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CLOSED CAPTIONING PROVIDED BY BUFORT COUNTY TO ORDER.
THIS IS THE TOWN OF HILTON HEAD ISLANDS GULLAH GEECHEE, LAND AND CULTURAL PRESERVATION TASK FORCE MEETING MONDAY, MARCH THE SECOND.
UM, I WANT TO THANK MY COLLEAGUES WHO ARE HERE AND CERTAINLY, UH, WELCOME OUR NEW MEMBERS, MS. HEWITT AND MR. LOBO, UH, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US.
AND OF COURSE, UH, PALMER, WE HAVE A FEW OF US WHO ARE, UH, EITHER UNDER THE WEATHER OR HAD OTHER COMMITMENTS AND, UH, SOME GRATEFUL FOR THOSE OF US THAT CAN BE HERE AND CERTAINLY TO OUR STAFF FOR THE FINE WORK THAT THEY'RE DOING AND TO OUR PUBLIC WHO HAVE TAKEN THE TIME OUT OF THEIR DAY TO BE HERE.
UH, WITH THAT, I'D LIKE TO ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO ADOPT THE AGENDA THAT'S SET BEFORE US.
UH, BEFORE I DO THAT, UH, THERE, ARE THERE ANY OTHER ITEMS THAT WE NEED TO TAKE AN ACTION ON TODAY? 'CAUSE I FEEL LIKE WE PROBABLY DON'T HAVE A QUORUM.
IT'S FOUR OF YOU GUYS THERE OUTTA SEVEN.
UM, AND THEN WE DO HAVE TO MAKE AN ACTION ON THE PROPOSED SCHEDULE FOR THE REMAINDER OF 2020.
UH, WITH THAT, I'LL TAKE, UH, A MOTION TO ADOPT THE AGENDA THAT'S SET FOR US.
UH, MR. AL HAS, UH, I MOVED A SECOND.
UH, THOSE IN FAVOR? I THINK THE AYE AGENDA IS GOOD TO GO ALSO.
SO WOULDN'T ENTERTAIN, ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE MINUTES IF YOU'VE HAD A CHANCE TO READ THROUGH THE REGULAR MINUTES FROM THE OCTOBER 20TH MEETING.
THOSE IN FAVOR PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.
AND WE'RE MOVING INTO OUR STAFF REPORTS.
WE HAVE, UH, A REPORT ON THE HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOOD PERMITTING AND DESIGN STUDIO REPORT FROM VERONICA STEWART, OUR PROJECT MANAGER ANGEL IN DISGUISE.
IT'S VERONICA STEWART, PROJECT MANAGER FOR THE GULLAH GEECHEE HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.
UM, FOR THE RECORD, UM, I WILL TOUCH BASES ON OUR HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS PERMITTING AND DESIGN STUDIO REPORT.
UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, OFTENTIMES WE HAVE PEOPLE WHO WATCH ONLINE, OTHERS WHO COME HERE IN PERSON.
SO I ALWAYS TRY TO GIVE A BACKGROUND TO THIS PROGRAM IN ITSELF.
UM, IT BEGAN IN OCTOBER OF 2021 AND BASICALLY TO SERVE AS A ONE-STOP SHOP OF SUPPORT RESOURCES FOR OUR RESIDENTS, PROPERTY OWNERS, AS WELL AS BUSINESS OWNERS WITHIN OUR HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS.
UM, SINCE THE LAST TIME I WAS ABLE TO COME BEFORE YOU ALL IN OCTOBER OF 2025, WE HAVE HAD EIGHT NEW REQUESTS.
UM, THESE REQUESTS INCLUDE THINGS SUCH AS FAMILY SUBDIVISIONS, STRUCTURAL DEMOLITIONS, UM, MANUFACTURER, HOME PLACEMENT, UM, PROCESSES, AS WELL AS, UM, BUILDING STANDARDS AND PERMITTING REQUIREMENTS FOR MODULAR AS WELL AS STICK-BUILT STRUCTURES.
UM, AND I WANNA KIND OF BRING ATTENTION TO, TO THIS SECTION OF WHAT THE REQUEST KIND OF FOCUSED ON, UM, THE LAST BULLET THERE SAYS, BUILDING STANDARDS AND PERMITTING REQUIREMENTS FOR THOSE MODULAR AND STICK BUILD STRUCTURES.
WHAT WE'RE SEEING WITHIN OUR HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS IS THAT SOME PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, UM, THEY WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT, UM, WHAT WILL BE REQUIRED FOR STICK BUILDS.
UM, AND WHAT WE DO THROUGH THE DESIGN STUDIO PROGRAM IS WE BRING IN THOSE ADDITIONAL DEPARTMENTS.
SO FOR THIS IN PARTICULAR, UM, FOR THIS REQUEST IN PARTICULAR, WE BROUGHT IN OUR BUILDING DEPARTMENT TO KIND OF SPEAK TO THOSE COMMUNITY MEMBERS AND THAT FAMILY, UM, TO SHARE WITH THEM THE MOST UPTODATE INFORMATION.
THROUGH THIS PROGRAM, WE AVERAGE, UM, ABOUT TWO, ABOUT TWO REQUESTS, UH, PER MONTH.
AND THAT MAY SOUND MINIMAL TO SOME, HOWEVER, THERE'S A LOT OF TIME THAT GO INTO THESE, UM, REQUESTS.
AND I THANK YOU MR. STEVENS FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, ALWAYS SHOWING UP FOR US WITH THESE COMMUNITY MEMBERS AS WELL.
UM, OFTENTIMES, YOU KNOW, AT SCHEDULING MEETINGS, IT COULD BE ONE PROPERTY OWNER OR THERE CAN BE A WHOLE FAMILY THAT WE HAVE TO GET TOGETHER.
UM, SOME PEOPLE COULD LIVE HERE, OTHERS CAN BE
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VIRTUAL.UM, AND THE PROCESS AS WE SHARE WITH EVERYONE WHO COMES THROUGH THE DESIGN STUDIO, ESPECIALLY IF IT'S IN, IF IT IS PERTAINING TO DEVELOPMENT, UM, WE DO SHARE THAT IT IS A PROCESS.
UM, BUT WE'RE HERE, UM, THROUGH MY POSITION, UM, IN ORDER TO BE WITH THEM EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.
UM, SO FAR THIS YEAR, WE HAVE HAD A TOTAL OF SIX DESIGN STUDIO REQUESTS, UM, TWO OF WHICH ARE COMPLETED TODAY AND FOUR REMAIN ACTIVE.
UM, OVERALL, IN TOTAL, SINCE THE INCEPTION OF THIS PROGRAM, WE HAVE HAD A TOTAL OF 126 REQUESTS WITH 102 OF THOSE COMPLETED.
UM, AND LOOKING PERCENT WISE, THAT'S ABOUT 80% OF THOSE REQUESTS THAT HAVE COME FORTH TO OUR TABLE WE WERE ABLE TO COMPLETE.
UM, AND WITH THAT, IF ANYONE HAS ANY QUESTIONS, I'LL TAKE 'EM NOW.
UM, ANYBODY HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? I DO.
UM, MR. SIMMONS, UH, I THINK I JUST SORT OF HEARD YOU SAY THAT SOME OF THOSE APPLICANTS, UM, OFTENTIMES THERE ARE MEETINGS, UH, THAT I, I DON'T KNOW THAT THE TASK FORCE, BUT I DID, I THINK I HEARD YOU SAID, UM, UH, THAT MR. STEVENS OFTEN SOMETIMES ATTEND THOSE MEETINGS OR HAVE BEEN ASKED.
UM, BUT, YOU KNOW, IF THERE'S OPPORTUNITIES TO JOIN AND SEND IN SEMINAR MEETING, THEN DEFINITELY I WOULD, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE TO BE A PART OF THAT AS WELL.
THANK YOU FOR THAT, MR. SIMMONS.
AND, AND MY NEXT QUESTION I HAVE RELATIVE TO, UM, APPLICATIONS, UH, I'VE BEEN ASKED A COUPLE OF TIMES ABOUT WHEN THEY GET AND HAVE TO PUT IN NEW, UH, ROAD NAMES OR CHANGE ROAD NAMES.
UH, I THINK IT HAS COME UP IN THE PAST WHERE, ESPECIALLY IN THE HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS, IF WE COULD TRY TO SOMEHOW INITIATE NAMES OF SOME OF THE ANCESTORS OR OLDER MEMBERS OF THOSE NEIGHBORHOODS.
AND IT SEEMS LIKE, UH, FROM ONE COMPOSITION I HAD THAT IS PROVING TO POSSIBLY BE MORE DIFFICULT THAN NOT.
UH, AND I THINK THERE'S ALWAYS SOMETHING IN A NAME, YOU KNOW? UH, SO WHEREVER POSSIBLE WE LIKE TO STILL CONSIDER HAVING, UM, ANCESTRAL NAMES OR SOME OF OUR FULL PARENTS' NAMES, UH, BEING ABLE TO BE NAMED ON SOME OF THE STREET NAMES IF POSSIBLE.
UM, I, WHEN WE DO GET STREET NAMING APPLICATIONS, UH, PROPERTY OWNERS DO HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO PROVIDE, UM, SEVERAL NAMES.
I THINK IF THERE ARE ABOUT SIX SLOTS.
ONE THING THAT FIRE RESCUE TRADITIONALLY DOES IS ENSURE THAT THERE IS NOT A NAME THAT'S SIMILAR TO THAT, THE PROPOSED NAME.
UM, AND, BUT WHAT I WOULD DO MOVING FORWARD IS ENSURING THAT, UM, WHEN THEY DO SELECT NAMES, UM, TO KIND OF KEEP IN MIND THOSE HISTORICAL FIGURES, UM, WITHIN OUR COMMUNITY AND WITHIN THEIR FAMILIES SPECIFICALLY.
AND, UH, YES, OF COURSE YOUR PARTICIPATION IS, IS VALUABLE.
I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE THE EARS TO THE GROUND WHEN IT COMES TO THE COMMUNITY.
UM, AND, UH, AS FAR AS MY PARTICIPATION, I'VE BEEN ASKED TO SIT IN ON SOME OF THE MEETINGS WHEN WE HAVE FAMILIES OR PEOPLE COME IN AND HAVE QUESTIONS TO KINDA HELP, UH, NAVIGATE SOME OF THAT.
THE COMMUNICATION IS SO IMPORTANT AND WE CAN'T SAY ENOUGH THAT THE EDUCATION IS JUST AS IMPORTANT OR MORE IMPORTANT.
SOMETIMES, UH, FOLKS JUST DON'T UNDERSTAND THE PROCESS, TO YOUR POINT, UH, WHY CERTAIN THINGS HAPPEN THE WAY THEY DO.
SO, UH, YOUR PARTICIPATION WILL BE WELCOME AND WOULD BE VALUABLE TO US.
UM, MY QUESTION IS JUST ON SOME OF THE COMPLETED APPLICATIONS.
UH, MAYBE JUST THE LAST COUPLE, IF YOU CAN GIVE US AN EXAMPLE OF WHAT THEY WERE AND WHAT COMPLETION MEANS AND WHAT THOSE PROJECTS LOOKED LIKE.
THOSE TWO WERE ACTUALLY PERTAINING TO, UM, MOBILE HOME PLACEMENTS WITHIN, UM, A COMMUNITY.
AND SO, UM, AS YOU KNOW, WE BASICALLY, THE INITIAL MEETING WITH THESE PROPERTY OWNERS, UM, WE GO AHEAD.
WE CONNECT WITH THEM TO DETERMINE, YOU KNOW, EXACTLY WHAT THEY ARE LOOKING TO DO.
UM, I THEN ASSIST THEM WITH THEIR APPLICATION COMPLETIONS.
UM, BUT IT DOESN'T STOP THERE ONCE THEY TURN IN AN APPLICATION.
