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[I. CALL TO ORDER ]
EVERYONE.TODAY'S TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER EIGHT TWENTY SIX.
SO WE'LL CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER.
WE'LL START WITH THE PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE, FOLLOWED BY THE INVOCATION.
MY PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE STATES MATTER STANDS.
COUNCILMAN WOOD, PLEASE BOW THEIR HEADS.
HEAVENLY FATHER, AS WE GATHER TONIGHT, LET US PAUSE AND REFLECT ON THE RESPONSIBILITY WE SHARE TO SERVE OUR COMMUNITY.
MAY WE BE GUIDED BY WISDOM, COMPASSION, AND A GENUINE DESIRE TO DO WHAT IS BEST FOR ALL WHO CALL BLUFF AND HOME.
HELP US LISTEN TO ONE ANOTHER, RESPECT OUR DIFFERENCES, AND FIND COMMON GROUND EVEN WHEN WE DISAGREE.
MAY OUR DECISIONS STRENGTHEN OUR COMMUNITY, SUPPORT OUR FAMILIES AND BUSINESSES, AND PROTECT THE CHARACTER AND QUALITY OF LIFE THAT MAKE BLUFFTON SPECIAL.
AND MAY WE ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT PUBLIC PUBLIC SERVICE IS ABOUT PUTTING OTHERS FIRST.
MAY WE LEAVE TONIGHT COMMITTED TO WORKING TOGETHER FOR THE GOOD OF OUR ENTIRE COMMUNITY.
I THAT YOU GONNA HAVE CELEBRATIONS
[IV. PRESENTATIONS, CELEBRATIONS, AND RECOGNITIONS ]
FOR I CAN GET ALL THE GIRLS IN THERE, COACHES, FAMILY, EVERYBODY COME UP HERE, WE GONNA DO THIS.THIS IS SPECIAL FOR ME BECAUSE I HAVE TO SAY, COACHING GIRLS WHEN THEY WERE THIS AGE AND UP A LITTLE HIGHER EVEN WERE THE BEST DAYS OF MY LIFE.
I WAS OUT THERE WATCHING AND TEACHING AND HARD TO PLACE AT ANYWHERE.
SO WHOEVER WANTS TO TAKE THE LEAD WITH SOME NAMES, INTRODUCTIONS, OR A LITTLE BIT ABOUT WHAT ALL THE, WHAT YOU WENT THROUGH TO GET HERE.
SO THIS IS THE EIGHT U, UM, BEAUFORT COUNTY BLUFFTON SECTION.
THERE WERE 12 GIRLS AND TWO ALTERNATES.
UM, THESE 12 GIRLS WON THE BEAUFORT COUNTY, UM, DISTRICT TOURNAMENT.
THEN WE MOVED ON AND WON THE STATE TOURNAMENT, OUTSCORING OUR OPPONENTS.
UM, SO THEY, THEY PLAYED THAT OUT IN ORANGEBURG FOR ABOUT FIVE DAYS.
AND THEN WE GOT TO MOVE ON AND WE WENT TO MISSISSIPPI, LAUREL, MISSISSIPPI FOR THE DIAMOND YOUTH WORLD SERIES.
UM, THERE, THESE GIRLS, WE HAD A LITTLE BIT OF TROUBLE FINDING OUR BATS, JUST A LITTLE BIT THERE, BUT WE HAD A LOT OF FUN.
WE DID A LOT OF HARD WORK IN THE HEAT.
UM, AND THE GIRLS CAME OUT AND WON THE SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD FOR THE TOURNAMENT.
UM, SO THAT WAS A, UM, THEY PLAYED HARD.
WE HAD A LITTLE BIT OF SWEAT, RIGHT? JUST A LITTLE BIT.
A LOT OF SCREAMING AND YELLING AT THE DUGOUT.
YOU WANT US TO INTRODUCE THE YES.
UM, I, I'D LIKE THOSE PLAYER NAMES, YOU KNOW? OKAY.
THOSE PLAYER NAMES AND POSITIONS, IF YOU DON'T MIND.
SHE PLAYED, WHERE'D YOU PLAY? SEE THIRD BASE, LEFT FIELD.
SHE PLAYED CATCHER AND SOME OUTFIELD FOR US.
SHE PLAYED LEFT AND RIGHT FIELD FOR US.
SHE PLAYED SECOND BASE FOR US.
SHE PLAYED LEFT FIELD, RIGHT FIELD CENTER FIELD OUTFIELD FOR US, RIGHT? COVERED IN THIRD BASE SUM FOR US.
