFFERENT THAN WHAT ERIC WOULD USE TO REVIEW THE FACILITIES, BUT YEAH.
WE NEED TO GET SOMETHING WHERE WE HAVE ALL THOSE PLACES IN ONE.
SO I'VE GOT, I'VE GOT A QUESTION TOO, ALSO.
HOW, HOW WELL ARE YOU WORKING HAND IN HAND WITH THE STATE ON A LOT OF THE EXISTING ROADS OUT THERE? BECAUSE WE HAVE COUNTY ROADS THAT HAVE, THAT ARE PROBLEMATIC.
WE HAVE STATE ROADS THAT ARE PROBLEMATIC.
AND HOW IS THIS GONNA BE TIED IN ALTOGETHER? AND, AND AS ANOTHER, SINCE YOU'RE ALSO TALKING ABOUT PUBLIC WORKS, I'LL GIVE YOU TWO QUESTIONS AT ONCE.
I NOTICED, YOU KNOW, THE, THE LIST OF FOLKS THAT WERE INVOLVED IN THIS AND, AND DON'T GET ME WRONG, I THINK THIS IS PHENOMENAL.
I THINK IT'S UNFORTUNATELY CESS I WERE SAYING THIS IS PROBABLY ALMOST TOO LATE, BUT I'M GLAD THAT WE'RE MOVING FORWARD WITH THIS TO HAVE THIS VISION TO GO FORWARD.
BUT AS I LOOKED AT THE LIST OF FOLKS AND ALL THE ENTITIES THAT WERE, UH, BROUGHT INTO THIS BUILDING OF THE RESILIENCY PROGRAM, I REALIZED THIS IS A, A PUBLIC SECTOR TYPE OF THING.
DID WE TALK TO BE FOR JASPER AS FAR AS THEIR INPUT TO THIS? BECAUSE THEY ALSO HAVE A VERY IMPORTANT PART WHEN THE FLOOD WATERS COME, PEOPLE LOSING WATER.
WE, ONE OF THE THINGS YOU FOLKS TALKED ABOUT IN THIS WAS THE SEWER SYSTEMS THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO SEE US ALL GO TO SEWER SYSTEMS. A LOT OF FOLKS THAT ARE CURRENTLY ON SEPTIC THAT CAN'T GET TO SEWER SYSTEMS MM-HMM.
SO I, I DON'T KNOW HOW WELL WE'VE TOUCHED BASE WITH THOSE FOLKS AND I, I'D BE CURIOUS TO SEE IF WE'RE GOING TO INCLUDE THEM GOING FORWARD.
SO TO YOUR FIRST QUESTION, UM, WE HAVEN'T FULLY DEFINED THE SCOPE YET, BUT I THINK OUR INTENT IS TO LOOK AT THE ROADS IN THE COUNTY, WHETHER THEY ARE COUNTY MAINTAINED, STATE MAINTAINED.
'CAUSE WE DO WORK WITH THE STATE THROUGH OUR CTC PROGRAM.
WE, WE DO RESURFACE ON STATE ROADS.
AND, UM, SO WE DO WORK WITH THE STATE PRETTY CLOSELY.
A LOT OF THE PROJECTS WE DO ARE ON THE STATE SYSTEM.
SO THAT IS SOMETHING THAT WE WOULD PROBABLY LOOK AT STATE AND COUNTY ROADS AS WELL.
AND I THINK JULIANA WANTS TO DISCUSS THAT.
UM, REGARDING BEAUFORT, JASPER WATER SEWER AUTHORITY CONVERSATIONS ARE STARTING WITH THEM ABOUT THAT VERY TOPIC, WHERE IS SEWER, UH, AN APPROPRIATE THING TO DO, BECAUSE YOU'RE EXACTLY RIGHT, IT'S NOT GONNA BE APPROPRIATE EVERYWHERE.
AND THEN WHAT CAN WE DO IN PLACES WHERE IT'S NOT APPROPRIATE? SO WE'RE ACTUALLY ALREADY INVOLVED IN A STUDY THAT'S LOOKING AT SEPTIC SYSTEMS AND HOW THEY FUNCTION AS SEA LEVEL RISES AND HOW THAT MAY OR MAY NOT IMPACT GROUNDWATER.
AND SO WE'RE KIND OF COMING TO THE END OF THAT, UH, STUDY.
AND WE HAVE A MEETING PLANS WITH A LOT OF DIFFERENT ENTITIES AT THE END OF MAY, INCLUDING BEAUFORT, JASPER WATER SEWER AUTHORITY TO TALK WITH THEM ABOUT WHAT FINDINGS WE'RE SEEING AND WHAT THAT MEANS FOR OUR FUTURE AND HOW WE ALL CAN WORK TOGETHER COLLABORATIVELY TO MAKE IT MORE RESILIENT FOR EVERYONE.
THE THE RIGHT SOLUTION ISN'T GONNA BE THE SAME FOR EVERY COMMUNITY.
UM, JUST TO FOLLOW ON, ON, UM, THE, THE WHOLE SEWER AND WHO HAS SEWER AND WHETHER, WHETHER IT'S BJ WATER OR WHETHER IT'S YOUR OWN SEPTIC FIELD AND SO ON, THAT IS GOING TO IMPACT DEVELOPMENT ABSOLUTELY.
SO, UM, AS YOU ALL HAVE THESE MEETINGS AND GO FOR IT, I THINK THAT WOULD BE FANTASTIC TO SHARE WITH US.
OR FOR YOU GUYS TO, UM, COMMUNICATE THAT WITH US.
HELENA, IT'S, IT'S A HUGE BIG DEAL.
WE KNOW IN POOR AREAS, AREAS OF HILTON HEAD, IT'S A BIG DEAL.
AND BJ WATER ACTUALLY HAS, WITH THE DEVELOPMENT OF DOTTA, BJ WATER WENT OUT THERE AND, YOU KNOW, MADE IT POSSIBLE FOR DATTA TO EXIST.
YOU KNOW, THAT ALL HAPPENED IN THE EARLY 1980S.
UM, THE SECOND THING, JUST TO FOLLOW UP, IS THAT WHAT I DIDN'T SEE ENOUGH OF HERE, AND WHAT'S DEEPLY FRUSTRATING FOR ME IS THAT, UM, SOUTH CAROLINA
[01:30:01]
DOT IT IS HARD TO DEAL WITH.AND THE ISSUE THAT'S COME UP IN FRONT OF US IS, UM, HIGHWAY 21 AND WARSAW ISLAND CAUSEWAY.
I MEAN, JEFFREY GARDNER AND MANY OF HIS, UM, NEIGHBORS, FRIENDS, COLLEAGUES, FAMILY MEMBERS HAVE TALKED TO US ABOUT IT.
IT COMES UP ALMOST ALL THE TIME AT THE, UM, AT, AT OUR ST.
HELENA ISLAND, UM, CPO MEETINGS.
SO THE, THE POINT IS THAT, QUOTE UNQUOTE, NOTHING CAN BE DONE BECAUSE, UM, DOT OWNS HIGHWAY 21, BUT IT SHEDS WATER, OF COURSE, ONTO THE, YOU KNOW, PERPENDICULAR WASA ISLAND CAUSEWAY.
SO I WAS WONDERING HOW YOU THINK THE RELATIONSHIP WITH DOD IS GOING? 'CAUSE I, I, I SAW THEM LESS COMMUNICATED WITH HERE THAN I WOULD'VE HOPED FOR, BUT MAYBE YOU COULD TELL ME MORE.
UM, I MEAN, I WOULD SAY THIS IS A INTERNAL COUNTY DEPARTMENT.
UM, WE WORK WITH THE DOT EVERY DAY IN THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT.
UM, LIKE I SAID, A LOT OF OUR PROJECTS ARE ON DOT ROADS.
UM, AS PART OF OUR CTC PROGRAM, WE GET FUNDING FROM THE STATE AND WE RESURFACE STATE ROADS.
SO, UM, I THINK WE PROBABLY HAVE A PRETTY GOOD WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE DOT.
UM, AND THIS IS WHERE WE NEED TO KIND OF HAVE THE VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT TO TELL US WHERE THE PROBLEMS ARE.
UH, WE DO KNOW, DO YOU NEED TO PRIORITIZE THEM? KIND OF.
UM, AND I MEAN, WE DO KNOW WARSAW ISLAND, WE'VE, WE'VE HEARD, UM, BUT AGAIN, THAT IS A DOT ROAD.