AND THESE TWO IN PARTICULAR FOR THESE HOME PLACEMENTS, UM, THERE ARE, THERE'S USUALLY WHEN AN APPLICATION IS SUBMITTED, IT'S UNDER REVIEWED BY SEVERAL DIFFERENT DEPARTMENTS.
AND, UM, OFTENTIMES THE DEPARTMENTS DO HAVE CORRECTIONS THAT ARE REQUIRED.
SO I STAY WITH THOSE, UM, APPLICANTS THROUGH THOSE CORRECTIONS, UM, ALL THE WAY THROUGH TO THE HOMES BEING PLACED.
AND THEN THEY HAVE, UM, CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY IN ORDER TO MOVE WITHIN THEIR HOMES AT THAT TIME.
UM, AND IT'S NOT A WALK IN THE PARK.
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ONCE THE APPLICATIONS ARE SUBMITTED.UM, BUT THROUGH THIS PROGRAM, UM, BASICALLY I'M WITH THEM THROUGHOUT THE ENTIRE PROCESS.
UM, BUT THOSE TWO DO PERTAIN TO MOBILE HOME REPLACEMENTS.
UM, UM, ALSO AS WE ARE TALKING WITH FOLKS, PARTICULARLY IN THE, WHAT, WHAT THEY'RE TRYING TO DO, ARE WE SHARING WITH THEM THAT, UM, I, I DON'T KNOW HOW IT WOULD AFFECT THEM AS FAR AS THAT.
I KNOW WE'LL HEAR AN UPDATE ON OUR LMO TASK FORCE.
UH, SOME OF THE THINGS THAT MAY BE COMING DOWN THE PIPE, IF IT WOULD BENEFIT THEM IN ONE WAY OR ANOTHER, UH, THAT'S SOMETHING WE, UH, SHARE WITH FOLKS.
IF THERE IS SOMETHING, UM, THAT WE KNOW IS POSSIBLY ON THE RADAR TO BE REVIEWED OR MAYBE CHANGING IN THE NEAR FUTURE, UM, WE WOULD DEFINITELY SHARE THAT OUT.
IN MY MOST RECENT ONES THAT I HAVE RECEIVED, THERE HAS NOT BEEN ANY COMMUNICATION.
BUT MOVING FORWARD, ABSOLUTELY.
IF THERE IS SOMETHING THAT WILL CHANGE THE, UM, ALLOWANCES OR, UM, UH, PERMITTED USE FOR SOMEONE AT THIS CURRENT TIME, THAT MAY CHANGE IN THE FUTURE, OF COURSE, BRINGING IT TO THEIR ATTENTION.
AND, AND ON THAT NOTE, ARE THEY ABLE TO, IF THEY'VE DONE SOMETHING ALREADY, IF THEY'RE COMPLETED THEIR PROJECT, ARE THEY ABLE TO COME BACK AND MAYBE MODIFY WHAT THEY'VE DONE? ABSOLUTELY.
IF SOMEONE IS INTERESTED TO KIND OF COME BACK TO THE TABLE, LET'S SAY WHATEVER THEY DID COMPLETE THROUGH, UM, THE DESIGN STUDIO, THEY ARE MORE THAN WELCOME TO COME BACK.
UM, WHAT I WOULD DO AT THAT TIME THOUGH, I WOULD CREATE A NEW REQUEST FOR THEM DEPENDING ON, WELL, I WILL CREATE A NEW REQUEST FOR THEM AS THAT, UM, NEW KIND OF SITUATION ARISES.
UM, MY QUESTION IS, HOW MUCH MORE DIFFICULT IS THE PROCESS IF IT'S HEIRS RELATED PROPERTY? 'CAUSE I UNDERSTAND THERE ARE INSURANCE, UH, PROBLEMS WITH, UH, THE HEIRS PROPERTY, AND SO I'M SURE THAT CHANGES SIGNIFICANTLY WHAT CAN AND CAN'T BE DONE.
SO WHEN THERE IS A REQUEST REGARDING HEIRS PROPERTY, IT DOES MAKE IT A LITTLE BIT MORE COMPLICATED.
UM, WHAT WE TRADITIONALLY DO WHEN WE RECEIVE, WHEN I RECEIVE A REQUEST AND WE KNOW WHEN WE UNDERSTAND THAT IT IS HEIRS PROPERTY, WHEN IN FACT THEY, USUALLY THE FAMILIES WOULD ADDRESS THAT, UM, UPFRONT, KIND OF SHARE IT WITH ME.
UM, I THEN REFER THEM OFF TO HERITAGE LIBRARY AND THEY ASSIST THEM WITH DEVELOPING A FAMILY TREE.
SO THEY WILL HAVE, WE PROVIDE THAT REFERRAL TO HERITAGE LIBRARY.
WE ALSO CONNECT THEM WITH THE LOW COUNTRY GULLAH FOUNDATION TO ASSIST THEM AS WELL.
UM, NOW THEY WILL HELP THEM BASICALLY, UM, DEVELOP THEIR FAMILY TREES.
UM, OFTENTIMES WHEN IT IS HEIRS PROPERTY, WHEN FAMILIES ARE ABLE TO KIND OF CLEAR EVERYTHING UP, THEY TRADITIONALLY TURN IT INTO THE PARCEL INTO BASICALLY AN LLC, SO THAT, THAT LAND THEN OPERATES AS A BUSINESS FOR THAT FAMILY.
UM, AND THE PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE TOWN OF HILTON HEAD HERITAGE LIBRARY AND LOW COUNTRY GULLAH FOUNDATION, WE KIND OF ALL WORK, UM, TOGETHER AS ONE TO KIND OF ASSIST THOSE FAMILIES IN THAT DIRECTION.
I GUESS THAT BRINGS ME TO MY NEXT QUESTION ABOUT THE PROCESS.
UM, AND IF I'M UNDERSTANDING CORRECTLY WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, IF A FAMILY MEMBER THAT COMES AND HAS HEIRS PROPERTY, HE HAS TO GO THROUGH SOME TYPE OF CHAIN OF OWNERSHIP BEFORE WE, BEFORE THE APPLICATION IS PROCESSED.
IS THAT WHAT I HEAR YOU SAY? IT'S DEPENDING ON EXACTLY WHAT THEY'RE LOOKING TO DO ON THAT PARCEL.
SO, UM, AS YOU YOU'RE AWARE, WHEN THEY'RE, WHEN IT IS HEIRS PROPERTY, ONE THING WE ALWAYS WANT TO DO IS MAKE SURE THAT THE FAMILY DOES KNOW, AND THEY CAN KIND OF LAY OUT OWNERSHIP OF THAT PARCEL.
AND OFTENTIMES THERE ARE MULTIPLE, MULTIPLE, MULTIPLE HEIRS ASSOCIATED WITH IT.
UM, IF THEY ARE LOOKING TO PERMANENT STRUCTURES, OF COURSE, CAN'T BE PUT ON, UM, HEIRS PROPERTY ONLY BECAUSE THERE'S NO ONE OUTRIGHT OWNER TO THAT PARCEL.
UM, AND SO WHAT WE TRY TO DO IS MAKE SURE THAT WE ARE PROVIDING THEM WITH THE INFORMATION SO THAT THEY CAN IDENTIFY ALL THEIR HEIRS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PARCEL, AS WELL AS SHARE INFORMATION THAT EDUCATION PIECE REGARDING HEIRS PROPERTY WITH THEM SO THAT THEY KNOW HOW TO PROPERLY MOVE FORWARD.
SO, SO THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN, UH, THERE WOULD BE A DISTINCTION BETWEEN A PERMANENT RESIDENCE VERSUS A MOBILE HOME? YES.
YEAH, BECAUSE I, I, YOU KNOW, I, I THINK WHAT HAPPENS MOST TIME, UM, WE HAVE PROBABLY A, A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF MOBILE HOMES GOING IN.
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IS THE ONE.AND WHICH BRINGS ME TO MY NEXT QUESTION.
UM, THE PROCESS FOR MOBILE HOME PLACEMENT, UH, YOU KNOW, UH, LIKE I SAID, WE'VE BEEN DOING THIS, UH, THIS COMMITTEE'S TASK FORCE HAS BEEN IN PLACE SINCE 2021.
UM, HAVE THERE HAVE BEEN ANY MORE RULES, ANY LESS RULES, HOW THE PROCESS CHANGED JUST OVER THOSE YEARS? BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THERE AGAIN, UM, IT, IT SEEMS LIKE THE PROCESS CONTINUES TO BECOME MORE AND MORE TAXING TO GET A MOBILE HOME PLACED.
UM, AND ONE INSTANCE THAT YOU ALLUDED TO, IF YOU, UH, NEED TO MAKE ANY CHANGES, AND I, AND I GUESS THOSE CHANGES COME AFTER, MAYBE AFTER AN APPROVAL HAS BEEN IN PLACE, UM, I RECENTLY, UM, WAS AWARE OF A SITUATION WHERE A MOBILE HOME THAT MEASURED A, A CERTAIN SIZE WAS PERMITTED, AND THE FAMILY THOUGHT THEY WOULD'VE GOTTEN A SMALLER MOBILE HOME.
SO IF YOU, IF YOU HAVE A CERTAIN MOBILE HOME PERMITTED FOR A CERTAIN SIZE, AND THEY COME BACK TO YOU AND SAY, OKAY, THIS IS SMALLER.
SO THAT WHAT THEY THEN HAVE TO REAPPLY.
SO, UM, WITH THE MOBILE HOME PLACEMENT APPLICATION, UM, ONE PART OF IT IS TO PROVIDE A SURVEY, UM, AS WELL AS THE PROPOSED ON THAT SURVEY, SHOWCASING ROADWAYS, UM, IN THAT PROPOSED MOBILE HOME, ON THAT PROPOSED MOBILE HOME, UM, THERE WILL BE MEASUREMENTS OF WHAT THE SIZE OF THAT HOME IS.
NOW, IF THAT PROPERTY OWNER OR THAT FAMILY MEMBER CHOSE TO GO SMALLER THAN THAT PROPOSED HOME THAT WAS ON THAT PLAN, THEY STILL HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO MOVE FORWARD WITH THAT ONLY BECAUSE THE STRUCTURE IS SMALLER VERSUS LARGER.
UM, SO IT WILL NOT BE A ADDITIONAL APPLICATION OR ANYTHING LIKE THAT.
AND, AND, AND THAT QUESTION CAME TO ME AND I, I DID NOT HAVE A FORMAL ANSWER FOR THAT.
MY, OF COURSE, MY INITIAL THOUGHT WAS THAT IF I'M NOT CHANGING, GOING BEYOND THE INITIAL APPROVAL FOOTPRINT, I SHOULD NOT HAVE TO REAPPLY.
SO, UM, I DON'T KNOW IF YOU ARE FAMILIAR WITH SUCH A APPLICATION OR NOT, BUT I, I WAS DEFINITELY ASKED THAT QUESTION AND I SAID, WELL, NOW I CAN'T, THE PROCESS CAN'T BE THAT
SO I HEAR YOU SAYING, WELL, YEAH, NO, THEY WOULD NOT HAVE TO REAPPLY YES.
IF THEY'RE NOT MOVING OUTSIDE OF THE APPROVED, UH, FOOTPRINT, YOU KNOW, AND THAT, YOU KNOW, I, YOU KNOW, SO THAT, THAT'S, THAT'S GOOD TO KNOW THAT THAT IS IN FACT THE, THE, UM, THE SITUATION.
WELL, WHAT HAPPENS THROUGHOUT THIS PROCESS WITH THE APPLICATIONS, UM, THEY WILL, UH, ONCE AN APPLICATION IS SUBMITTED THAT APPLICANT IS THEN ASSIGNED TO A PLANNER.