THIS IS ARDEN O'DONNELL AND ARDEN COVERED FOR US.
CENTER, THE THIRD AND THIRD, SOME OF YOU.
AND THEN, UM, WE'VE, WE'VE GOT EMMY, I GUESS
WE'VE GOT, I AM TERRIBLE AT NAMES TENLEY MAHONEY.
SHE PLAYED PITCHER FOR US PRIMARILY.
SHE PLAYED OUTFIELD FOR US ALL.
WELL, ON BEHALF OF COUNCIL AND ALL OF LUPTON, WE ARE VERY PROUD OF YOU.
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AFTER THIS MEETING'S OVER, I'M GOING TO TALK TO OUR TOWN MANAGER SO HE CAN START BUILDING A LITTLE SHELF FOR THAT TROPHY THAT YOU'RE GONNA BRING HOME NEXT YEAR, RIGHT?SO CONGRATULATIONS TO ALL OF YOU MOMS, DADS COACHES.
NEXT, WE'RE GONNA HAVE A INTRODUCTION OF NEW EMPLOYEES, PROMOTIONS AND INTERNS.
MS. ANNIE EVANS, WHAT'S HERE, NOT ANNIE.
UH, BUT I'M GONNA GO AHEAD AND GET US STARTED.
UM, KEVIN EKER, UH, DIRECTOR OF GROWTH MANAGEMENT.
SO, UH, WE HAVE, UH, FOR US FOR BUILDING SAFETY COMING UP.
I HAVE, UH, CRAIG BOWERS IS ONE OF OUR NEW EMPLOYEES.
HE'S, UH, BUILDING SAFETY INSPECTOR ONE.
UH, HE'S BEEN WITH US SINCE FEBRUARY.
UH, HE'S BEEN DOING A FANTASTIC JOB.
UM, NEXT WE HAVE, UH, STEVEN WILLIAMSON.
HE WAS ACTUALLY PROMOTED FROM BUILDING INSPECTOR ONE TO BUILDING INSPECTOR TWO.
UH, THAT HAPPENED BACK IN MARCH OF THIS YEAR.
UM, SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED FOR THAT AS WELL AS CHRIS SIM.
AND, UH, STEVEN HAS BEEN WITH US FOR THREE YEARS AND CHRIS SIM HAS BEEN WITH US FOR TWO YEARS, AND HE IS ALSO BEEN PROMOTED FROM BUILDING INSPECTOR ONE TO A BUILDING INSPECTOR TWO.
SO WE'RE REALLY EXCITED THAT THEY'VE BEEN, UM, DOING ALL OF THEIR CERTIFICATIONS AND MOVING, UH, GETTING THESE PROMOTIONS.
SO I'M GONNA INTRODUCE, UM, NEW MEMBERS OF OUR WATERSHED DIVISION GROUP.
SHE IS A STORMWATER TECHNICIAN, AND SHE WILL BE REPORTING TO CONNOR HAROLD, WHO IS OUR NEW MS FOUR, UM, MANAGER.
SO HE HAS BEEN PROMOTED, UM, FOR THAT.
HE'S BEEN WITH THE TOWN FOR ABOUT TWO YEARS.
AND MARISSA, I'M SURE LET US IN A CHEER, CHEERING ON THAT GROUP OF, UM, UH, YOUNG BASE, WELL, YOUNG SOFTBALL PLAYERS.
SO, UH, ANYWAYS, WE'RE EXCITED TO HAVE THEM HERE AND, UM, THEY'RE DOING GREAT.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
I AM HERE TO INTRODUCE, OR AT LEAST REVIEW WHO THE INTERNS WERE FOR THE SUMMER.
SO WE WERE ORIGINALLY SUPPOSED TO INTRODUCE THE INTERNS TO YOU IN THE JULY MEETING, AND THAT MEETING ENDED UP GETTING RESCHEDULED.
SO I JUST WANTED TO TAKE A MINUTE TO REVIEW THE WONDERFUL INTERNS THAT WE HAD HERE THIS SUMMER.
HUMAN RESOURCES HAD A INTERN, SHE REPORTED TO ALEXIS.
HER PRIOR EMPLOYMENT WAS A FRONT DESK ASSOCIATE, UM, AT A BOOKKEEPING PLACE.
HER EDUCATION, SHE CURRENTLY IS OBTAINING A BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN PUBLIC HEALTH FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
BUFORT FINANCE HAD ELLA BARROOM.