SO WE JUST HAVE TO FOLLOW THE PROCESS AND WORK WITH THEM TO GET THE PROPER PERMISSIONS AND GET, MAKE SURE THAT THEIR SIGN OFF IS THERE.
UM, BUT YEAH, SO I THINK THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE WILL BE HOOPS TO JUMP THROUGH AS FAR AS PERMITS AND GETTING PLANS APPROVED, BUT I DON'T THINK THAT THEY WOULD REALLY BE, REALLY FIGHT US ON IT, ESPECIALLY IF IT WAS SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
'CAUSE THEY KNOW WHERE THE PROBLEMS ARE ALSO.
AND THE BIG THING IS THERE ARE CERTAIN THINGS LIKE WARSAW THAT WE KNOW ARE PROBLEMS. NOW, A PART OF THIS IS IDENTIFYING ONES THAT WILL BE PROB PROBLEMS IN THE FUTURE AS WELL.
I MEAN, NOT EVERYONE ON THIS, YOU KNOW, KNOW COMMITTEE KNOWS IT.
BUT IT, TO ME, WARSAW IS THE CANARY IN THE COAL MINE.
UM, LIKE AND EVEN AT KING TIDES.
AND, AND, AND I KNOW THERE'S A JULIANA, YOU PROBABLY KNOW IT MORE, THE, UM, SEA GRANT CONSORTIUM AND COLLEGE OF CHARLESTON.
THEY HAVE A, A, UM, I KNOW A UNIT, A MONITORING UNIT, ONE OF EIGHT THAT WENT IN BUFORT COUNTY OUT THERE.
THAT'S THE GROUNDWATER MONITORING STUDY.
SO THERE ARE WELLS ON WARSAW ISLANDS.
THERE ARE WELLS OVER IN THE FOUR QUARTER OVER.
AND IN, UH, NEAR PIN CENTER AND RIGHT AT THE INTERSECTION OF 21 AT MARTIN LUTHER.
UM, THERE, THERE ARE ALSO, JUST SINCE WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IT, NOT TO GET TOO INTO THE WEEDS, BUT THERE ARE ALSO WELLS IN THE MOSSY OAKS COMMUNITY.
THERE ARE GROUNDWATER MONITORING WELLS IN THE ALWAY COMMUNITY, AND THERE ARE GROUNDWATER MONITORING WELLS, UM, IN SHELL POINT AS WELL.
SO THESE ARE ALL AREAS WHERE WE KNOW THAT THERE ARE FLOODING ISSUES.
WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR OUR INFRASTRUCTURE THERE? HOW DO WE CONTINUE TO LIVE AND THRIVE THERE? KEEP PEOPLE SAFE.
THAT'S SO THAT DATA IS ALL COMING INTO YOU GUYS.
I MEAN, AS ED SAID, THERE'S NOT LIKE A, A CZAR IN BEAUFORT COUNTY PER SE, BUT THERE, THERE, THERE'S A, UM, FOUR PART CZAR ISHNESS YES.
I CAN'T EVEN, I CAN'T EVEN FIND THE WORD TO DESCRIBE IT.
AND, AND I WOULD SAY THAT CZARS AND CZARINA IS, OKAY.
A BIG GOAL FOR ALL OF US IN THIS ROOM, FOR THIS LONG TERM RESILIENCE STRATEGY IS TO BUILD THOSE DATA SHARING NETWORKS SO THAT IT'S NOT JUST US THAT KNOWS WHAT'S HAPPENING.
IT'S ALL OF THESE ENTITIES THAT ARE OPERATING HERE AND HELPING TO SUPPORT PEOPLE'S LIVES HERE.
UH, SORRY, I DIDN'T MEAN I HAVE ANOTHER QUESTION, BUT I'LL LET YOU GUYS GO ON.
GOOD EVENING PLANNING COMMISSION.
I'M THE DIRECTOR OF CAPITAL PROJECTS.
UH, UNDER MY PURVIEW IS ALSO FACILITIES MANAGEMENT.
I USED TO WORK FOR BUFORT COUNTY AS A STORMWATER MANAGER, WORKED WITH MR. PAPPAS, AND SEVERAL OF YOU ALSO LOOKED FAMILIAR TO ME.
UH, I CAME BACK IN 2022 WHEN THE COUNTY CREATED CAPITAL PROJECTS DEPARTMENT.
UH, AND THEY SPLIT AWAY NON ROAD RELATED PROJECTS FROM ENGINEERING AND PUT IT WITH FACILITIES MANAGEMENT TO CREATE THIS DEPARTMENT.
AND SO THE FOCUS OF, OF THIS DIVISION THAT I'M OVER IS THE FACT THAT WE BUILD AND OWN AND MAINTAIN ALL THE COMMUNITY FACILITIES THAT ARE NON ROAD RELATED.
THAT THAT'S BRIAN'S BAILEY WICK.
UM, SO, SO RESILIENCY FOR US AND THE CAPITAL PROJECTS AND FACILITIES IS A LITTLE DIFFERENT.
IT'S NOT JUST SEA LEVEL RISE OR, OR WHAT YOU'VE BEEN TALKING ABOUT UP TO THIS POINT.
IT'S ALSO LOOKING AT, AND I'LL THROW IN ONE EXTRA WORD, SUSTAINABILITY.
IT'S WHEN WE BUILD A NEW FACILITY OR UPGRADE A NEW FACILITY THAT WE'RE DOING.
SO IN A WAY THAT WE CAN MATCH THE CURVE THAT JULIANA WAS SHOWING EARLIER, THAT WE IMPROVE OUR FACILITY SO THEY QUICKLY RESPOND AND REBOUND, UH, AND COME BACK ONLINE, UH, AND BE FULLY FUNCTIONAL WITHOUT ANY LOSS OF THEIR USE OR, OR A, A LONG TERM, UH,
[01:35:01]
DAMAGE TO THE FACILITY.SO, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT LIBRARIES, RECREATION CENTERS, OUR PUBLIC SAFETY FACILITIES LIKE THE SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT, UH, FIRE AND EMS STATIONS.
THESE ARE PLACES THAT ARE PUBLIC BUILDINGS THAT CAN BECOME SHELTERS DURING A STORM.
THEY CAN BECOME SAFE HAVENS, UH, WHEN THE PEOPLE ARE DISPLACED FROM THEIR HOMES.
AND SO WE ARE BUILDING TO A MUCH HIGHER STANDARD THAN EVEN IS REQUIRED BY THE INTERNATIONAL BUILDING CODE.
'CAUSE WE'RE IN A VERY UNIQUE ENVIRONMENT.
SO WE'RE NOT CITING NEW FACILITIES THAT ARE FLOOD PRONE AND ONLY ACCESSIBLE BY ROADS THAT ARE GOING TO BE FLOODED IN IN THE EVENT OF A STORM.
WE'RE LOOKING AT THE, THE LOCATION OF WHERE WE PUT THESE FACILITIES, AND THEN WE'RE BUILDING 'EM TO A HIGHER STANDARD.
AND THE REASON THAT'S ALL IMPORTANT IS BECAUSE THESE ARE NOT ALWAYS THE CHEAPEST PROPERTIES ON THE BLOCK WHEN IT COMES TIME TO SITE A NEW FACILITY.
AND SO, YOU KNOW, IT'S IMPORTANT FOR US TO HAVE A GOOD PLAN IN A METHODICAL REASON FOR WHY WE SELECT WHAT WE SELECT.
UM, YOU KNOW, IN ADDITION TO SEA LEVEL RISE, WE'RE TALKING ABOUT, UH, CHANGES IN, IN WEATHER PATTERNS.
THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, STRONGER WINDS, MORE DOWNPOUR AND SHORTER DURATION OF TIME.
THESE ARE OVERWHELMING SOME OF OUR EXISTING FACILITIES WITH, WITH THE FLAT ROOFS, THE, THE WITH INTERNAL PLUMBING, SUCH AS THIS BUILDING, FOR EXAMPLE.
THIS HAS JUST RECENTLY BEEN REDONE.
IF YOU'VE NOTICED OVER THE COURSE COUPLE YEARS, WE'VE, WE'VE HAD CONSTRUCTION GOING ON IN THIS BUILDING.
UH, WE ARE REDESIGNING AND, AND UPFITTING OUR BUILDINGS TO BE MORE RESILIENT TO, TO STRONGER STORM EVENTS SO THAT WE CAN CONVEY WATER OFF THE FLAT ROOFS AND GET 'EM THROUGH THE INTERNAL PLUMBING AND OUT BEFORE IT ACTUALLY STARTS LEAKING AND DAMAGING THE BUILDING.