AND SO THAT PLANNER, THERE'S, THEY WILL TALK THROUGH THAT APPLICATION WITH THAT COMMUNITY MEMBER.
THEY WILL SHARE, YOU KNOW, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS IN ORDER FOR THEM TO, UM, PRETTY MUCH PROVIDE ALL THE INFORMATION THAT'S NEEDED ON IT.
UM, THERE, I HAVE NOT BEEN IN A SITUATION SINCE I'VE BEEN HERE IN MY POSITION WHERE WE HAVE ASKED SOMEONE TO COMPLETE A TOTAL NEW APPLICATION.
IT'S USUALLY RIGHT THERE WITHIN THOSE REALMS. AND THERE MAY BE SOME, UM, UH, COMMENTS THAT HAVE TO BE ADDRESSED, BUT IT'S NOTHING EXTREMELY MAJOR WHERE WE'RE ASKING THEM TO GO AND COMPLETE SOMETHING NEW.
UM, YOU KNOW, THAT THIS, THE MOBILE OLD THING HAS ALWAYS BEEN, YOU KNOW, UM, YEAH, IT, IT'S, IT IS BEEN A, A, A SUBJECT FOR, FOR DISCUSSION NOW, AND DEFINITELY IN OUR NEIGHBORHOOD, YOU KNOW, WE, WE FIND, UH, VERY FEW, UH, PERMANENT OR STICK BUILT, UH, PROJECT AND CONSTRUCTIONS GOING ON.
SO, UM, THOSE ARE JUST MY COMMENTS RELATIVE, RELATIVE TO THAT.
SO I WANNA STAY ON TOP OF THAT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, A PLACE TO LIVE IS IMPORTANT.
AND MORE HOME MAKES FOR, UM, YOU KNOW, FAST AND EASY LIVING IN A LOT OF, A LOT OF SITUATIONS.
AND I'M, I'M HOPING, I KNOW THAT SOME OF US HAVE BEEN DOING SOME WORK AND TALKING TO FOLKS WITH, AS THEY, UH, CONSIDER WHAT THEY CAN DO WITH THEIR PROPERTY, UH, TO MOVE MORE TOWARD A STICK-BUILT HOME OR SOMETHING THAT WOULD, UH, HOLD THE VALUE OF THE PROPERTY A LITTLE BIT LONGER.
WE UNDERSTAND THAT SOMETIMES IT'S, UH, A LITTLE EASIER AND FASTER TO, UH, SIMPLY PUT A MOBILE HOME THERE, AND THAT PROVIDES A SOURCE OF INCOME AND SOME SUSTAINABILITY.
BUT, UH, EVERY OPPORTUNITY WE GET, WE TRY TO SHARE.
THAT'S WHY I ASKED THE QUESTION EARLIER, IF PEOPLE ARE AWARE OF WHAT THEY MIGHT POTENTIALLY BE ABLE TO DO IN THE FUTURE AND IF, HOW THAT
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WOULD AFFECT THEIR DECISION, HOW THEY, UH, USE THEIR PROPERTY.ANY OTHER QUESTIONS ON THAT PARTICULAR ITEM? OKAY.
UM, AND I BELIEVE, VERONICA, YOU'RE STILL UP FOR THE, UM, THE NEXT ITEM AS WELL ON THE, UH, CDC CORPORATION.
ANYTHING THAT YOU WANT OR NEED TO SHARE WITH US ON THAT? YES.
SO FOR OUR, AND EXCUSE ME, FOR OUR GULLAH GEECHEE CULTURAL PRESERVATION PROJECT REPORT, I JUST WANTED TO PROVIDE AN UPDATE ON A FEW OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS.
I KNOW I HAD THE PLEASURE OF COMING TO THE TASK FORCE, UM, LAST YEAR AROUND JULY, AND GAVE AN OVERALL UPDATE TO THE RECOMMENDATIONS WHERE THEY STOOD, UM, AND WHAT RECOMMENDATIONS ACTUALLY WERE TRANSFERRED OVER TO THE CDC.
UM, SO I JUST WANTED TO BASICALLY, UH, GIVE AN UPDATE TO THAT.
UM, AS YOU ALL KNOW, THERE WERE 37 RECOMMENDATIONS THAT WERE IDENTIFIED, UM, LAST YEAR, JULY.
UM, WE WERE ABLE TO SHARE WITH THE TASK FORCE AND THE COMMUNITY THAT 26 OF THOSE RECOMMENDATIONS HAD BEEN ACTIVATED TO DATE.
UM, AND ENSURING THAT EVERYONE UNDERSTANDS THAT ACT ACTIVATED JUST DOES NOT MEAN THE CHECK ON THE BOX.
UM, THESE RECOMMENDATIONS ARE A PART OF THE TOWN'S OPERATIONS, UM, AND PROCEDURES.
AND SO, UM, ONE OUT OF THE 26 THAT HAVE, EXCUSE ME, OUT OF THE 37, UM, RECOMMENDATIONS 26 HAVE BEEN ACTIVATED, AND 11 OF THOSE WERE TRANSFERRED OVER TO THE CDC IN JULY.
UM, THERE ARE TWO THAT I WANTED TO BRING TO YOUR ATTENTION TODAY, UM, AS THEY'RE CURRENTLY IN PROGRESS.
UM, ONE OF WHICH IS CULTURAL PRESERVATION 12, WHICH SPEAKS TO THE, UM, ESTABLISHING A GULLAH AUTHENTICITY CERTIFICATION PROGRAM.
UM, AND THIS RECOMMENDATION, UM, WAS INTENDED TO CREATE SOME FORM OF FRAMEWORK TO IDENTIFY, AS WELL AS ELEVATE THE AUTHENTIC GULLAH BUSINESSES HERE ON THE ISLAND, BUT DOING IT THROUGH BASICALLY AN ADOPTED CERTIFICATION, SOMETHING LIKE A LOGO.
SO WHEN YOU LOOK THROUGH THE PRESERVATION REPORT, IT'S MENTIONED AS LIKE HAVING A LOGO THAT COULD BE SOMEWHERE AS A PART OF THEIR SIGNAGE OR A PART OF THEIR LOGOS.
NOW, THE INTENT OF THIS RECOMMENDATION IS CURRENTLY BEING IMPLEMENTED THROUGH EXPERIENCE GULLAH, UM, WHICH IS A DIGITAL CULTURAL MARKETING, UM, AND STORYTELLING PLATFORM, WHICH WAS LAUNCHED LAST YEAR, OCTOBER, BY THE GULLAH GEECHEE HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION.
I KNOW MANY OF YOU ACTUALLY ATTENDED THAT, UM, THE LAUNCH OF EXPERIENCE GULLAH.
AND SO WHAT WE WANT TO DO, UM, REGARDING THIS RECOMMENDATION IS BASICALLY USE EXPERIENCE GULLAH TO PROMOTE THESE, THESE AUTHENTIC BUSINESSES AND PROVIDING THEM WITH VISIBILITY ALL THROUGHOUT THE WEBSITE.
WE ALSO WANT TO, YOU KNOW, ESPECIALLY IF THEY DO HAVE CURRENT SPACE DIGITALLY FOR THEIR BUSINESSES, HAVING CLICKTHROUGHS FOR THEM, THE POINT OF BASICALLY UTILIZING EXPERIENCE GULLAH, UM, TO MAKE THIS HAPPEN IS JUST TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE DOING ALL THAT WE CAN DO TO PROPERLY PROMOTE OUR AUTHENTIC GULLAH BUSINESSES HERE.
UM, AT THIS TIME, THE CDC IS CURRENTLY REVIEWING BUSINESSES, UM, WE'RE REVIEW REVIEWING THEIR STATUSES.
WE, WE ARE REVIEWING ANY LICENSING THAT THEY CURRENTLY HAVE, UM, AS WELL AS IF THEY CURRENTLY HAVE, UM, DIGITAL, UM, DIGITAL PRESENCE SOMEWHERE.
UM, WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT, UM, WE ARE DOING OUR RESEARCH UPFRONT.
SO WE ARE GATHERING AN INVENTORY OF ALL OF OUR BUSINESSES THAT WE CURRENTLY DO HAVE.
UM, AND THEN REVIEWING THE STATUSES, WHETHER THEY'RE STILL ONGOING INACTIVE, THE LICENSING, AS WELL AS ANY DIGITAL, UM, PLATFORMS THAT THEY HAVE.
THE SECOND RECOMMENDATION THAT'S CURRENTLY IN PROGRESS IS CULTURAL PRESERVATION 14.
AND THIS SPEAKS TO ESTABLISHING AN OPEN AIR MARKET PILOT PROGRAM.
UM, AND THIS RECOMMENDATION WAS ORIGINALLY INTENDED TO ESTABLISH THAT OPEN AIR MARKET FOR FOOD ARTS CRAFTS ALL TO BE ABLE TO BE SOLD IN THAT SPACE.
UM, NOW, AS YOU ALL KNOW, RIGHT NOW WE DON'T HAVE, UM, THAT MARKET SPACE.
HOWEVER, WE DO HAVE, UM, EXPERIENCED GULLAH.
UM, SO WITH THE CONTINUED GROWTH OF TECHNOLOGY AS WELL AS THE EVOLVING LANDSCAPE OF ONLINE COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES, OUR INTENT WITH THIS RECOMMENDATION IS TO BASICALLY UTILIZE THIS PLATFORM TO ADVERTISE THESE BUSINESSES AS WELL.
UM, AT THIS TIME, WHAT THE CDC IS CURRENTLY DOING IS DEVELOPING STRUCTURAL MARKETING PACKAGES
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FOR THESE BUSINESS OWNERS.UM, AND AS YOU CAN SEE, CP 12, SO CULTURAL PRESERVATION 12 TALKS ABOUT THAT AUTHENTIC PROGRAM FOR THOSE BUSINESSES TO HIGHLIGHT THEM AS AUTHENTIC OTHER BUSINESSES.
AND THEN THERE'S, UM, CP 14, SO CULTURAL PRESERVATION 14 THEN SPEAKS TO THAT MARKET TO ADVERTISE THEM.
SO, UH, WORKING ON THE BOTH OF THESE SIMULTANEOUSLY BECAUSE THEY GO HAND IN HAND WITH ONE ANOTHER, UM, WE ARE DEFINITELY ATTEMPTING TO MOVE THESE RECOMMENDATIONS FORWARD.
NOW THROUGH CP 12, WE ARE CURRENTLY WORKING ON THAT INVENTORY OF OUR GULLAH BUSINESSES THROUGH CP 14.
WHAT WE'RE DOING IS WE ARE DEVELOPING THOSE MARKETING PACKAGES.
NOW, THE BOTH OF THEM TOGETHER, I'LL SHARE THAT THE FRAMEWORK FOR THE BOTH OF THEM IS CURRENTLY BEING LAID THROUGH OUR MONEY TALK SERIES, EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM.
UM, THIS YEAR WE'LL BE LAUNCHING YEAR THREE FOR THIS.
MR. BOXLEY THROUGH THE CDC STARTED THIS PROGRAM IN 2024.
AND, UM, IT HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL THROUGHOUT.
WE'RE EXCITED TO SEE WHAT YEAR THREE WILL BRING.
UM, AND WE WANT TO CONTINUE, UM, THROUGH MONEY TALK SERIES AS WELL AS THESE ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, UM, TO, UM, PROMOTE AUTHENTIC GULLAH BUSINESSES, AS WELL AS PROVIDE THEM WITH THE RESOURCES THAT THEY NEED TO EITHER START A BUSINESS, THRIVE WITHIN THEIR BUSINESS OR ELEVATE THEIR BUSINESSES.
AND, UM, YOU KNOW, WE'RE ALWAYS OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS OR ANYTHING THAT YOU THINK WE NEED TO MAKE SURE AND ENSURE IS ON THE TABLE.
SO I HAVE A QUESTION ABOUT THAT.