HER PRIOR EMPLOYMENT WAS A BARISTA AT ISLAND GIRL COLLECTIONS.
SHE'S CURRENTLY OBTAINING A BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN FINANCE AND MARKETING FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
PRIOR EMPLOYMENT WAS A DOCK HAND AT SHELTER COVE MARINA, AND HE IS CURRENTLY OBTAINING A BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN FINANCE FROM MARIETTA COLLEGE FINANCE HAD SAMUEL THOMPSON.
HE REPORTED TO NATALIE PRIOR EMPLOYMENT WITH SERVER AT BAIT BOX RESTAURANT.
HE IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON HIS BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN FINANCING AND ACCOUNTING FROM CLEMSON UNIVERSITY.
PUBLIC SERVICES HAD A INTERN, HIS NAME WAS PEYTON SHRAVIN.
PRIOR EMPLOYMENT, HE WAS AN INTERN WITH THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON LAST YEAR EDUCATION.
HE WAS GETTING HIS HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA FROM MAY RIVER HIGH SCHOOL, AND HE ENDED UP GOING ONTO LINEMAN SCHOOL IN GEORGIA.
UH, THE POLICE DEPARTMENT HAD ROMAN ORLANDO.
HE WORKED AT PIERCE COMMUNICATION CENTER TUTOR AT COLUMBIA COLLEGE.
HE IS CURRENTLY OBTAINING A BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN CRIMINAL JUSTICE WITH CONCENTRATION AND FORENSIC FROM COLUMBIA COLLEGE.
AND WE HAD SOPHIA GIANI AT THE DRCI REPORTED TO PAUL.
HER PRIOR EMPLOYMENT WAS STUDENT EMPLOYEE IN
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THE CAMPUS RECREATION DEPARTMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA BEAUFORT.AND SHE IS CURRENTLY WORKING ON OBTAINING A BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATION FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
SHE'S A REPEAT INTERN FROM LAST SUMMER, AND SHE IS CURRENTLY OBTAINING HER BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN POLITICAL SCIENCE FROM ANDERSON UNIVERSITY.
AND LINDY WAS UNABLE TO MAKE THE MEETING TONIGHT.
SO I AM HERE TO INTRODUCE TWO NEW EMPLOYEES IN THE EVENTS AND VENUES DEPARTMENT.
SHE IS A PART-TIME GARVIN GARVEY HOUSE DOCENT.
HER PRIOR EMPLOYMENT IS A RETAIL ASSOCIATE AT BURT CHURCH DISTILLERY.
HER EDUCATION, BACHELOR OF SCIENCE AND HEALTH INFORMATION MANAGEMENT FROM AUGUSTA STATE UNIVERSITY.
AND TO MY LEFT HERE WE HAVE LYDIA DAVIS.
SHE IS IN THE EVENTS AND VENUES DEPARTMENT.
HER PRIOR EMPLOYMENT IS MANAGER OF MEETINGS AND CONFERENCES AT NATIONAL COUNCIL OF UNIVERSITY RESEARCH ADMINISTRATORS.
AND SHE COMES TO US WITH A BACHELOR OF SCIENCE IN HOSPITALITY MANAGEMENT FROM THE OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY.
I'M RYAN COLEMAN, GIS MANAGER.
UM, HE'S, HE COMES FROM, UH, MARYLAND.
HE STARTED HERE IN MARCH, UM, WHERE HE WORKED AT CHESAPEAKE BAY TRUST AS A RESEARCH FELLOW.
HE ALSO DID AN INTERNSHIP AT NASA AS A RESEARCHER, ASSESSING WILDFIRE RISK IN CALIFORNIA.
HE'S PASSIONATE ABOUT THE ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABILITY, AND IS HELPING US WORK ON, UH, IMPERVIOUS SERVICES, MAPS, AND OUR E 9 1 1 ADDRESSING SYSTEM.
SO WE'RE VERY HAPPY TO HAVE 'EM.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
UM, TWO PEOPLE THAT AREN'T PRESENT HERE TONIGHT.
WE HAVE TWO RECRUITS UP AT THE ACADEMY.
UH, ONE IS MR. OSA AND THE OTHER ONE IS MR. KAMER.
MR. KAMER IS A GRADUATE FROM MAY RIVER HIGH SCHOOL.
UM, HE WENT DOWN TO, UM, SO, UH, GEORGIA SOUTHERN, UH, OBTAINED HIS DEGREE AND HE CAME BACK AND HE'S, UH, GONNA BE WORKING FOR US.