UH, WE'RE LOOKING AT, UH, OUR HVAC SYSTEMS, THE USE OF GENERATORS TO MAKE THESE BUILDINGS WHERE THEY CAN COME BACK ONLINE IMMEDIATELY, EVEN WHEN THE UTILITY POWER IS DOWN.
UH, THESE ARE ALL THINGS THAT WE'RE LOOKING AT WHEN WE'RE DOING NEW CONSTRUCTION OR REMODELING, UH, FOR OUR NEWER, UH, NEWER BUILDINGS.
UM, EXCUSE ME, REMODELING OUR OLDER BUILDINGS.
SO, JUST REAL QUICKLY TO WRAP UP, YOU KNOW, JULIANA SHOWED THE CHART ALREADY.
SO OUR FIRST STEP IN OUR RESILIENCY PLAN WITHIN OUR DEPARTMENT IS TO EDUCATE, UH, EDUCATE, EDUCATE, EDUCATE, AND THE COUNTY COUNCIL.
'CAUSE AGAIN, I'M GONNA GO BACK TO THAT COMMENT I MADE A FEW MINUTES AGO.
THERE'S ALL THESE THINGS WE NEED TO DO ABOVE AND BEYOND WHAT YOU WOULD TYPICALLY EXPECT WHEN YOU'RE BUILDING A GO A, A BUILDING.
UH, BECAUSE WE DO HAVE A PUBLIC FACILITY THAT BECOMES A PLACE WHERE PEOPLE GO TO AND GATHER WHEN THEY NEED HELP AND NEED ASSISTANCE.
AND WE CAN'T DO THAT ON THE GOOD CHEAP LAND.
WE HAVE TO PUT THAT IN A PLACE THAT'S HIGH AND DRY, SO TO SPEAK.
AND, UH, THAT ALL HAS A DOLLAR SIGN OF ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
SO OUR FIRST AND FOREMOST GOAL IS TO EDUCATE THE COUNTY COUNCIL ON WHAT WE'RE DOING IN OUR PROGRAM, WHY WE'RE DOING WHAT WE'RE DOING, AND HOW IT'S GONNA IMPACT US LONG TERM COST-WISE.
WE RECENTLY COMPLETED A FACILITY MASTER PLAN IN 2021.
THAT WAS REALLY HOW MUCH SPACE DO WE NEED? HOW MANY PEOPLE ARE WE GONNA HAVE? WHAT SERVICES ARE WE GONNA PROVIDE? WE, WE WANT TO SUPPLEMENT THAT STUDY WITH THE NEXT STEP, WHICH IS THE CONDITIONS AND, AND, AND VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENT WHERE WE LOOK AT OUR FACILITIES, OUR SYSTEMS WITHIN OUR FACILITIES, THE FOUNDATION, THE ELEVATION OF THE BUILDING.
IT'S WIND CAPACITY, IT'S PENETRATIONS BECAUSE THAT'S WHERE THE WATER GETS IN, IS ON THE WINDOWS AND THE SOFFITS AND THE DOORS AND THE ROOFTOPS.
UH, GET AN INVENTORY OF ALL THAT.
FIND OUT WHERE WE'RE AT AND WHERE WE NEED TO BE.
DETERMINE THAT DELTA PRICE, THAT DELTA OUT, SCHEDULE THAT DELTA BY PRIORITIES OVER THE NEXT 10, 20 YEARS AND PUT TOGETHER THAT PLAN THAT WILL REALLY GET US TO WHERE WE NEED TO BE TO BE MORE RESILIENT, MORE SUSTAINABLE.
AND THEN IMPLEMENT THAT PLAN AS SHE, AS SHE MENTIONED, ALREADY.
REASSESS THAT PLAN AND THEN JUST START THE CYCLE ALL OVER AGAIN.
DO THAT STUDY EVERY FIVE, THREE TO FIVE YEARS.
SEE WHERE WE'RE AT, SEE WHERE WE'VE BEEN, WHAT WE'VE DONE TO IMPROVE, AND THEN HOW WE'RE GONNA MOVE FORWARD GOING FORWARD.
SO THAT'S THE CAPITAL PROJECTS AND FACILITIES MANAGEMENT DEFINITION OF RESILIENCY,
ANY QUESTIONS FOR ME BEFORE I SAY THAT TIME TO GO HOME? RIGHT.
WELL, IT'S, I'M JUST, I'M SORRY.
I JUST, THESE ARE JUST QUICK QUESTIONS THAT ARE COMING UP TO ME.
WITH THE AMOUNT OF WORK THAT IT APPEARS THAT YOU HAD TO DO WITH ALL THE FACILITIES THAT WE DO HAVE WITHIN THE COUNTY, AND THIS IS PROBABLY OFTEN TO ANOTHER VENUE HERE THAT I'M NOT EVEN GOING INTO.
DO YOU, DO YOU HAVE THE MANPOWER? DO YOU EXPECT TO HAVE THE MANPOWER TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS WITHIN A TIMELY MANNER SO THAT WE'RE NOT BEHIND THE EIGHT BALL WITH A LOT OF THESE? THE ANSWER TO THAT IS YES AND NO.
NOW WE HAVE VERY CAPABLE STAFF.
WE ARE, WE HAVE VACANCIES THAT WE'RE TRYING TO FILL.
WE'VE ACTUALLY IDENTIFIED A POSITION THAT WE ARE CURRENTLY ADVERTISING TO FILL THAT IF HIRED, THEY WOULD TAKE THE LEAD IN CREATING THIS FACILITY CONDITION ASSESSMENT I JUST MENTIONED.
UH, BUT WE'RE ALSO HEDGING OUR BETS, SO TO SPEAK.
WE ARE ASKING FOR FUNDING TO HAVE OUTSIDE CONSULTANTS TO COME IN BECAUSE WITH A HUNDRED AND A HUNDRED PLUS, I CAN'T REMEMBER THE EXACT NUMBER, I DON'T WANNA GUESS A HUNDRED PLUS FACILITIES TO DO THIS IN A TIMELY MANNER, WE MIGHT NEED TO BRING IN A, UH, UH, MEP TYPE OF FIRM THAT
[01:40:01]
CAN QUICKLY INVENTORY AND ASSESS OUR CONDITIONS AND THEN HAND THAT OFF TO STAFF.AND THEN AT THAT POINT WE WOULD HAVE A WORKING DOCUMENT THAT WE CAN, THAT WE FEEL CONFIDENT WE CAN MAINTAIN AND KEEP UPDATED OVER TIME.
NOW, SPEAKING OF BUDGETS, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS STILL AVAILABLE, BUT THE OFFICE OF RESILIENCY NOT TOO LONG AGO HAD AN $80 MILLION HANDOUT BUDGETS THAT THEY WERE TRYING TO, UH, GET TO VARIOUS GRANTS TO VARIOUS INSTITUTIONS.
ARE WE GOING AFTER RESILIENCE DOLLARS AT THE STATE LEVEL? NOT RIGHT NOW.
UM, BUT THE GOAL, AND HOW ABOUT I GO AHEAD AND MOVE TO THE NEXT SLIDE 'CAUSE I THINK THAT WILL HELP US, BUT I DO JUST WANNA SUM UP REALLY QUICKLY WHAT OUR DEPARTMENTS, ALL OF OUR DEPARTMENTS HERE, THE TWO KIND OF MAIN THINGS THAT WE'RE TALKING ABOUT IS MAKING SURE THE INFRASTRUCTURE THAT WE ALREADY HAVE ON THE GROUND IS RETROFITTED AND ADAPTED TO BE MORE RESILIENT IN THE FUTURE.
AND THAT NEW INFRASTRUCTURE IS CONSIDERING RESILIENCE ON THE FRONT END SO WE DON'T HAVE TO DO THIS RETROFIT AND ADAPTATION.
SO THAT'S REALLY KIND OF THE TWO BIG GOALS THAT OUR DEPARTMENTS ARE TALKING ABOUT WITH REGARD TO THE, UH, THE APPENDIX THERE.
AND THESE GUYS DID A REALLY GREAT JOB CONTRIBUTING TO IT.
A LOT OF THE STUFF THAT THEY SAID TONIGHT IS IN THERE, BUT THERE'S A LOT MORE, A LOT MORE DETAILS THAT YOU CAN GO AND GET.
SO IT'S GREAT THAT WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD FOR ANYTHING THAT'S NEW INFRASTRUCTURE, BUT THE THING THAT'S REALLY AT RISK IS EXISTING INFRASTRUCTURE.