SO WHAT IF SOMEONE WANTED TO, UH, COME TO HILTON HEAD AND START A BUSINESS WITH A GULLAH THEME, HOW WOULD THAT BE MET? UM, WITH THROUGH, UM, CULTURAL PRESERVATION 12, UM, IT SPEAKS TO THE AUTHENTICITY PROGRAM.
SO WHAT WE'RE GOING TO DO AS A PART OF THAT, EVEN, UM, WHAT WE WANT TO DO AS A PART OF THAT, WHICH IS IT SPEAKS TO IT WITHIN THE, UM, PRESERVATION REPORT IS COME UP WITH AN ACTUAL STANDARD OF WHAT WOULD BE DEEMED A GULLAH BUSINESS, UM, WITHIN OUR AREA.
NOW, IT IS SUGGESTED TO HAVE SOMEWHAT OF A PANEL TO REVIEW THOSE BUSINESSES.
I DON'T KNOW IF, UM, THAT IS FULLY NEEDED AT, AT THIS EXTENT TODAY.
HOWEVER, I DO BELIEVE THAT HAVING THAT STANDARD AND ENSURING THAT THE BUSINESSES MEET THOSE PARAMETERS IN ORDER TO BE CONSIDERED AUTHENTIC WILL BE NECESSARY.
UM, AND THAT WILL NOT BE DONE BASICALLY IN SILO, LIKE THE CDC ATTEMPTING TO DO THAT ALONE.
THAT WILL HAVE TO BE DONE WITH OUR COMMUNITY MEMBERS IN THIS TASK FORCE AS WELL.
SO YOU'RE SAYING YOU COULD HAVE A GULLAH BUSINESS, BUT IT'S NOT CERTIFIED AUTHENTIC? ABSOLUTELY.
WE WANT TO ENSURE THAT THIS AUTHENTIC PIECE, UM, IS KEY, UM, THROUGH THE REPORT.
UH, IT'S, IT'S CONTINUOUSLY MENTIONED, AND SO WE WANT TO MAKE SURE THAT IS DEFINITELY ADDRESSED AS WE ARE PROMOTING THESE BUSINESSES.
YEAH, I THINK IT'LL BE HELPFUL TO, UH, HAVE SOME CLARIFICATION ON HOW WE AUTHENTICATE THOSE BUSINESSES.
I KNOW WE'VE HAD THIS DISCUSSION OVER THE YEARS.
UM, ONE IDEA TO POSSIBLY LOOK AT IS THE, UM, HOW WE ACTUALLY, UH, IDENTIFY GULLAH FAMILIES IN THE GULLAH PROPERTIES HERE ON THE ISLAND.
UH, POSSIBLY IF IT'S SOMETHING THAT HAPPENED, UH, BEFORE THE BRIDGE EXACTLY.
OR CERTAINLY TIED TO ONE OF THE FAMILIES HERE, I THINK THAT HELPS WITH THE AUTHENTICATING, UH, PROCESS.
AND THAT'S JUST ONE IDEA FOR, YOU KNOW, VERIFICATION OF A THIS.
BUT I THINK MS. HEWITT HAS A VERY GOOD QUESTION, BECAUSE THERE MAY BE SOME OTHERS THAT COME ALONG THAT MAYBE DON'T MEET THE TIMELINE OF IT.
BUT HAVE TO HAVE SOME CONNECTION TO THE CULTURE.
THAT MAY BE SOMETHING TO CONSIDER AS WELL.
OTHER QUESTIONS? YEAH, I, YEAH.
UM, DEFINITELY THE, THE QUESTION THAT, UM, YOU RAISED IS, YOU KNOW, A QUESTION OF CONCERN, BECAUSE IT'S GONNA BE DIFFICULT TO TELL SOMEONE.
YOU CAN'T START ANY BUSINESS, RIGHT? WHETHER IT'S GULL OR OTHERWISE, YOU KNOW, UH, AND AUTHENTIC GU BUSINESS, YOU KNOWS GOING TO TAKE SOME DOING.
AND I THINK THAT'S GOING TO TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF WORK TO HIRE YOU AUTHENTICATE A BUSINESS TO BE GULL.
UH, I THINK THERE WERE SOME STANDARDS RELATIVE TO, UM, DEVELOPMENT.
I THINK THAT WOULD EXIST SOMEWHERE.
YOU HAD TO HAVE THE PROPERTY, YOU HAD TO BE IN THE FAMILY'S HISTORY PRIOR TO A CERTAIN TIME.
I THINK, UH, OUR CHAIRMAN ALLUDED TO THAT.
I THINK THAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN WHAT YOU ALLUDED TO OF MM-HMM.
SOME STANDARDS THAT ALREADY EXIST.
SO AS FAR AS CB 12, CB 14, UM,
[00:30:02]
IS THIS, DO, DO I UNDERSTAND THAT THIS, THIS PROGRAM IS SEEKING OUT A PHYSICAL LOCATION? OR ARE YOU TRYING TO SET, UH, THE STANDARDS FOR SUCH EVENTS, UH, OPENING A MARKETS NOW ALL TO BE REGULATED AND TAKE PLACE WHERE THERE MAY BE A PERMITTED USE? IS THAT WHAT THE GOAL OF THIS? I'M TRYING TO REMEMBER.UH, AS A, OF COURSE, WE WERE ALL A PART OF THIS INITIATIVE, SO I'M JUST TRYING TO REMEMBER THE, HOW IS THIS GOING TO BE, UH, IS THIS REGULATIONS OR IS THIS, UH, UH, WHERE YOU'RE TRYING TO PHYSICALLY FIND SOMEPLACE TO HOUSE SUCH, UH, OPEN AIR MARKETS? BECAUSE I THINK A REGULATION IS PROBABLY MORE WHERE WE ARE HEADED THAN ANYTHING, PROBABLY.
I WANT TO TAG ON TO HIS QUESTION.
IF YOU, IT MIGHT HELP YOU, I DON'T KNOW TOO, KIND OF FOR ALL OF US TO REEDUCATE US ABOUT WHAT EXPERIENCE GULLAH IS.
I WILL BRING US OVER HERE AND I CAN PULL EXPERIENCE GULLAH UP.
WHAT I WANT TO DO, UM, PRIOR TO DOING THAT IS SPEAK TO YOUR QUESTION, MR. SIMMONS.
UM, RIGHT NOW, BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT IDENTIFIED AN OPEN AIR MARKET SPACE, WE WANT TO UTILIZE THE RESOURCE THAT WE CURRENTLY HAVE, WHICH IS EXPERIENCE GULLAH AS OF RIGHT NOW, IN ORDER TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE PROMOTING THOSE BUSINESSES AND DOING IT PROPERLY.
SO, EXPERIENCE GULLAH, UM, LAUNCHED OCTOBER OF 2025.
UM, AS I TOLD YOU ALL, IT'S BASICALLY, IT'S AN AMAZING WEBSITE.
UM, WE HAVE RECEIVED TRACTION ALL THROUGHOUT THE US AND BEYOND.
UM, WHAT THE WEBSITE DOES IS IT HIGHLIGHTS THE HISTORY OF HILTON HEAD.
IT SHOWCASES OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, UM, ALL OF OUR HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS.
UM, AN AREA THAT IS GOING TO BE EXTREMELY IMPORTANT FOR OUR BUSINESSES IS GOING TO BE OUR CULTURE TAB.
AND HERE IS WHERE WE WILL, WE ARE LOOKING TO FEATURE SOME OF THOSE BUSINESSES.
NOW, AS OF RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE, UM, A SPACE FOR FOOD AND DINING MUSEUMS, UM, RETAIL, UM, AS WELL AS RESOURCES, BECAUSE WE DO HAVE SOME GULLAH BOOKS THAT WE HAVE BEEN SHARING WITH THOSE WHO VISIT EXPERIENCE GULLAH.
I WILL SHARE THAT, YOU KNOW, ON THE WEEKLY BASIS, I RECEIVE PHONE CALLS.
I HAVE AN EMAIL IN MY INBOX RIGHT NOW THAT I ACTUALLY NEED TO ANSWER, UM, ABOUT INDIVIDUALS COMING TO HILTON HEAD, AND THEY WANT TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE GULLAH CULTURE.
UM, AND THIS, HAVING EXPERIENCED GULLAH HAS BEEN DEFINITELY A RESOURCE FOR ME.
I CAN HIGHLIGHT THE BUSINESSES THAT, YOU KNOW, THEY'RE LOOKING TO KIND OF, UM, PARTICIPATE IN.
OFTENTIMES THEY'RE LIKE, HEY, WE WANNA DO A TOUR.
SO I WAS ALWAYS ABLE TO JUST SHARE THAT CONTACT INFORMATION AND CONNECT THOSE, UM, YOU KNOW, TRAVELERS WITH THOSE BUSINESSES.
BUT NOW I ALSO HAVE A PLATFORM THAT I CAN SHARE WITH THEM.
AND THIS PLATFORM, UM, CONTINUOUSLY IS UPDATED.
SO THIS WILL BE A PLACE WHERE THOSE BUSINESSES CAN BE HOUSED.
UM, I WILL SHARE RIGHT NOW THROUGH THE INVENTORY, UM, RESEARCH OF CP 12, UM, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO IDENTIFY, UM, OVER 70 BUSINESSES.
UM, NOW WE HAVE TO CREATE THOSE STANDARDS IN ORDER TO DETERMINE WHICH ONES WOULD BE AUTHENTIC GU BUSINESSES.
HOWEVER, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO IDENTIFY A LIST OF APPROXIMATELY 70.
SO IS THIS, UM, SHARED WITH THE, UM, CHAMBER OF COMMERCE? SO IF I WENT TO THE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE SITE, WOULD I FIND THE CONNECTION TO THIS? I AM UNSURE.
I CAN'T ANSWER THAT QUESTION, BUT I'LL DEFINITELY, YOU SHOULD MAKE CERTAIN THAT HAPPENS.
AND AS A PART OF THAT QUESTION, UM, WHO, YEAH, WHO DOES MAINTAIN THE EXPERIENCE GULLAH PLATFORM, UM, THE, UH, GULLAH GEECHEE HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOOD, CDC, UM, WE DO OVERSEE THIS PLATFORM ALTOGETHER.
UM, WE DO HAVE, UM, UH, JUST CONTINUOUS UPDATES ON A WEEKLY BASIS.
SO BACK TO THE QUESTION ABOUT, AND MAYBE I, MAYBE THE QUESTION WAS ANSWERED AND I'M STILL MISSING IT.
SO, UM, THE ESTABLISHMENT OF AN OPEN AIR MARKET PILOT PROGRAM, SO, AND MAYBE I JUST NEED TO READ THIS MORE, BUT THE, SO THE PILOT PROGRAM IS TO ONCE AGAIN, ESTABLISHED AN OPPORTUNITY OR BEING, SET SOME STANDARDS FOR THIS OPEN AIR.
AND I, AND I SAY THAT 'CAUSE, UM, IN OUR CURRENT LMO, UH, FOR EXAMPLE, WHEN I KNOW IN, IN OUR NEIGHBORHOODS, THERE WAS, UH, UH, SOME ATTEMPT TO DO WHAT WAS CALLED SOME POP-UP SHOPS.
[00:35:01]
AND OF COURSE, IN THE, IN THE, IN THE STANDARDS, THERE'S NO DEFINITION OR OTHERWISE RECOGNITION OF WHAT'S BECOME KNOWN AS POP-UP SHOPS, WHICH IS RELATIVE TO OPEN AIR.SO, AND IT'S WHY I'M ASKING IF, IF, UH, WE ARE TRYING TO SET SOME STANDARDS FOR WHAT THIS WOULD BE, OR WE ARE SIMPLY SAYING, YOU KNOW, WE ARE TRYING TO HAVE A LOCATION WHERE IT'S WHERE YOU CAN EXHIBIT YOUR FOOD GOODS AND OTHERWISE, UM, AND I'M THINKING I'M, THERE'S A, THERE WERE, THIS, THERE'S A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO THINGS.