SO YES, WHAT ARE OUR, WHAT ARE THE PLANS THERE? YES.
AND THAT'S WHAT THOSE VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENTS WOULD DO, IS THEY WOULD LOOK AT EVERYTHING THAT WE HAVE ON THE GROUND NOW, ASSESS THEIR VULNERABILITY TO THE ANTICIPATED ENVIRONMENTAL TRENDS OF THE FUTURE, AND TELL US WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO MAKE SURE THEY'RE RESILIENT, HOW WE ADAPT THEM AND RETROFIT THEM TO BE MORE RESILIENT.
UH, JULIANA, DO YOU HAVE A SENSE OF, OF, UM, WHAT AREA OR WHAT AREAS, UM, NEED TO BE RETROFITTED THE MOST? I MEAN, WHEN YOU SAID, YOU KNOW, INFRASTRUCTURE THAT ISN'T THERE, I WOULD SAY FAILING.
AND IN THAT I PUT DRAINAGE MM-HMM.
HELENA, BUT I'M SURE IT'S AROUND THE COUNTY.
SO DO YOU HAVE ANY SENSE OF WHAT IS THE BIGGEST BUCKET OF NEED OUT THERE, IN WHAT AREA IT EXISTS OR NOT? AND THAT SUPPOSE WOULD LEAD TO GETTING GRANTS TO HELP ASSESS THAT.
WE, I THINK WE DO HAVE SOME DATA ALREADY THAT COULD HELP US MOVE TOWARDS THAT, BUT A REALLY IMPORTANT PART OF A LOT OF THESE GRANTS IS THAT WE HAVE TO HAVE THESE PLANNING DOCUMENTS THAT SHOW WE'VE IDENTIFIED THESE AREAS AND THESE PROJECTS.
AND I THINK BRIAN SPOKE TO THAT.
IF WE DON'T HAVE THOSE PLANNING DOCUMENTS SHOWING THAT, THEN WE APPLY FOR GRANTS TO GET THOSE PLANNING DOCUMENTS.
SO, UH, TO USE THE TERM, WE WANNA BE BEHIND THAT EIGHT BALL.
THAT'S A GOOD THING TO BE BEHIND THE EIGHT BALL.
NO, WE DON'T WANNA BE BEHIND THE DON'T, SORRY.
UM, WE WANT TO HAVE THE PLANS IN PLACE ALREADY, SO NOW WE CAN GO GET THAT FUNDING.
WE'RE NOT KIND OF HAVING TO, TO TAKE THAT EXTRA STEP.
SO YEAH, WE'RE, THAT IS WHAT WE'RE WORKING TO DO.
SO YOU CAN ALL BREATHE A SIGH OF RELIEF AND I WILL TRY TO KEEP IT SHORT.
BUT ESSENTIALLY WHAT'S NEXT? WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO NOW? SO THE FIRST STEP IS TO ADOPT THE LONG-TERM RESILIENCE STRATEGY AS AN APPENDIX TO THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, WHERE IT WILL ESSENTIALLY ACT AS OUR RESILIENCE CHAPTER.
THE NEXT STEP FOR US IN THE SHORT TERM, WHAT WE SEE AS BEING MOST IMPORTANT IS INITIATING THOSE VULNERABILITY ASSESSMENTS.
SO WE CAN TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT WE HAVE ON THE GROUND AND MAKE SURE WE CAN ADAPT AND RETROFIT IT TO THE FUTURE TRENDS THAT WE'RE ANTICIPATING.
THEN WE WANT TO IDENTIFY FUNDING, SO GOING AFTER THOSE GRANTS, WORKING WITH PARTNERS TO GET THESE PROJECTS IN PLACE, AND ALSO CONSIDER A RECOMMENDATION IN THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN ABOUT HIRING RESILIENT STAFF TO WORK ON THESE PROJECTS AND GET THEM DONE.
AND THEN LAST BUT NOT LEAST, WE'RE IMPLEMENTING THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.
WE ARE RETROFITTING, WE ARE ADAPTING, WE ARE PUTTING INTO PLACE POLICIES THAT ARE TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION RESILIENCE ON THAT FRONT END.
SO THIS IS KIND OF OUR SHORT TERM PIECE OF THE LONG TERM STRATEGY THAT WE HAVE ON OUR RADAR RIGHT NOW ABOUT WHAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE COMING DOWN THE PIPE IN THE NEAR FUTURE.
SO IF YOU HAVE ANY MORE QUESTIONS, WE'RE HAPPY TO FIELD THEM.
WHEN I READ THE DOCUMENT, THERE WERE A LOT OF, UM, UM, GREAT ACTION ITEMS THAT HAD BEEN IDENTIFIED IN TERMS OF THE STRATEGIES MOVING FORWARD.
I MAY HAVE MISSED IT, BUT I DIDN'T NECESSARILY SEE A, UM, OF RESPONSIBLE PARTY ASSIGNED TO EACH OF THESE ACTION ITEMS. I'M GUESSING THAT MOST OF THEM ARE GONNA FALL WITHIN THOSE FOUR BOXES IN TERMS OF THE, THE AGENCIES THAT YOU JUST IDENTIFIED, BUT CLEARLY THERE ARE SOME THAT DON'T FIT NEATLY INTO THERE.
AND I I JUST WONDER IF YOU'VE ALREADY KIND OF LOOKED AT WHO THOSE RESPONSIBLE ENTITIES WOULD BE FOR THE ACTION ITEMS? YEAH, THERE'S, UM, OFTENTIMES WITH THE ACTION ITEMS, WE HAVE RECOMMENDED PARTNERS THAT ARE INCLUDED, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY FOR OUR RESEARCH PROJECTS.
BUT THERE ARE SPECIFIC ACTION ITEMS THAT ARE, ARE, ARE SPEAKING TO SPECIFIC DEPARTMENTS.
[01:45:01]
EMS IS A WHOLE SECTION IN HERE ABOUT HOW DO WE HANDLE OUR EMERGE OR WELL OUR HAZARD MITIGATION AND OUR EMERGENCY SERVICES.UM, SO IT MAY NOT ALWAYS BE DIRECTLY IDENTIFIED, BUT WE HAVE A PRETTY GOOD IDEA OF WHO'S GONNA TAKE ON WHAT AND WHO WE NEED TO WORK WITH TO GET THOSE PROJECTS DONE.
AND REALLY QUICKLY, CECILY, UM, HIGHWAY 21, I WAS LOOKING AT THE, UH, SOUTH CAROLINA'S RESILIENCE PLAN THAT JUST WAS PUBLISHED AND THERE IS VERBIAGE IN THERE.
I HAVEN'T READ THE WHOLE THING.
I'M GOING THROUGH THE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ABOUT TAKING A LOOK AT THE ROAD SYSTEMS THROUGHOUT SOUTH CAROLINA.
SO HOPEFULLY THAT MEANS DOT IS GONNA BE MORE ALIGNED AND EASIER TO WORK WITH ON THAT.
SO I'M JUST LETTING YOU KNOW, I'LL GET DEEPER INTO IT AND WE'LL BE TELL YOU IF IT SUPPORTS MY ASSUMPTION HERE.
AND THE OTHER QUESTION I HAD, DO YOU SEE A, UM, A ROLE MOVING FORWARD FOR YOUR, UM, SEA LEVEL RISE TASK FORCE IF NOTHING ELSE IN A SOUNDING BOARD? YES, ABSOLUTELY.
UM, SO WE'RE, WE'RE KIND OF CHANGING THE NAME TO THE COASTAL RESILIENCE WORKING GROUP, WHICH RIGHT NOW IS INTERDEPARTMENTAL.
BUT THE INTENTION FOR THAT GROUP IS TO BE SIMILAR TO THE SEA LEVEL RISE TASK FORCE WHERE WE HAVE MEMBERS FROM THE DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY, WE HAVE OUR CONSERVATIONISTS AND ENVIRONMENTALISTS AT THE TABLE, WE HAVE ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATORS AT THE TABLE, WE HAVE COMMUNITY MEMBERS AT THE TABLE, ALL MAKING SURE THAT WHAT WE'RE PUTTING INTO PLACE IS IDEAL FOR THOSE AREAS.
AND WE'RE GETTING IT DONE, BASICALLY HOLDING US ALL ACCOUNTABLE TO THOSE PLANS.
SO THE INTENTION IS TO CONTINUE SEMBLANCE OF THE C-LEVEL RISE TASK FORCE? YES, SIR.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS WHEN I'VE OH, YES SIR.
FIRST OF ALL, YOU DID A GREAT JOB WITH THE PRESENTATION.
I'VE FINALLY CAUGHT MY BREATH,
UM, I READ THROUGH THE DOCUMENT AND USUALLY I GO TO SLEEP AT LEAST ONCE WHILE I'M READING THROUGH A DOCUMENT.
THERE WAS SO MUCH CONCERN BEING EXPRESSED.
SO IT, IT WAS WELL WRITTEN, YOU KNOW, THANK YOU AND REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.
THE THING THAT COULD HAVE MAYBE HELP ME A LITTLE BIT WAS WHEN I GOT TO SECTION SIX, I SAW THAT A LOT OF THINGS WERE ALREADY BEING ADDRESSED.
IT WOULD'VE BEEN GREAT IF IT SAID UPFRONT, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE WERE DOING IF SECTION SIX IS COMING IN, IN THE MIDDLE OF THIS SEC, YOU KNOW, JUST POINTING OUT WHERE, STREAMLINE WHAT'S BEING DONE.
BECAUSE OTHERWISE WE DON'T KNOW.
AND THEN WE HAVE TO GO BACK AND RELATE IT TO WHAT IT WAS, WHAT WAS GOING ON.
UM, DID THAT SUGGEST A SUGGESTION? I APPRECIATE EVERYTHING YOU'RE DOING.
I WOULD LIKE TO SEE IN FUTURE THINGS LIKE THIS, AND I'M TRYING TO FIND AN EXAMPLE.
I NEVER CAN WHEN I WANT TO, BUT WHERE YOU USE INITIALS AND THE FIRST TIME YOU USED THE INITIALS, YOU IDENTIFY IT.
SO I MEAN, IF THERE WAS A TABLE, LIKE RIGHT AT THE FRONT, IT HAD ALL THE INITIALS AND THEN WHAT THEY EQUATE TO ALL THE ACRONYMS. THE ACRONYMS, YEP.
I WOULD APPRECIATE SOMETHING LIKE THAT TOO IS REALLY A GREAT WAY TO DO IT.
IT'S NICE TO HAVE PEOPLE AGREE WITH ME.
I KNOW THERE ARE A LOT OF MUNICIPALITIES AND GOVERNMENT THEMSELVES WITHIN THE COUNTY.
ARE THEY SHARING THIS INFORMATION OR ARE THEY RECEIVING THIS INFORMATION THAT YOU'VE DEVELOPED? FOR EXAMPLE, I LIVE ON HILTON HEAD.
WE JUST PASSED THIS NEW FUNDING FOR HIGH SCHOOL BEING COMPLETELY REBUILT.
ARE THEY AWARE THAT, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE WE HAVEN'T IMPLEMENTED CHANGES YET, THAT MAYBE THAT SCHOOL SHOULD BE UP A LITTLE HIGHER AND MAYBE WE SHOULDN'T USE FLAT ROOFS.
AND BY THE WAY, ON THE SCHOOL BOARD, I ONCE SAID TO THE SUPERINTENDENT, I'VE NEVER MET A FLAT ROOF THAT DIDN'T LEAK.
SO THE NEXT SCHOOL THAT HE BUILT HAD A PEAKED ROOF ON IT.
AND THEY ELIMINATED ALL THE PROBLEM.
UM, ARE WE RELAYING THIS INFORMATION THAT WE'RE GATHERING TO THEM SO THEY CAN USE IT? I WOULD SAY WE RIGHT NOW HAVE A RELATIONSHIP.
WE'RE KIND OF BUDDING WITH BLUFFTON.
THEY JUST DID THEIR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND HAVE A RESILIENCE SECTION IN THERE.
SO WE'RE WORKING WITH THEM TO START INFORMATION SHARING AND PARTNERING.
BUT THEY'RE, AS FAR AS RESILIENCE AND HILTON HEAD, FROM WHERE I STAND, I DON'T KNOW THAT THAT'S YET BEEN DEVELOPED.
WE WANT TO HAVE THAT NETWORK OF DATA SHARING.
I DON'T KNOW IF THESE GUYS HAVE A DIFFERENT EXPERIENCE.
UM, I THINK WE DON'T REALLY HAVE ANYTHING RESILIENCE DATA SHARING RIGHT NOW.
I BELIEVE HILL AND HEAD MAYBE WORKING ON KIND OF THEIR OWN RESILIENCE STUFF.
DUPLICATION OF EFFORT IS ALWAYS, ALWAYS GOOD TO HAVE THAT
I, I WOULD, YOU KNOW, RECOMMEND YOU MAKE THE SAME PRESENTATION TO THE SO LOCO PEOPLE.
AND THEIR NORTHERN REGION, UH, PLANNING IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE.
I MEAN, YOU'VE GOT MULTIPLE MUNICIPALITIES AND COUNTY JURISDICTIONS IN BETWEEN THOSE TWO BODIES THAT COULD HEAR THAT NEED TO HEAR THIS.
[01:50:01]
SILOS OF EXCELLENCE.ALWAYS CALL THE SILOS OF STUPIDITY.
WHERE PEOPLE WANNA BUILD UP THEIR OWN LITTLE INFRASTRUCTURE AND HAVE THAT POWER.
BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW KNOWLEDGE IS POWER, BUT THE MORE WE CAN TEAR THOSE DOWN WITHIN THE COMMUNITIES WITHIN THE COUNTY, THE MORE PROGRESS WE'RE GONNA BE ABLE TO MAKE GOING FORWARD.
SO I'M KIND OF CURIOUS AS TO WHAT'S YOUR SENSE OF WHAT THE SURROUNDING COUNTIES ARE DOING AS FAR AS RESILIENCE? ARE WE AHEAD OF THE CURVE? BEHIND THE CURVE, MIDDLE OF THE CURVE, YOU KNOW, THAT KIND OF THING.
I MEAN, WE'RE NOT TERRIBLE, BUT
NOW CHARLESTON COUNTY HAS THEIR OWN OFFICE OF RESILIENCE ALREADY, UH, THE COUNTY, RIGHT? NOT THE CITY, THE COUNTY.
SO THEY'RE ALREADY TAKING THIS HEAD ON AND CHARLESTON IS OF COURSE AT A DIFFERENT ELEVATION THAN WE ARE.
AND THEY ARE EXPERIENCING ISSUES, A LITTLE MORE PRESSINGLY THAN WE ARE.
UM, BUT THEY HAVE, THEY'RE DEFINITELY AHEAD OF IT.
THERE ARE NO FURTHER QUESTIONS.
WE'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO, UH, RECOMMEND ACCEPTANCE OF THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT OR NOT.
WELL, LET'S MAKE, MAKE THE FULL MOTION.
YOU'RE CITING THE, I KNOW, I KNOW YOU DON'T LIKE DOING THAT.
GONNA MENTION JUST SO IT'S VERY CLEAR TO PEOPLE WHAT WE'RE PROVING.
DI NO, THAT'S, THAT'S MY PROBLEM ALWAYS.
YOU WANT US MAKE NO, THAT'S OKAY.
I'M, I'M SCROLLING DOWN LIKE YOU, SO IT'S REFERENCING THE, IT'S ON THE MEMO.
TO, UH, APPROVE AND, UH, RECOMMEND APPROVAL, VALIDATE THE, UH, COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AMENDMENT TO ADD THE BUFORT COUNTY LONG-TERM RESILIENCE STRATEGY AS IN APPENDIX TO THE 2040 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
ANY FURTHER, ANY FURTHER DISCUSSION? IF NOT, ALL THOSE IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION TO ACCEPT AMENDMENT? IT'S A UNANIM, GUYS ARE DOING A GREAT JOB.
I THINK THERE'S A SENSE OF LET IT DIE ON THE VINE.
THE ONLY PARTING COMMENT IS A SENSE OF URGENCY FOR PEOPLE FOR FUNDING.
UM, YOU KNOW, MY VIEW IS THAT THERE'S SMOKE IN THE HOUSE AND SOON BEHIND SMOKE, WE KNOW WHAT HAPPENS.
UM, THAT'S THE END OF OUR ACTION ITEMS AGENDA.
UM, LET'S SEE WHAT ELSE WE HAVE HERE.
DID YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT, OR IS IT THE DISCUSSION ITEMS I HAD DOWN HERE?
[10. COMPREHENSIVE PLAN IMPLEMENTATION STATUS]
UH, COMPREHENSIVE PLAN IMPLEMENTATION STATUS.DID YOU WANT TO TALK ABOUT THAT? YES.
THIS IS THE HANDHOLDING SIDE OF THE TABLE.