SO I'M NOT JUST TRYING TO GET A HANDLE ON, BUT THE, THE INTENT OF THE GOAL OF CP 14.
I THINK YOU RAISE, UM, AN IMPORTANT POINT.
UM, I DO THINK THAT, UM, THERE NEEDS TO BE ANOTHER LOOK, UM, FROM A STANDARDS PERSPECTIVE REGARDING THE OPEN AIR MARKET AND OPEN AIR SALES.
UM, JUST BECAUSE I DO THANK YOU FOR RAISING THAT CONCERN.
UM, SO I'LL DEFINITELY GO BACK AND LOOK AT THAT FOR THIS ONE AS OF NOW.
UM, THE INTENT WAS JUST TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE WORKING TO, TOWARDS SOMETHING, TO, UH, ADVERTISE THE BUSINESSES THAT WE ARE IDENTIFYING IN CP 12 TO ENSURE THAT THEY HAD A SPACE TO PROMOTE THEMSELVES.
IN THE MEANTIME, AS OF RIGHT NOW, WE DON'T HAVE THAT OPEN AIR MARKET.
UM, BUT WHAT I WILL DO IS I WILL LOVE, UM, TO DEFINITELY CONNECT WITH YOU, UM, REGARDING SOME OF THE, UH, THINGS THAT HAVE COME INTO PLAY REGARDING SOME OF THOSE, UM, POP-UP SHOPS.
UM, AS I KNOW I'M AWARE OF ONE, BUT I WOULD LOVE TO CONNECT WITH YOU AND WE CAN KIND OF REALLY DIG THROUGH THAT AND LOOK AT SOME OF THE STANDARDS AS OF NOW TO ENSURE, UM, THAT WE'RE MOVING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION.
WELL, I'M AVAILABLE MOST TIMES
YOU ALWAYS ANSWER, SO THAT'S PERFECT.
UM, JUST TO GIVE A LITTLE HISTORICAL CONTEXT TO THAT PARTICULAR, UH, CP 14, WHEN WE DEVELOPED THIS PARTICULAR RECOMMENDATION, AND WE KNOW THAT THE TIMES HAVE CHANGED.
UM, BACK IN THE DAY THERE WERE, I KNOW AT LEAST ONE FLEA MARKET WHERE, UH, PERRY WHITE HAD THE YES, THE FLEA MARKET THERE.
AND, UH, IT WAS ACTUALLY A PHYSICAL LOCATION.
AND OVER THE YEARS WE'VE DISCUSSED, UH, HAVING OPEN AIR MARKET THINKING IT MIGHT STILL BE A PHYSICAL LOCATION, BUT AGAIN, I KNOW AS WE'VE GONE THROUGH THESE RECOMMENDATIONS, AS TIME HAS MOVED ON, UH, WE CERTAINLY HAVE DISCOVERED THERE ARE, UH, MANY OTHER WAYS AND OPPORTUNITIES TO, UH, TO PROMOTE, UH, OUR BUSINESSES.
AND THE ONLINE PRESENCE, UH, IS CERTAINLY ONE OF THEM IN A, UH, I DON'T WANT TO INSULT ANYBODY'S AGE, BUT CERTAINLY THIS GENERATION DOES BUSINESS NOT NECESSARILY IN A PHYSICAL BUILDING, BUT A LOT OF THOSE BUSINESSES EXIST ONLINE AND THE MARKETING AND, AND, UH, THE TECHNOLOGY THAT EXISTS NOW.
SO I THINK THOSE ARE GOOD QUESTIONS TO MR. SIMMONS' POINT AS WELL.
UH, YES, WE HAVE CERTAINLY, UH, IN OUR CULTURE OVER THE YEARS, UH, EXPERIENCED AS THERE'S A FRUIT STAND OR A SEAFOOD STAND BY THE SIDE OF THE ROAD, UH, THOSE ARE THE OTHER EXPERIENCES THAT WE FEEL LIKE ARE KIND OF A, UM, OPEN AIR MARKET, IF YOU WILL.
SO I KNOW WE'LL BE, UM, LOOKING AT THOSE, UH, OPPORTUNITIES AS WELL AS THEY RELATE TO, AGAIN, THE LMO UPDATE THAT WE'RE ALL SOME OF US ARE WORKING ON AS WELL.
AND I SHOULD ASK IF ANYONE IN THE, IN THE IN PUBLIC HAD ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS ABOUT THE LAST TWO ITEMS? I THINK WE'RE GOOD.
UH, NEXT ON OUR AGENDA, WE HAVE THE LAND MANAGEMENT ORDINANCE, ORDINANCE TASK FORCE UPDATE FROM SHAE BROWN, OUR PRINCIPAL PLANNER.
UM, FIRST I'D LIKE TO TAKE A MINUTE TO RECOGNIZE THE TASK FORCE MEMBERS THAT WE HAVE HERE.
UM, MR. STEVENS, HE, UM, REPRESENTS YOUR BOARD, UM, ON THE TASK FORCE.
WE HAVE TOM HINTS HERE WHO RECOGNIZE WHO, UM, REPRESENTS THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND MS. LOLA CAMPBELL, I'M SORRY, I THOUGHT IT WAS LOLA CAMPBELL, BUT ANYWAY, SHE'S A RESIDENT.
AND THEN WE HAVE MR. LEWIS JOHNSON, WHO REPRESENTS THE CDC, UM, FOR YOUR BOARD, UM, SINCE YOU LAST MET, THE TASK FORCE HAS MET FOUR TIMES.
UM, IT'S GOTTEN OFF TO A LITTLE BIT OF A SLOW START.
UM, THE FIRST MEETING WAS JANUARY 6TH.
THAT WAS THE KICKOFF MEETING, REALLY
[00:40:01]
A TIME JUST TO INTRODUCE MEMBERS AND KIND OF OVERVIEW THE, THE SCOPE AND DIRECTION FROM TOWN COUNCIL.UM, ON JANUARY 26TH, THE TASK FORCE REVIEWED AN OVERVIEW OF ZONING CODES, UM, WHICH WAS PRESENTED BY OUR CODE CONSULTANT.
AND THIS SET THE FOUNDATION FOR FUTURE REVIEWS OF POTENTIAL AMENDMENTS, UM, THAT, UM, WE DOVE INTO ON FEBRUARY 26TH.
SO ON FEBRUARY 26TH, UM, THE TASK FORCE BEGAN REVIEWING A DOCUMENT, WHICH HAS, UM, BECOME THE GUIDING DOCUMENT THAT WE WILL USE AS WE WORK THROUGH THE PROCESS WITH THE TASK FORCE.
UM, IT WAS STAFF WAS ASKED TO PREPARE AN ANALYSIS OF THE 2014 LMO AND IDENTIFY ALL SUBSEQUENT CHANGES TO THE LAND MANAGEMENT ORDINANCE THAT HAD OCCURRED SINCE THAT TIME TO RECTIFY ISSUES THAT AROSE FROM CHANGES, UM, IN THAT CODE.
UM, SO THAT'S THE PROCESS THAT STAFF WENT THROUGH.
UM, AND THEN FROM THAT WE IDENTIFIED THE REMAINING ISSUES, UM, AND ISSUES FOR FUTURE CONSIDERATION.
SO THE DESIRE WITH THE, UM, WITH THE LMO UPDATE THAT WE'RE IN NOW IS TO REALLY FOCUS IN ON SPECIFIC CHANGES THAT ARE NEEDED TO ADDRESS THOSE SPECIFIC ISSUES RESULTING FROM CHANGES AT THAT TIME.
UH, SO WE HAVE A LIST OF POTENTIAL AMENDMENTS TO CONSIDER THAT WAS INCLUDED IN THAT DOCUMENT.
AND THE TASK FORCE BEGAN WORKING THROUGH THE FIRST TWO SEC, OUR FIRST SECTION OF THAT, WHICH IS NATURAL RESOURCE PROTECTIONS THAT INCLUDED, UH, TREE PROTECTION AND PLANTING, AS WELL AS WETLAND PROTECTIONS.
UM, THE, UH, THE TASK FORCE ASKED A NUMBER OF QUESTIONS AND, UM, AND WE'LL NEED CLARIFICATION REGARDING SOME OF THOSE.
SO IT'S ANTICIPATED THAT AT OUR NEXT MEETING WE WILL HAVE, AND AT SUBSEQUENT MEETINGS, WE WILL HAVE A PERIOD OF TIME, UM, AT THE BEGINNING OF EACH MEETING THAT WILL BE DEDICATED TO A REVIEW OF THE PRIOR QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS THAT STAFF HAS ASSEMBLED, UM, AS WELL AS PROVIDING THOSE IN THE PACKET, UM, FOR THE TASK FORCE.
UM, AT THE LAST MEETING, IT WAS ALSO REQUESTED THAT THE, UM, TASK FORCE GUIDING DOCUMENT, THE, UM, CCPP REPORT BE DISTRIBUTED TO THE TASK FORCE, AS WELL AS OTHER LEGACY PLANS LIKE THE RUDAT AND THE STONY AND CHAPLAIN, UM, REDEVELOPMENT PLANS.
SO THOSE ARE LINKS TO THOSE DOCUMENTS ARE BEING SENT OUT, UM, IN THE PACKET FOR THE NEXT MEETING, WHICH IS THURSDAY.
UH, SO WE ARE WORKING RAPIDLY TO, UM, RESPOND TO THE INITIAL QUESTIONS THAT CAME UP AT THE MEETING ON THE 26TH, AND ALSO PREPARE FOR THE NEXT STEP IN DISCUSSIONS, WHICH WILL BE, UH, ZONING AND LAND USE.
UM, IT'S IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER THAT FOLLOWING THE TASK FORCE WORK, UM, THIS FULL BODY OF WORK WILL COME BEFORE YOUR COMMITTEE.
UM, IT WILL GO BEFORE THE PLANNING COMMISSION, IT WILL GO BEFORE THE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AND PUBLIC SERVICES COMMITTEE, AS WELL AS TOWN COUNCIL WHO IS ULTIMATELY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ADOPTION OF THE CHANGES.
UM, SO, UH, WITH THAT, I BELIEVE THAT WILL BRING US UP TO TODAY.
IF YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER.
SO I WANTED TO ASK YOU A QUESTION.
I THINK YOU SAID THE TASK FORCE HAD MET FOUR TIMES.
HAVE WE MET FOUR TIMES OR JUST THE THREE? UM, THE FEBRUARY 5TH MEETING WAS CANCELED, SO YOU'RE CORRECT.
JUST WANNA MAKE SURE I DIDN'T MISS ANYTHING.
UM, AND ALSO, UM, I'VE HAD SOME FOLKS, WELL, HOPEFULLY WE'RE STARTING TO FIGURE THIS OUT OR FIND OUT ABOUT IT NOW, BUT, UM, CAN YOU SHARE WITH US RIGHT NOW WHAT THE, UH, MEETING DATES FOR THAT TASK FORCE IS? DO YOU HAVE THAT IN FRONT OF YOU? I PROBABLY GOT, I'VE GOT MY NOTEBOOK HERE, ACTUALLY.
UM, AND A LOT OF THEM FALL ON A THURSDAY AFTERNOON, UH, I THINK THURSDAYS AND MONDAYS FOR THE MOST PART.
BUT IT IS GONNA BE IMPORTANT FOR US IN THIS COMMITTEE, UM, TO HELP, UH, COMMUNICATE THAT TO, UM, UM, OUR COMMUNITY.
SO WHEN PEOPLE SAY, WELL, I DIDN'T KNOW THAT WAS GOING ON, OR WHAT'S, WHEN IS IT HAPPENING? UH, I CERTAINLY WANT THEM TO BE AWARE.
AND, UM, IF YOU, UM, IF YOU NOTICE JUST NOW, UM, JUST BY GOOGLING, UM, HILTON HEAD ISLAND, LMO TASK FORCE MM-HMM
UM, IT WILL PULL UP THE, UH, SEARCH PAGE WHERE YOU'LL GO STRAIGHT TO THE LAND MANAGEMENT ORDINANCE TASK FORCE ON THIS PAGE.
THERE ARE A NUMBER OF RESOURCES,
[00:45:01]
BUT HERE IS THE MEETING SCHEDULE.UM, AND THERE ARE ALSO LINKS TO, UM, THE LMO AS WELL AS OTHER DOCUMENTS THERE, UM, AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THE TASK FORCE.
AND SO THE NEXT MEETING IS THIS COMING THURSDAY, RIGHT? YES, SIR.
AND WE WILL, UH, BE GETTING HOPEFULLY, UH, MAKING SOME PROGRESS, UH, THROUGH THAT AND HAVING SOME, UH, DEEPER DISCUSSIONS.
UM, AND JUST FOR THE SAKE OF ALL OF US, AGAIN, YOU KNOW, WHICH REPORT REPORTS ARE GOING TO BE INCLUDED IN THE PACKET? YOU SAID LIKE THE ROOT A I'M, I'M ASSUMING THAT OUR REPORT FROM THE YES.
UM, WHAT OTHER REPORTS ARE, DO YOU KNOW? UM, I DON'T KNOW THE EXACT, WE HAVEN'T, UM, WE HAVEN'T CREATED THE, UM, THE ATTACHMENT YET WITH ALL OF THE LINKS.
AND I'M NOT CERTAIN, UM, WHICH LINKS WERE PROVIDED ALREADY TO THE TASK FORCE.
UM, WE WILL PROVIDE ANYTHING THAT IS AN ADOPTED, UM, PLAN FROM THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN MM-HMM
OR ANY OTHER HISTORIC DOCUMENT THAT WOULD BE HELPFUL.
SO I DO KNOW THE, SPECIFICALLY YOUR REPORT AS WELL AS THE ROOT AT WERE MENTIONED.
UM, BUT BEYOND THAT, I'M NOT SURE IF, IF THEY'VE ALREADY BEEN PROVIDED SOME OF THE OTHERS OR NOT, BUT WE'LL MAKE SURE THAT IT'S A COMPREHENSIVE LIST.
WE'LL TRY TO HELP YOU WITH THAT.
IF WE SEE TO SEND ANYTHING DISMISS THERE IS THE ROOT AT REPORT, THERE'S ALSO A RESPONSE RESPONSE YEAH.
I WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S INCLUDED AS WELL.
I, AND I, THERE MAY BE OTHERS, BUT THOSE ARE THE, THE MAIN ONES THAT I CAN REMEMBER AND THINK OF.
UM, AND WALKING IN WITH THE MR. HENS, THE CHAIRMAN OF OUR PLANNING COMMISSION, HE MENTIONED THE POSSIBILITY OF US KIND OF GETTING TOGETHER AND DOING A LITTLE WORKSHOP.
I DON'T KNOW IF THAT'S SOMETHING YOU WANT TO SHARE WITH US NOW, MR. ER, IF THAT IN THE WORKS? WELL, I JUST ASKED, UH, IF YOU WOULD, IF YOU DON'T MIND.
TOM HENS WITH PLANNING COMMISSION.
YEAH, I JUST, UH, MENTIONED IT EARLIER WITH MS. RA.
IF, IF THAT WOULD BE A POSSIBILITY THAT OUR, UM, COMMITTEE COULD GET WITH YOUR COMMITTEE PLANNING COMMISSION WITH THE GULLAH GEECHEE TASK FORCE, JUST TO HAVE A WORKSHOP WHERE WE CAN TALK AMONGST EACH OTHER ABOUT THE, UM, LMO PROCESS, OUR ROLE IN THAT PROCESS, UH, MEETING WITH THE, UM, THE LMO, UM, OFFICIAL OFFICIAL, WHICH IS, IS, IS ANOTHER, UM, KEY PART OF THIS PROCESS JUST TO INFORM US OF, OF HOW WE CAN, UM, YOU KNOW, HELP, HELP FURTHER THE PROCESS ALONG.
SO, UM, HOPEFULLY WE CAN COME UP WITH THAT AND THEN NOT DO THIS IN FUTURE.
YEAH, I HAVE, I'VE SENT IT UP THE FLAG POLE AND WE'RE WAITING TO HEAR RESPONSE.
WE CERTAINLY APPRECIATE YOU KEEPING, UH, THIS TASK FORCE, UH, UH, INFORMED AND BEING AN ESSENTIAL PART OF THAT.
I REMEMBER IN THE, THE MEETING LAST THURSDAY THAT SAID THAT THAT WAS KIND OF PART OF THE PROCESS, RIGHT.
THAT IT WOULD COME BEFORE THIS GROUP AND THEN, UH, MAKE ITS WAY ON UP TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION MM-HMM
SO WE'VE GOT SOME IMPORTANT WORK TO DO.
AND I'VE GOT A COUPLE COMMISSIONS SITTING PLANNING COMMISSIONERS SITTING HERE ON THIS COMMITTEE.
UM, SO IN PREPARATION, IF, IF THAT HAPPENS IN PREPARATION FOR THAT, IS IT POSSIBLE TO GET A OVERLAY OF THE, UM, HISTORIC COMMUNITIES AND GULLAH OWNED LAND ON THE LMO? DOES IT ALREADY EXIST? IT MIGHT ALREADY EXIST.
UM, WE DO HAVE AN, WE HAVE A MAP FOR THE HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS.
UM, I'M NOT CERTAIN ABOUT THE STATUS OF OUR INVENTORY, UM, BUT I CAN FIND OUT AND, AND CHECK WITH VERONICA TO SEE WHAT WE HAVE AND THE LAST UPDATE OF THAT INFORMATION.
BUT I, I BELIEVE WE DO HAVE, UM, A BASELINE AT LEAST TO THAT WE COULD SHARE.
UM, BUT YES, WE CAN PROVIDE THAT.
YEAH, I BELIEVE THAT, UM, UH, ANA'S GROUP ALSO HELPS US COLLECT SOME OF THAT DATA, UH, WITH LOW COUNTRY GULLAH MM-HMM
AS IT, AS IT RELATES TO, UH, ACREAGE AND, UH, WHAT WE'VE DONE.
AND YEAH, IT MIGHT BE THERE, IT MIGHT ACTUALLY BE THEM THAT HAS THAT INVENTORY.
SO YES, THERE IS, UM, MS. HEWITT, WE CAN DEFINITELY PROVIDE YOU, UM, WITH THE HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS MAP, AS WELL AS I'LL PROVIDE TO THE OVERALL TASK FORCE, THE, UM, UPDATED MAPS BROKEN DOWN BY NEIGHBORHOODS SO THAT YOU HAVE THE ABILITY TO VISUALLY SEE THOSE, UM, HISTORIC PROPERTIES THAT STILL REMAIN.
[00:50:03]
SO I, I APPRECIATE THAT.BUT I'D ALSO LIKE TO SEE AN OVERLAY OF THAT WITH THE DIFFERENT ZONING REGULATIONS, WETLANDS, THINGS LIKE THAT THAT'S HAPPENING WITH THE LMO.
SO I, SO IT'S NOT JUST SEEING THE HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS, IT'S SEEING THE COMBINATION OF THE TWO, SO WE CAN PREDICT HOW THEY MIGHT BE IMPACTED.
IF YOU DON'T HAVE THOSE TWO RIGHT ON TOP OF EACH OTHER, IT'S HARD TO MAKE THAT PREDICTION.
WE CAN ACTUALLY, UM, ADD THAT TO WHAT WE ARE, UM, PREPARING FOR THIS MEETING THIS WEEK.
UH, SO FROM NOW ON WHEN WE HAVE, UH, DISTRIBUTION OF THE, THE ZONING, WE CAN HAVE THE HISTORIC NEIGHBORHOODS IDENTIFIED ON THERE AS WELL AND THINK COULD BE HELPFUL.
UM, I GUESS GOING BACK TO THE MEETING, I GUESS, WAS IT LAST THURSDAY, UH, THE 26TH, WHENEVER THAT MEETING WAS, THE 26TH? YEAH.
UM, I, I GUESS I WAS A LITTLE BIT DISAPPOINTED IN THE OVERALL AMOUNT OF INFORMATION THAT THE, UH, THE TASK FORCE ITSELF HAD.
IT, IT SEEMED LIKE THEY WERE, YOU KNOW, IT, IT, WE, THE DISCUSSION OF THE WETLANDS DELINEATION AND, UH, TREE AND ALL, IT SEEMED LIKE THE MEMBERS REALLY GOT CAUGHT BY SURPRISE OR SOMETHING.
I MEAN, IT, I THOUGHT THE DISCUSSION JUST WENT WAY BAD.
I MEAN, I JUST DIDN'T SEE WHERE THE MEMBERS HAD A GRASP, AT LEAST MOST OF THEM.
MAYBE SOME OF 'EM DID, I DON'T KNOW.
BUT THE DISCUSSION ITSELF I THOUGHT DID NOT GO WELL, UH, FOR THE LACK OF, OF, OF INFORMATION.
UM, AND EVEN THEY WENT AS FAR AS, I THINK MANY OF THE MEMBERS ON THE TASK FORCE DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A COPY OF THE LMO.
YOU KNOW, THEY DON'T, DON'T OWN ONE, DON'T HAVE ONE, MAYBE NOT HAVE SEEN ONE, I DON'T KNOW.
BUT, UH, IT WAS SAID IN THAT MEETING THAT THE, THE FEW MEMBERS WHO DID IN FACT HAVE A COPY OF THE LMO, UH, THERE ARE A FEW MEMBERS WHO DID HAVE ONE, BUT THERE WERE MANY OF THEM WHO DON'T HAVE A COPY OF THE LOII, I FIND IT SORT OF DIFFERENT THAT YOU WOULD BE, ARE MAIN, UH, YOU KNOW, YOUR MAJOR GOAL AND TASK IS TO CONSIDER REWRITING AND A DOCUMENT THAT YOU KNOW VERY LITTLE ABOUT.
AND I, YOU KNOW, I RECOGNIZE THAT WE, WE KIND OF DOVE INTO THE TABLE AS A SPECIFIC REQUEST FROM THE TASK FORCE.
UM, BUT WE, WE DID RECOGNIZE THE NEED FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE FRONT END.
SO WE ARE PLAYING A LITTLE BIT OF CATCH UP WITH THIS LAST MEETING.
UM, WE ARE PREPARING ANSWERS TO THE QUESTIONS WE'RE PROVIDING THE WETLANDS ORDINANCE, THE TREE ORDINANCE, UM, SO ALL OF THAT WILL GO OUT AND WE WILL HAVE A DEDICATED TIME TO COME BACK TO DISCUSS THAT WITH THE TASK FORCE SINCE THEY HAVE THIS NEW MATERIAL.
UM, BUT FOR THE, FOR THE DISCUSSION ON ZONING, WE ARE PLANNING IN ADVANCE FOR MUCH MORE INFORMATION THAT WILL ACTUALLY WALK THE COMMITTEE THROUGH OUR ZONING STRUCTURE SPECIFICALLY.
SO THEY WILL HAVE MORE FAMILIARITY WITH WHAT, HOW, WHAT, YOU KNOW, THE TABLE EQUATES IN THE ACTUAL LMO ITSELF.
NOW, I WILL SAY WE, WE HAVE VERY FEW HARD COPIES OF THE LMO, UM, THAT EXIST RIGHT NOW.