WELL, I, I REALIZE THAT I'M THE O I'M KEEPING YOU FROM GOING HOME AND HAVING DINNER, SO I'LL, I'LL TRY TO BE, UH, QUICK.
BUT, UM, SO, UM, WHAT WE'RE HANDING OUT IS BASICALLY A SPREADSHEET OF ALL THE RECOMMENDATIONS TO COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND THEN TO DATE OUR STATUS OF IMPLEMENTATION.
AND, UM, I GUESS, YOU KNOW, WHEN WE REALIZE THAT WE NEEDED TO UPDATE OUR COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, THE, THE THINGS THAT, OR IS DO YOU HAVE ENOUGH COPIES AND OR YEAH, YEAH.
YOU KNOW, WE REALIZED THAT A LOT OF OUR POLICIES, YOU KNOW, WE'RE, WE'RE KIND OF, WE WANTED TO STAY THE COURSE.
WE REALIZED THAT THERE ARE SOME THINGS WE WANTED TO CHANGE AND UPDATE, BUT SOME OF THE THINGS THAT WE REALLY WANTED TO FOCUS ON WAS HOW TO MAKE THE DOCUMENT EASIER TO READ, YOU KNOW, MAKE IT SO THAT IT KIND OF CUTS TO THE CHASE AND IT ANALYZES ISSUES AND THEN, AND THEN, YOU KNOW, HAS RECOMMENDATIONS COMING FORWARD RATHER THAN ENDLESS CHARTS AND GRAPHS.
AND, AND, AND, YOU KNOW, THAT INFORMATION'S IN THERE, BUT IT'S IN, IT'S IN THE COUNTY ATLAS.
SO WE WANTED TO MAKE THE, THE PLAN USER FRIENDLY.
BUT THE OTHER THING THAT WE WANTED TO DO WAS WE WANTED TO REALLY MAKE IT CLEAR WHAT ITEMS WERE CONSIDERED ACTION ITEMS. YOU KNOW, THINGS THAT YOU COULD EITHER CHECK OFF A BOX SAYING THAT, YOU KNOW, ONGOING OR, OR THAT, THAT WE'VE ACCOMPLISHED THIS.
AND SO THAT THE, THE RECOMMENDATIONS IN, IN THE PLAN, WE KIND OF DIVIDE INTO TWO CATEGORIES.
[01:55:01]
POSITIONS, YOU KNOW, THAT WOULD GUIDE DECISION MAKERS IN HOW TO, HOW TO MAKE DECISIONS.BUT THE OTHERS WERE ITEMS THAT, YOU KNOW, WERE ACTION ITEMS SO YOU COULD TAKE ACTION AND, AND ACCOMPLISH.
AND SO I WANTED TO GIVE KRISTEN A LOT OF CREDIT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, SHE WENT THROUGH AND ALL OF THESE AND CONTACTED ALL THE DEPARTMENTS AND, AND, AND CAME UP WITH AN UPDATE.
I WAS AMAZED AT HOW MUCH HAS ACTUALLY BEEN DONE.
I MEAN, IT'S, IT'S, UM, IT'S, YOU KNOW, THERE'S ALWAYS A CRITICISM WITH CONFERENCE OF PLANS.
YOU DO ALL THIS WORK, YOU CHECK THE BOX THAT YOU DID IT, AND THEN IT SITS ON THE SHELF UNTIL YOU GOT UPDATED.
AND, UM, OUR HOPE IS TO, THIS IS A LIVING DOCUMENT.
WE'RE CONTINUALLY MONITORING THE STATUS OF IMPLEMENTATION.
SO, YOU KNOW, I REALIZED THIS IS A LOT OF INFORMATION I'VE PASSED OUT.
UM, AND SO I, YOU KNOW, OVER THE NEXT MONTH, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE COULD DO IS MAYBE SET UP A, YOU KNOW, WE COULD REVISIT, YOU KNOW, BASED ON WHAT YOU'VE READ IN THE IMPLEMENTATION AND ACTION ITEMS. AND, AND IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS, WE COULD RAISE THEM.
AND I ALSO HAVE A, A QUICK PRESENTATION, KIND OF PROVIDING A QUICK SUMMARY, DOING A WORKSHOP OR A REGULAR MEETING.
EITHER IT COULD BE A REGULAR MEETING.
I MEAN, IT'S A LOT OF INFORMATION.
BUT, UM, I, I'LL, I'LL KIND OF RUN THROUGH JUST TO KIND OF GIVE YOU AN IDEA.
UM, AND A LOT OF THIS RELATES TO WHAT WE'VE ALL LOOKED AT ALREADY, YOU KNOW, WITH THE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, YOU KNOW, WE'VE TAKEN ACTION, YOU KNOW, THESE ARE JUST BROAD CATEGORIES, BUT, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF DIFFERENT ACTION ITEMS, UH, IN HERE.
AND THAT'S WHAT YOU HAVE IN THE SPREADSHEET.
BUT, YOU KNOW, ORDINANCE AMENDMENTS, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF THE, THE RECOMMENDATIONS DEALT WITH LOOKING AT OUR EXISTING REGULATIONS, ARE THEY ACTUALLY PROTECTING WHAT WE'VE SAID THEY'RE GONNA PROTECT, UM, AND, AND REEVALUATING THEM IS NECESSARY.
AND WE'VE BROUGHT BE BROUGHT FORWARD IN THE LAST COUPLE YEARS, A NUMBER OF, UH, UH, ORDINANCE AMENDMENTS INITIATED BY STAFF.
LAND PRESERVATION IS ANOTHER, ANOTHER BUNDLE OF RECOMMENDATIONS IN OUR NATURAL ENVIRONMENT.
AND AS YOU ARE AWARE, JUST FROM THE PRESENTATION YOU SAW AT FIVE 30, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'VE IMPLEMENTED, WE HAVE THE GREEN PRINT MAP, IT'S ONLINE.
UM, WE ARE CONTINUING TO IMPLEMENT THE ROLE AND CRITICAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM.
AND THEN WE ARE, UM, KICKING OFF THE GREEN, UH, GREEN SPACE PROGRAM.
SO WE'VE KIND OF, YOU KNOW, WE'RE CONTINUING THAT LAND PRESERVATION MONITORING AND STUDYING HAZARDS.
AND THIS IS A BIG PART OF THAT RESILIENCE STRATEGY.
AND SO, UM, WE HAVE RECOMMENDATIONS IN A PLAN THAT DEAL WITH PUTTING TIDE GAUGES IN RIVERS, UM, LOOKING AT GROUNDWATER, UH, UM, MONITORING, UM, IN ADDITION, UM, LOOKING AT, UM, FLOODING PATTERNS, YOU KNOW, SO OUR STORMWATER DEPARTMENT IS FOCUSED ON DIFFERENT COMMUNITIES SUCH AS ST.
HELENA ISLAND, UM, THE SHELL POINT AREA TO LOOK AT DRAINAGE PATTERNS.
SO ALL OF THAT IS, IS ARMING OURSELVES WITH DATA SO THAT WE CAN, YOU KNOW, BE BETTER, UM, INFORMED IN THE FUTURE AND TAKING ACTIONS ABOUT WHAT WE NEED TO DO TO PROTECT OUR ENVIRONMENT.
AND THEN ALSO OUTREACH AND, AND EDUCATION, YOU KNOW, SO WE'VE, UM, THE C LEVEL RISE PRESENTATION, UM, YOU KNOW, BASED ON THE CONFERENCE OF PLAN AND, AND, AND THE, AND THE, THE REPORT THAT YOU'VE SEEN, WE'VE, UM, UH, LED SESSIONS AT THE SCPA CONFERENCE.
YOU KNOW, WE, WE'VE LOOKED AT DIFFERENT WAYS OF, OF, UM, OUTREACH IN, INTO THE COMMUNITY TO, TO LET THEM KNOW WHAT WE'RE DOING AND REALLY KIND OF NETWORK WITH, WITH OTHER PEOPLE IN THE COMMUNITY CULTURE, YOU KNOW, BROADLY, UH, YOU KNOW, OUR CULTURE CHAPTER COVERS A LOT OF DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES, BUT WE'VE KIND OF BUNDLED THESE RECOMMENDATIONS.
THIS IS JUST A QUICK SUMMARY OF WHAT'S IN YOUR SPREADSHEET, HISTORIC PRESERVATION.
UM, WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON THE HISTORIC MITCHELLVILLE COMMUNITY.