MOST ALL OF US USE DIGITAL, UM, BUT WE, UM, WILL BE DISTRIBUTING HARD COPY SECTIONS AS WE MOVE FORWARD WITH THE TASK FORCE.
SO THEY'LL RECEIVE LINKS AS WELL AS THE ACTUAL SECTIONS THEMSELVES, WHICH I THINK WILL HELP, UM, GET EVERYONE UP TO SPEED IN ADVANCE OF THE MEETINGS NEXT TIME.
AND MY, THE NEXT PART IS, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, I, I THINK, UM, AND YOU TOUCH BASES ON THE AMOUNT OF INFORMATION THAT, UH, EVA HAS BEEN THROUGH PREVIOUS STUDIES, UH, THAT TALKED ABOUT, UM, UM, LAND AND DEVELOPMENT OUTSIDE OF THE PUDS.
I THINK THE LMO RIGHT NOW, UM, MAINLY POINTS TO LAND OUTSIDE OF THE PUDS.
AND I THINK THAT TO BE NOTED AS WELL, IS THAT MOST OF THAT LAND OUTSIDE OF THE PUDS IS IN WARD ONE.
UH, IF MY RECOLLECTION, SIR, IS ME, CORRECT, MM-HMM
SO I, I, I THINK IT'S VITALLY IMPORTANT THAT ALL OF THOSE STUDIES THAT WERE, THAT I, AND I, I HAVE TO CALL UP BECAUSE I THINK TY AT THE MEETING MM-HMM
UH, PRESENTED A LIST, WHICH WE'VE TOUCHED ON HERE THAT WOULD LEND FOR ALL OF THOSE STUDIES THAT HAVE BEEN DONE.
UM, AND I, AND, AND TO MOVE FROM THAT POINT, I THINK THERE WERE, THAT, THERE'S TWO, TWO POINTS,
[00:55:01]
UH, THAT I, I GOT FROM THE MEETING.THERE'S, UM, MAKING SURE THAT THE LMO, UM, SPEAKS TO DEVELOPMENT.
AND NUMBER TWO, THAT IT SPEAKS TO REDEVELOPMENT BECAUSE, AND, AND, AND I, I FIND THAT THOSE MAY BE TWO DIFFERENT AREAS OF, OF REGULATIONS.
UM, BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE THOUGHT WHEN THEY CAME UP IN THE TREE DISCUSSION THAT, WELL, YOU KNOW, WE HAVE SOME OF THESE DEVELOPMENTS NOW THAT ARE 20, 30, 40 YEARS OLD, AND THEY'RE LOTS OF TREES THERE.
NOW THESE DEVELOPMENTS ARE SOON GONNA BE UNDER REDEVELOPMENT BECAUSE NONE OF THESE STRUCTURES ARE GONNA LAST FOREVER.
WHETHER WE'RE GONNA SEE IT OR NOT, I DON'T KNOW, BUT THE LMO IS NOT NECESSARILY FOR TODAY, IT'S FOR THE FUTURE.
SO I THINK WHEN WE TALK ABOUT THIS NEW AND THIS REWRITE, CLEARLY IT HAS TO SPEAK TO DEVELOPMENT AND REDEVELOPMENT AS IT CAME OUT IN THAT DISCUSSION AS I HEARD IT.
UH, AND, AND I THINK THOSE PREVIOUS STUDIES FOR THOSE LANDS THAT ARE NOW BEING, YOU KNOW, AND THIS REWRITE, I MEAN, IT'S FOR LANDS OUTSIDE OF THE P DS, I MEAN, IT'S, I DON'T KNOW THAT ANY OF THE LO APPLIES TO THE P DS, WHICH IS PROBABLY BEYOND MY, MY KNOWLEDGE, BUT NONETHELESS, UH, THOSE ARE SOME POINTS THAT I THINK ARE GONNA BE VERY IMPORTANT FOR THAT, UH, TASK FORCE TO CONSIDER WHEN THEY, YOU KNOW, WHEN YOU'RE LOOKING AT THIS, THIS REWRITE.
AND I CAN DEFINITELY INCLUDE A REFERENCE TO THOSE SPECIFIC DOCUMENTS IN OUR MEMORANDUM THAT WILL GO OUT RELATIVE TO ZONING AND LAND USE.
SO NOT ONLY WILL THEY GET THE LINKS, BUT THEY'LL BE REFERRED TO THEM DIRECTLY FOR HISTORY FOR THE ISSUE.
AND, UH, TIMOTHY SIMMONS POINT, I THINK THAT'S IMPORTANT.
UH, WE TALK ABOUT DEVELOPMENT AND REDEVELOPMENT, AND SOMETIMES THAT CAN BE, UH, IN SOME WAYS A LITTLE CONTROVERSIAL.
UM, AND AGAIN, A LITTLE HISTORICAL CONTEXT WITH THIS PARTICULAR LMO REWRITE, AND I'M HAPPY TO BE A PART OF THIS TASK FORCE, IS THAT WE'RE TRYING TO LEARN FROM OUR PAST.
UH, WHEN WE DID THIS EXERCISE SEVERAL YEARS AGO, FOR EXAMPLE, WE WERE TRYING TO ENCOURAGE SPREADING AROUND THE TOURISTS TO DIFFERENT BEACHES, AND WE OPENED UP SOME OPPORTUNITIES FOR DEVELOPMENTS, UH, THAT DID NOT FIT INTO, UH, WHAT SOME FOLKS CALL ISLAND CHARACTER.
SO I THINK WE HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT HOW WE GO FORWARD, UH, WITH DEVELOPMENT.
NO, I THINK SMART DEVELOPMENT IS CERTAINLY THE ANSWER, BECAUSE WE WANT NOT, DON'T WANT TO REPEAT SOME OF THE SAME MISTAKES WE MADE IN THE LAST LMO REWRITE WHERE IT OPENED UP OPPORTUNITIES FOR MAYBE SOME UNSCRUPULOUS DEVELOPERS.
TAG ONTO WHAT MR. SIMMONS IS SAYING.
I MEAN, THERE, THERE'S, THERE'S, YOU KNOW, THERE'S, THERE'S ALWAYS GONNA BE THOSE FOLKS WHO FIND LOOPHOLES AROUND ANYTHING.
I MEAN, YOU, IT IS GONNA BE HARD TO PLAN AGAINST, UM, YOU KNOW, LOOPHOLE SEEKERS, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, THERE'S SOME PEOPLE WHO SIT WITH A POCKET FULL OF MONEY TO SAY, OH, YEAH, I CAN GET AROUND THIS.
BUT I MEAN, I, I, I THINK IF YOU LOOK AT THIS FROM A, A PERSPECTIVE OF, UH, AND YOU KNOW, I, I, I THINK WHEN WE PLAN SOMETIME FROM OUR PAST MISTAKES, WE, WE PLAN CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS THAT APPLY THAT, YOU KNOW, WE, WE, THOSE PEOPLE WHO ARE LEFT TO POSSIBLY DEVELOP WHO MAY WANNA DEVELOP AT THAT POINT, THE, THE, THE RANGE OF IMPULSE SO TIGHT THAT THEY'RE, ONCE AGAIN, YOU'RE BATTLING TRYING TO DO STUFF.
AND THAT'S MAINLY COMES TO THE GULLAH COMMUNITY, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, WE ARE THE LAST TO DEVELOP AT THIS POINT.
WE'RE, WE, WE ARE WHAT'S LEFT MM-HMM
BASICALLY TO DEVELOP OR THEN GET INTO SOME REDEVELOPMENT OTHERWISE MM-HMM
SO I, YOU KNOW, I, I DEFINITELY, DEFINITELY PUT OUT THE, THE, THE, THE CAUTION OR THE, THE, UH, UH, CALL TO MAKE SURE THAT THOSE THINGS THAT HAVE BEEN DETERMINED THROUGH STUDY, YOU KNOW, UH, PAID SOME, UM, SERIOUS ATTENTION TO THOSE, SPEAK VERY CLEARLY TO WHAT THE GULLAH COMMUNITY HAD HAD, UH, LONG SINCE THOUGHT WERE FAIR EVALUATIONS OF, UM, OF OUR OPPOSITION.
AND I THINK WHEN YOU DON'T USE THAT INFORMATION TO IS BEST USE, UM, YOU KNOW, WE, WE WE'RE, WE'RE GONNA FIND OURSELVES BACK INTO A BATTLE THAT WE COULD HAVE.
WE HOPEFULLY WILL CORRECT AS BEST WE CAN GOING IN.
UH, AND ELIMINATE, AND IT WOULD BE, UH, COULD BE CONFUSION, YOU KNOW, I THINK SOME OF IT'S PRETTY CLEAR
WELL, AND THAT'S WHERE, UM, WHERE WE WERE REALLY
[01:00:01]
DIRECTED TO FOCUS IN ON THE 2014 CHANGES.AND THAT WOULD NOT BE EVERYTHING THAT CHANGED, BUT THE 2014 LMO AS ADOPTED, UM, TO HONE IN ON WHAT CAUSED THOSE ISSUES THAT WE NOW ARE SEEING AND WHAT CAN WE TARGET MORE SPECIFICALLY THAN A GENERAL BROAD UPDATE.
SO WHAT YOU WILL, WHAT YOU WILL SEE IS THAT WE ARE ACTUALLY TARGETING THE SPECIFIC PROVISIONS THAT BECAME THE LOOPHOLES.
UM, AND WE ARE FOCUSING LESS ON, UM, AN OVERHAUL PER SE, AND MORE ON HOW DO WE SPECIFICALLY FIX, UM, WHAT'S BROKEN MOST, AND THEN WE CAN IDENTIFY NEXT STEPS, UM, FOLLOWING THAT.
I THINK IT'S JUST IMPORTANT, UM, LIKE I SAID, SMART DEVELOPMENT BECAUSE SOMETIMES WE REACT TO THINGS MM-HMM
AND WE GO FROM ONE EXTREME TO THE OTHER EXTREME.
WELL, I WILL SAY THAT, UM, THE NUMBER OF AMENDMENTS THAT WE ADOPTED FOLLOWING 2014, UM, IS SUBSTANTIAL.
AND THE NUMBER OF PROBLEMS THAT WE'VE ATTEMPTED TO FIX, UM, THROUGH THOSE, UM, IS A GOOD NUMBER.
AND THERE'S STILL THINGS TO DO, BUT IT'S, YOU DON'T ALWAYS SEE THE, YOU KNOW, EVIDENCE OF THOSE CHANGES RIGHT AWAY.
SO AS WE LEARNED WITH 2014, WE DIDN'T SEE WHAT HAPPENED OR WHAT WE DIDN'T WANT TO HAPPEN UNTIL YEARS LATER.
SO I WOULD SAY THERE ARE CHANGES THAT ARE ALREADY IN PLACE THAT TARGET SOME OF THOSE ISSUES THAT, UM, YOU HOPEFULLY WON'T, WON'T EVEN NOTICE.
THINGS WILL GO SMOOTHLY AND DEVELOPMENT WILL COMPLY WITH THE CHARACTERS THAT WE DESIRE HERE.
UM, BUT THERE ARE CHANGES THAT, THAT HAVE ALREADY BEEN MADE AND IT'S HELPED US TO NARROW DOWN OUR FOCUS ON WHAT IS REMAINING.
YOU HAVE QUESTIONS? YOU GOOD? GOOD.
OTHER QUESTIONS? COMMENTS? GOOD.
SHE GONNA LET HER RIDE FOR NOW.
WELL, AT LEAST WE GET TO PUT OUR 2 CENTS IN NOW, SO, UH, GREAT.
THE NEXT ITEM WE HAVE ON OUR AGENDA IS THE APPROVAL OF THE PROPOSED 2026 MEETING DATES.
WE HAVE THAT IN OUR PACKET SOME.