WE'RE CURRENTLY, UM, BEGINNING TO UPDATE OUR ABOVE GROUND HISTORIC RESOURCES SURVEY, WHICH WAS DONE MORE THAN 20 YEARS AGO.
UM, WE'VE, WE'VE PRESERVED A NUMBER OF PROPERTIES THROUGH THE, UH, RURAL CRITICAL LANDS PRESERVATION PROGRAM, UH, FOR AGRICULTURE AND ALSO WATER ACCESS.
THAT'S A, THAT WAS A ELEMENT IN A CONFERENCE OF PLAN IN DEALING WITH CULTURE IS OUR RELATIONSHIP TO THE WATER.
SO THE COUNTY HAS COMPLETED A BOAT LANDING STUDY.
UM, WE'VE REALLY PURSUED, UM, BETTER ACCESS AT STATION CREEK BOAT LANDING, UH, BERMUDA BLUFF, AND IT ALSO, UM, THE, UH, WHITEHALL PARK.
SO THERE'S JUST SOME EXAMPLES OF HOW WE'RE WORKING TO INCREASE, UM, ACCESS TO WATER.
UM, AND A SPECIAL SECTION OF, OF CULTURE IS THE SPOTLIGHT ST.
AND AS YOU'RE VERY AWARE, IN THIS LAST YEAR,
[02:00:01]
COME FORWARD IN THAT DISTRICT.THAT COMMITTEE IS STILL MEETING, UM, TO EVALUATE DIFFERENT THINGS THAT WE CAN DO, UH, FOR ST.
HELEN ISLAND TO PROTECT AND PRESERVE AND, AND ENHANCE THE CULTURE THERE.
UM, AND, UH, YOU KNOW, WE, SOME OF THIS IS, IS, YOU KNOW, DUPLICATED, BUT ALSO WE'VE DONE THAT ST.
HELENA WATERSHED STUDY REPORT.
WE'RE ALSO, YOU KNOW, THE, THE WATER, THE, THE, UM, MONITORING OF GROUNDWATER.
A LOT OF THAT IS OCCURRING ON ST.
SO IT'S LOOKING AT BOTH THE CULTURE, BUT ALSO THE SUSTAINABILITY OF THE COMMUNITIES ON THE ISLAND, WHICH IS, WHICH IS VERY IMPORTANT ECONOMY.
A LOT OF OUR, UM, ACTIVITY HAS BEEN BASED FROM, FROM THE COUNTY STANDPOINT ON OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE MILITARY BASES, YOU KNOW, PROTECTING OUR EXISTING ECONOMIC BASE.
AND A LOT OF THAT IN NORTON, BEAUFORT COUNTY HAS TO DO WITH THE, THE MILITARY BASES.
SO LOOKING BOTH AT PREVENTING ENCROACHMENT, UM, WORKING WITH THEM ON RESILIENCE ISSUES, UM, AND THEN ALSO IN ATTRACTING NEW INDUSTRIES.
SO WE'VE BEEN WORKING ON, UM, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT DIFFERENT SITES AROUND THE COUNTY WHERE WE COULD EXPAND, UM, YOU KNOW, OPPORTUNITIES FOR LIGHT INDUSTRIAL OR ATTRACTING INDUSTRIES, MOBILITY.
UM, A LOT GOING ON IN TRANSPORTATION PLANNING.
UM, ACTUALLY THERE'S BEEN A REAL FOCUS NOW ON CORRIDOR PLANS TO SET OURSELVES UP FOR FUTURE PROJECTS.
UM, AND SO OUR ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT IS VERY INVOLVED IN DIFFERENT PLANS, YOU KNOW, REBO ROADS.
UM, WE'RE LOOKING AT THE, UM, SEATTLE PARKWAY CORRIDOR, UH, ON LADIES ISLAND.
UM, IN ADDITION, YOU KNOW, THE, THE, UM, LATS OR THE LOW COUNTRY COUNCIL GOVERNMENTS, THEY'VE UPDATED THEIR LONG RANGE TRANSFER TRANSPORTATION PLAN, AND WE'VE HIRED A TRANSPORTATION PLANNER WHO'S, UM, KEVIN SULLIVAN, WHO'S WORKING IN THE ENGINEERING DEPARTMENT.
SO ALL OF THAT, YOU KNOW, A LOT OF, UM, ACTION BEING, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE OF TRANSPORTATION IS ONE OF THE MOST VISIBLE MANIFESTATIONS OF OUR GROWTH IN THE COUNTY FUNDING, AS YOU'RE AWARE.
THERE'S CURRENTLY A LOT OF STRATEGY.
YOU KNOW, WE'VE UPDATED OUR IMPACT FEES AND WE'RE, THERE'S DISCUSSION ABOUT MOVING FORWARD FOR A A 1 CENT SALES TAX REFERENDUM.
A LOT OF ACTIVITY IN PROVIDING DIVERSITY OF TRANSPORTATION CHOICES.
SO WE'VE, UM, WE HAVE ADDITIONS TO THE SPANISH MOSS TRAIL, BOTH, UH, EXTENDING TO PORT ROYAL AND THEN ALSO ALONG LAUREL BAY ROADS.
AND THEN ALSO PALMETTO BREEZE IS ACTIVELY PROMOTING, UH, TRANSIT FOR WORKFORCE.
YOU KNOW, THEY'RE, THEY'RE DOING, UM, YOU KNOW, UPDATES TO THEIR STUDY AND WORKING WITH ELKCOCK ON THAT.
AND OF COURSE, IMPLEMENTING THE AIRPORT, UH, MASTER PLANS, UM, HOUSING.
I MEAN THE, THE, THE BIGGEST THINGS GOING ON HERE WOULD BE THE, UM, THE, UH, AFFORDABLE HOUSING TRUST FUND, WHICH WAS ADOPTED, UM, MULTI JURISDICTIONALLY IN, IN, IN BEAUFORT AND JASPER COUNTIES.
THAT IS A HUGE, UM, STEP THAT WE'VE TAKEN.
IN ADDITION TO THAT, WE'RE ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, LOOKING AT OUR ZONING ORDINANCE AND MAKING EVALUATIONS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE OVERCOMING UNNECESSARY REGULATORY BARRIERS TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING, COMMUNITY FACILITIES.
THIS IS KIND OF A, A, A RECAP OF WHAT WE TALKED ABOUT WITH THE LAST PRESENTATION, BUT TRYING TO BUILD MORE RESILIENTLY, YOU KNOW, MAKING SURE THAT WHAT WE BUILD IN THE FUTURE AND THE, THE, OUR CURRENT FACILITIES ARE GOING TO WITHSTAND THE CHALLENGES THAT WE HAVE IN THIS, THIS ENVIRONMENT.
SOLID WASTE AND RECYCLING, UM, SCHOOLS AND LIBRARIES.
THE SCHOOL DISTRICT, AS YOU'RE AWARE, HAS, UH, HAS HAD A SUCCESSFUL REFERENDUM, UH, FOR IMPROVEMENTS TO THEIR SCHOOLS, AND THEY'RE LOOKING AT TRYING TO ADDRESS THEIR CAPACITY ISSUES IN SOUTHERN BEAUFORT COUNTY.
UM, WE HAVE A NEW, UM, LIBRARY SITE THAT WE'RE WORKING ON IN THE NEW RIVERSIDE AREA.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, ANY QUESTIONS YOU HAVE OR WE CAN ALSO DISCUSS AT OUR NEXT MEETING, BUT I'M JUST TRYING TO GIVE YOU A, AN IDEA OF THE SCOPE.
UH, ONE OF THE THINGS GOING ON NOW IS LOOKING AT A, UH, REGIONAL LAW ENFORCEMENT CENTER THAT IS BETTER SITUATED IN A COUNTY, UM, TO ADDRESS OUR, YOU KNOW, DIVERSE GEOGRAPHY.
UM, THEY'RE LOOKING AT A SITE, UM, NEAR OLD FIELD, AND THEN PARKS AND RECREATION AS YOU'RE AWARE.
UM, WE'VE ADOPTED A PARKS AND REC MASTER PLAN, AND ALSO THERE'S BEEN QUITE A BIT OF ACTIVITY IN EXPANDING OUR PASSIVE PARKS NETWORK.
AND FINALLY, THE BUILT ENVIRONMENTS.
YOU KNOW, REALLY OUR LAND USE PLAN IS SOMETHING WE SPEND EVERY DAY IMPLEMENTING THROUGH OUR ZONING ORDINANCE THROUGH, UH, PLAN REVIEW.