UM, THESE ARE THE MEETING DATES WE HAVE FOR OUR GULLAH GEECHEE LAND AND CULTURAL PRESERVATION TASK FORCE TO MEET IN 2026.
UM, I JUST WANNA POINT OUT A COUPLE THINGS, OR AT LEAST ONE THING IN PARTICULAR.
YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE'S SPACED OUT A LITTLE BIT MORE.
UM, WE FIND THAT, UM, STAFF FOR SURE CAN BE A LITTLE BIT MORE PRODUCTIVE IF THEY HAVE SOME SPACE IN BETWEEN THESE MEETINGS TO PUT SOME THINGS TOGETHER.
AND WITH THIS, UH, LMO REWRITE TASK FORCE IN PLACE, UM, WILL GIVE US A LITTLE MORE TIME TO DIGEST THAT.
UH, I THINK THE LAST TIME, LAST YEAR WHEN WE APPROVED THE, THE MEETING CALENDAR, MY QUESTION IS, OF COURSE, IF WE WANT TO HAVE A MEETING THAT'S NOT ON THIS PARTICULAR CALENDAR, WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO SCHEDULE A A CALL MEETING, RIGHT? THE TASK FORCE WILL HAVE THE ABILITY TO CALL A SPECIAL MEETING IF NECESSARY.
ANY OTHER QUESTIONS, COMMENTS ON THE CALENDAR? ALL RIGHT.
AND WE NEED TO TAKE AN ACTION ON THIS TODAY, RIGHT? YES, SIR.
UM, WHILE WE HAVE THE DATES BEFORE US, I WOULD ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO APPROVE THE PUBLIC MEETING DATES FOR OUR GULLAH GEECHEE LAND CULTURAL PRESERVATION TASK FORCE FOR 2026.
MR. CHAIRMAN, I MOVE THAT WE ACCEPT THE, UM, THE CALENDAR DATES ALONG WITH THE UNDERSTANDING THAT WE CAN HAVE, UH, A SPECIAL MEETING
[01:05:01]
THANK YOU MR. SIMMONS.MR. SIMMONS HAS MADE THE MOTION.
ALL THOSE IN FAVOR, A, IT'S CARRIES UNANIMOUSLY.
UM, THERE ANYONE HERE IN OUR PUBLIC THAT WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK TO, UH, THIS COMMITTEE TO, ON A NON AGENDA ITEM? THANK YOU MR. WILLIAMS FOR, FOR BEING HERE AND IN YOUR PRESENCE IS ALWAYS HELPFUL IN, IN ANY OF THESE MEETINGS.
AND, UH, HE'S OF COURSE OUR LOCAL RESIDENT LEGAL COUNSELOR IN SOME CAPACITY OR ANOTHER.
AND YOUR KNOWLEDGE WITH A LOT OF THE STUFF IS INVALUABLE.
MR. HINTS IS, OF COURSE, IS OUR CHAIRMAN OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION, AND THANK YOU FOR TAKING THE TIME TO BE HERE, AND WE'LL WORK ON THAT IDEA OF WORKING TOGETHER ON A WORKSHOP.
UH, AGAIN, THAT EDUCATION PIECE IS SO IMPORTANT AND JUST TO UNDERSTAND WHAT WE'RE DOING, LOOKING AT THE BIG PICTURE AND THEN SEEING HOW IT'S GONNA AFFECT ANY AND ALL OF US, I WANT TO THANK MS. SHARON SHERMAN, THE PRESIDENT OF OUR NAACP, FOR TAKING THE TIME OUT OF HER BUSY DAY TO BE HERE WITH US AS WELL.
AND I HOPE THAT, UH, THIS WAS INFORM TO INFORMATIVE TO YOU AS WELL, AND WE'LL GO OUT AND SHARE IT WITH OUR COMMUNITY IN OUR DIFFERENT AREAS AS WE GO FORWARD, RIGHT? YES.
ANY OTHER COMMENTS FROM MY COLLEAGUES HERE ON THE DICE? I PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE SAID SOMETHING IN THE VERY BEGINNING.
I KNOW MS. JOYCE WRIGHT IS NOT HERE TODAY BECAUSE SHE IS ATTENDING THE, UH, MEMORIAL OF CELEBRATION FOR, UH, JESSE JACKSON, WHO IS, UM, CERTAINLY THOUGHT OF TODAY, UH, IN MY LIFETIME, ONE OF, UH, THE PEOPLE THAT I'D LOOK UP TO.
AND SOME OF THE THINGS THAT I DO NOW ARE BECAUSE OF PEOPLE LIKE JESSE JACKSON AS FAR AS EITHER SITTING ON MY HANDS OR GETTING INVOLVED IN MY COMMUNITY AND TRYING TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE.
SO WE HONOR THE MEMORY AND THE LEGACY, UH, OF JESSE JACKSON AS HE'S BEING MEMORIALIZED TODAY.
AND THANK GOD FOR HIS SERVICE.
AND WE THANK GOD FOR ALL OF YOU WHO ARE SERVING IN THE CAPACITY THAT YOU'RE IN NOW.
AND THANK YOU FOR BEING HERE TODAY.
IF THERE'S NOTHING FURTHER, I'LL ENTERTAIN A MOTION TO ADJOURN.
SO MOVE WE FIND OURSELVES ADJOURNED.
THE COUNTY IS ONE OF THE OLDEST FORMS OF LOCAL GOVERNMENT IN THE UNITED STATES.
EARLY SETTLERS FROM ENGLAND BROUGHT THE TRADITION OF COUNTY GOVERNMENT TO AMERICA.
TODAY, MORE THAN 3000 COUNTY GOVERNMENTS PROVIDE SERVICES THAT AFFECT ALMOST EVERY CITIZEN'S LIFE.
SOUTH CAROLINA'S 46 COUNTIES ARE VERY REPRESENTATIVE OF HOW COUNTY GOVERNMENT HAS EVOLVED NATIONALLY.
THE COUNTY UNIT IN SOUTH CAROLINA WAS REGARDED AS A LOCAL EXTENSION OF STATE GOVERNMENT, BUT A STATE CONSTITUTIONAL REFORM MOVEMENT IN THE EARLY 1970S LED TO THE SOUTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY, PASSING THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT LAW, ALSO KNOWN AS THE HOME RULE ACT.
IN 1975, THE HOME RULE ACT GREATLY EXPANDED COUNTY AUTHORITY AND CHANGED THE NATURE OF COUNTY ORGANIZATION AND ADMINISTRATION TO WHAT WE KNOW TODAY.
BEAUFORT COUNTY WENT FROM HAVING A BOARD OF DIRECTORS TO A COUNTY COUNCIL.
MEMBERS OF THE 1975 COUNCIL INCLUDED CHAIRMAN ARTHUR HORN, VICE CHAIRMAN GRADY THAMES, LEROY BROWN, GARY FORDHAM, WILLIAM GRANT, HARRIET KAISER LING, DAVID JONES, BILL MCBRIDE, AND BOOKER WASHINGTON.
AS THE NEW COUNCIL SOUGHT TO DISTINGUISH ITSELF, COUNCIL MEMBERS DESIRED AN OFFICIAL SYMBOL THAT WOULD REPRESENT THE JURISDICTION'S IDENTITY AND UNIQUE CHARACTER COUNCIL APPOINTED AN AD HOC COMMITTEE TO UNDERTAKE THE TASK AND CARRY OUT A CONTEST FOR THE BEST COUNTY SEAL DESIGN.
HARRIET KLIN WAS A MEMBER OF COUNTY COUNCIL, AND IT WAS HER IDEA BECAUSE WE DIDN'T HAVE ANYTHING THAT COULD SIGNIFICANTLY
[01:10:02]
IDENTIFY OUR BEAUTIFUL, BEAUTIFUL COUNTY.WE MET THEN UP AT, UH, I THINK IT WAS A CAROLINA BANK AND SOME YEARS AGO BACK THERE ON WEST STREET, AND THEN WE PUT 'EM IN PILES, YOU KNOW, LIKE, GOOD, BAD MAYBE UNTIL WE FINALLY GOT IT DOWN TO THE ONE THAT WE NOW USE.
COUNTY COUNCIL APPROVED THE SEAL COMMITTEE'S RECOMMENDATION, WHICH REFLECTED THE COUNTY'S HISTORY, TRADITIONS, AND NATURAL BEAUTY.
THE SEAL'S COLORS OF BLUE AND GREEN REPRESENT THE COLORS OF THE COUNTY'S OUTDOOR ENVIRONMENT WITH ITS MANY WATERWAYS, MARSHLANDS, AND MARITIME FOREST.
THE FIVE IMAGES WITHIN THE SEAL DEPICT SOME OF THE COUNTY'S DISTINGUISHING FEATURES, ANCIENT LIVE OAK TREES, THE SEAFOOD INDUSTRY, RICH NATURAL RESOURCES, AND RARE MARINE ECOLOGY, LOWCOUNTRY ARCHITECTURE, AND MILES OF RIVERS, CREEKS, AND INLETS.
I THOUGHT IT ENCOMPASSED WHAT THE, WHAT WE AS A BODY WERE LOOKING FOR A SEAL THAT WOULD, WHEN YOU LOOKED AT IT AND JUST THOUGHT ABOUT IT A LITTLE BIT, IT REALLY COVERS THE ASPECTS OF BEAUFORT COUNTY.
SO HE DID A GOOD JOB OF BRINGING TOGETHER THE THINGS THAT WE, UH, WHOLE, SO DEAR AND WHAT WE REALLY LIKE ABOUT BEAUFORT COUNTY.
COUNCILMAN BILL MCBRIDE WAS IN OFFICE WHEN THE CONTEST WAS HELD AND WAS PRESENT WHEN THE COMMITTEE REVEALED THE WINNING DESIGN.
I THINK COUNCIL WAS ECSTATIC ABOUT IT.
UH, WE THOUGHT THAT THE, THE SIMS ON THE SEAL REPRESENTED, UM, ASPECTS OF LIFE IN BEAUFORT COUNTY.
THEY, IT IS A SLIGHT CHANGE IN THE ORIGINAL ON DRAFT THAT WAS PRESENTED TO US WHERE YOU HAVE THE SHRIMP BOAT TODAY.
INITIALLY, THAT WAS A PLEASURE CRAFT, A SAILBOAT YACHT TYPE BOAT.
AND, UH, IT WAS CHANGED BY COUNTY COUNCIL BECAUSE WE FELT THAT THE SHRIMP BOAT WAS A BETTER REPRESENTATION, UM, OF A MORE COMPREHENSIVE, UH, ASPECT OF, BUT COUNTY LIFE BECAUSE YOU HAD OTHER THINGS ON THE SEAL THAT REPRESENT THE PLEASURE AND RECREATION, THE FISHING AND THE BEACH.
SO THEY THOUGHT THE SHRIMP BOAT, WHICH WAS A VERY IMPORTANT PART OF BEAUTIFUL COUNTY CULTURE SHRIMPING, ESPECIALLY AT THAT TIME, WOULD BE REFLECTED ON THE SEAL.
THE WINNER OF THE CONTEST WAS AN ARTIST FROM HILTON HEAD ISLAND, THE LATE LEE PAYNE, WHOSE DESIGN WAS SELECTED FROM MORE THAN 126 CENTURIES SUBMITTED FROM AS FAR AWAY AS INDIANA AND TENNESSEE.
HE WAS AWARDED $250 FOR HIS DESIGN, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, HE CAPTURED THE LEGACY OF OUTDOOR BEAUTY, CULTURE, AND HISTORY THAT HELPED TO DEFINE IMPORTANT ASPECTS OF LIFE IN BEAUFORT COUNTY.
TO SEE MORE BEAUFORT COUNTY MOMENTS GO TO THE BEAUFORT COUNTY LIBRARY HOMEPAGE AND CLICK ON THE LOCAL HISTORY TAB.