[02:05:01]
ALSO WE'VE BEEN, UM, DOING A LOT OF WORK REGIONALLY TRYING TO WORK WITH OUR MUNICIPALITIES AND OTHER JURISDICTIONS FOR, FOR, YOU KNOW, REGIONAL PLANNING AS WELL.BUT THAT GIVES YOU JUST A BROAD OVERVIEW, AND I REALIZE IT'S GETTING LATE OF THE SCOPE OF THE WORK THAT'S BEEN DONE TO IMPLEMENT THE PLAN.
UM, NOT JUST BY OUR DEPARTMENT, BUT BY, YOU KNOW, ALL, ALL COUNTY DEPARTMENTS AND, UM, COMMENTS.
REALLY COMPLIMENTATION, A LOT OF WORK'S BEEN DONE.
I LIKE THE SUMMARY, UH, FASHION.
BUT THIS WILL DEFINITELY POUR THROUGH THIS.
WE'VE SEEN THIS BEFORE AND I'M HOPING THAT WE CAN KEEP THE CURRENT ON, AT LEAST ON AN ANNUAL BASIS.
UM, AND I'M, I'M REALLY HOPEFUL THAT ALL OF OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS WILL SEE THIS.
YOU PLAN ON PRESENTING THIS AT, AT TO THE COMMITTEES OR COUNTY COUNCIL? WELL,
I THINK IT'S VERY, VERY USEFUL INFORMATION.
GET A FEEL FOR WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE COUNTY AND WHERE WE'VE MADE PROGRESS.
AND TO ME IT'S SUPPORT FOR THAT.
TO ME, IT'S GOOD NEWS, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN? GOOD NEWS.
IT KIND OF SHOWS AND I REALIZE IT, YOU KNOW, YOU HAVE A PLAN, YOU KNOW, THE BEST LAID PLANS AND, AND, AND THINGS CHANGE.
BUT, YOU KNOW, I THINK WE HAVE A GOOD ROADMAP AND UM, YOU KNOW, I THINK THAT THE FACT THAT WE'VE TAKEN A LOT OF STEPS TO IMPLEMENT IT.
THAT PLAN WITHOUT ACTION IS JUST A DREAM.
IS THIS BEING MADE AVAILABLE ON THE WEBSITE FOR, 'CAUSE THERE WAS THE LADY THAT SPOKE THIS EVENING, SHE WAS, YOU KNOW, WAVING AROUND HER COPY OF THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
AND A LOT OF FOLKS OUT THERE DON'T REALIZE THE AMOUNT OF GREAT WORK THAT IS BEING DONE THROUGHOUT THE COUNTY.
SO SHOULD THIS BE MADE AVAILABLE TO THEM? YEAH.
AND I THINK THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA BE LOOKING INTO IS HOW CAN WE KIND OF PROVIDE THAT INFORMATION, YOU KNOW, PROVIDE THE, UM, KIND OF AN ONGOING STATUS.
I KNOW THAT, THAT WHEN WE ADOPTED THE PLAN, THAT WAS ALL ALWAYS THE INTENTION THAT WE ARE GONNA MAKE THIS AN ACTIVE ACTIVE DOCUMENT.
AND THAT'S WHY WE HAVE THAT SECTION CALLED THE ACTION PLAN.
IT'S SORT OF LIKE SAYING, OKAY, HERE'S YOUR TO-DO LIST, YOU KNOW, AND THAT SORT OF LIKE, THIS IS THE BEGINNING, NOT THE END AS FAR AS ADOPTING THE PLAN.
UM, ONE THING THAT WE ALL HAD A HARD YEAR, A LOT OF IT WAS FOCUSED IN AREAS LIKE ST.
HELENA, AND THANKS FOR ALL THAT WORK AND THE CPO COMMITTEE AND THANKS FOR COMING.
UM, KRISTEN AND YOU AND SO ON, CONTINUING TO COME.
I THINK WHAT I HEAR FROM PEOPLE OUT THERE ANYWAY, LIKE LET US SAY, YOU KNOW, AFRICAN AMERICAN, LONGTIME HISTORIC LANDOWNERS, THEY REALLY WANNA KNOW IS THERE ARE THERE NEEDS ON THE AGENDA? AND THAT'S WHAT THIS DOES.
I'M NOT SAYING, YOU KNOW, THAT IT'S HIGH, MEDIUM, OR LOW PRIORITY.
I'M SAYING YES, THAT ISSUE WAS HEARD.
AND WARSAW AGAIN, IT'S A VERY GOOD EXAMPLE OF THAT, ONLY BECAUSE PEOPLE AT WARSAW WERE LIKE TELLING YOU FOR FOUR YEARS.
LIKE YOU NEED TO, YOU KNOW, GETTING THE COUNTY BY THE SHORT HAIRS AND SAYING PAY ATTENTION TO US.
SO THAT'S WHY I REALLY APPRECIATE THIS AS A VOLUNTEER COMMISSIONER.
YOU KNOW, SOMETIMES I'LL SEE PEOPLE AT THE MARKET OR THEY'LL CALL ME UP OR AT THE GAS STATION MM-HMM.
AND I CAN SAY, IT WAS A GREAT MEETING AND THIS IS WHY, OR THE CPO HANDLED THIS AND THIS IS WHAT WE'RE WORKING ON.
AND YOU SAW THE TURNOUT IN 2023.
I MEAN, THIS ROOM HAD 120 PEOPLE IN IT, YOU KNOW, ON MORE THAN ONE OCCASION.
SO THE WEIRD THING IS THAT PEOPLE ARE INTERESTED IN PLANNING.
I DON'T KNOW WHY, BECAUSE IT CAN BE LIKE, UM, A SNOOZE FEST SOMETIMES.
NOT YOU GUYS, BUT IN GENERAL, I'M JUST BEING HONEST, IT'S ALL, IT'S EIGHT, 10 FRIENDS.
BUT, UM, ROB, I REALLY APPRECIATE THAT.
AND, AND I THINK LIKE EVERY, I MEAN, LIKE MY COLLEAGUES HAVE SAID, I MEAN, I THINK THIS IS THE DOCUMENT THAT HELPS US GO INTO THE COMMUNITY.
YOU KNOW, AND JUST SAY WHO WE ARE AND WHAT'S GOING ON.
AND AS OUR PROFILE RISES, I HOPE, I HOPE IT DOES.
UM, THEN THIS IS A GREAT PIECE OF, UH, ACTION INFO THAT WE CAN, UM, TALK ABOUT OR DISSEMINATE.
[11. CHAIRMAN’S REPORT]
OTHER PIECE OF BUSINESS UNDER CHAIRMAN'S REPORT.UM, AS I INDICATED PREVIOUSLY, EVERY TWO YEARS WE ELECT NEW OFFICERS TO A CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR OFFICER TO LEAD THE PLANNING COMMISSION.
THE TIME TO DO THAT IS IN FEBRUARY.
WE DIDN'T MEET IN FEBRUARY, SO WE'RE GONNA DO THAT TONIGHT.
AND I HOPE THAT'S NO SURPRISE TO ANYBODY, BUT, UM, I'M GOING TO ASK FOR NOMINATIONS AND THEN WE'LL TAKE A VOTE IF THEY'RE ON THE NOMINATIONS.
I'M GONNA START OUT WITH, UM, IF I MIGHT WITH VICE CHAIR, DO WE HAVE A NOMINATION FOR VICE CHAIR? HOW, COME ON
[02:10:01]
CECILY.DO WE HAVE A FURTHER NOMINATION FOR VICE CHAIR? HEARING NONE.
MAY I TAKE A, UH, MOTION FOR APPROVAL? ALL THOSE WHO APPROVE.
OH, I GUESS I HAD A VOTE FOR MYSELF.
UH, NOW THE VOTE FOR CHAIRMAN.
DO WE HAVE A NOMINATION FOR CHAIRMAN NOMINATED? AND I'LL SECOND IT.
ARE, ARE THERE ANY OTHER NOMINATIONS? OKAY.
MAY I HAVE A, A, AN APPROVAL MOTION? ALL THOSE WHO APPROVE THE NOMINATION? I THINK IT'S UNANIMOUS.
WELL THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THOSE TWO, UM, APPOINTMENTS OR REAPPOINTMENTS.
UM, LAST ITEM, UH, NEXT MEETING.
PUT ON YOUR CALENDAR MONDAY, APRIL 1ST.
ALRIGHT, WITH THAT, UNLESS THERE'S ANYTHING OTHER BUSINESS I'M GONNA MAKE A MOTION WITHOUT.
UH, BUT, UH, NO OBJECTION TO WHO ADJOURNED THE MEETING.