SO WE'RE EXCITED TO HAVE SOME OF OUR LOCAL KIDS COME BACK AND WORK FOR OUR LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCY.
UH, HERE TONIGHT IS MR. GORDON HINKEY.
UM, HE IS OUR NEWEST SCHOOL CROSSING GUARD.
HE REPORTS TO SERGEANT CECIL LANCASTER.
AND HE PREVIOUSLY WAS A MARKETING MERCHANDISER WITH SHELL MOBILITY AND CONVENIENCE FOR 10 YEARS.
WE HAVE ALEJANDRO SANDOVAL PROMOTED FROM RECRUIT TO POLICE OFFICER IN FEBRUARY, AND HE IS NOW THE SCHOOL RESOURCE OFFICER FOR RED CEDAR ELEMENTARY SCHOOL.
WE HAVE OFFICER WILLIAM CARTER PROMOTED FROM POLICE RECRUIT TO POLICE OFFICER IN FEBRUARY, AND HE IS THE SRO FOR BLUFFTON MIDDLE SCHOOL.
WE HAVE DETECTIVE KATE KOOR, UH, WHO WAS PROMOTED FROM POLICE DETECTIVE AND ALSO VICTIM'S ADVOCATE TO POLICE CORPORAL, UH, ALSO STILL UNDER INVESTIGATIONS AND VICTIM'S ADVOCACY.
UH, AND WE HAVE, UH, SARAH PARTRIDGE, WHO WAS PROMOTED FROM POLICE CORPORAL TO POLICE SERGEANT, EFFECTIVE JUNE OF 2025.
THAT IT? OKAY, UP NEXT WE HAVE TOWN OF BLUFFTON TAX INCREMENT FINANCING DISTRICT UPDATE.
MS. RANDY HEISER, SENIOR PARTNER WITH BURN FURMAN, MR. MAYOR, MEMBERS OF COUNCIL.
I KNOW A NUMBER OF US HAVE BEEN AROUND A WHILE AND HAVE WORKED WITH THE TIFF FOR, UH, FOR A LONG TIME THIS EVENING.
I'D LIKE TO GIVE A LITTLE BIT OF HISTORY AND SORT OF BRING US UP TO DATE.
AND THEN I'M GONNA TURN MY PRESENTATION OVER TO MICHAEL, SEASON ONE OF MY LAW PARTNERS WHO WILL TALK ABOUT, SORT OF IN GENERAL, THAT, THAT, UM, TO THE EXTENT THAT THERE IS GOING TO BE, UM, A CONTINUATION OF YOUR TIF, MAYBE A REIMAGINING OF THE TIF A GOING FORWARD FOR YOUR TIF, THEN THERE WOULD BE CERTAIN, UH, PROCEDURES THAT WE WOULD NEED TO GO THROUGH.
AND MICHAEL'S GONNA TALK TO YOU A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THAT.
UM, Y'ALL MAY KNOW, SOME OF Y'ALL KNOW, UM, ARE AWARE THAT TIF FINANCING BECAME AVAILABLE IN SOUTH CAROLINA AS LONG AGO AS THE MID EIGHTIES.
THE IDEA BEHIND, BEHIND THE TIFF WAS THAT IF YOU IDENTIFIED AN AREA IN A MUNICIPALITY, UM, AT THAT TIME, UH,
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THE WORD WAS BLIGHTED.IF YOU FOUND, UH, AN AREA THAT HAD OLD WAREHOUSES, HAD ABANDONED, UM, UH, TEXTILE MILLS, THINGS THAT HAD BECOME DERELICT AND WERE IN NEED OF SUBSTANTIAL, UM, INVESTMENT FOR, FOR REHABILITATION, THAT UNDER TIFF FINANCING, YOU COULD DEFINE THAT, THAT GEOGRAPHIC AREA.
YOU COULD FREEZE THE ASSESSMENT, YOU COULD IDENTIFY WHAT THE AMOUNT OF, OF VALUE WAS INSIDE THE, UM, INSIDE THAT GEOGRAPHIC AREA AT THE BEGINNING OF THE PROCESS.
AND, UH, AND THEN WITH THAT IDENTIFICATION OF THE ASSESSED VALUE, YOU WOULD IDENTIFY PROJECTS THAT THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT WOULD ENTERTAIN AND WOULD UNDERTAKE IN ORDER TO CAUSE AN INCREASE IN THE VALUE OF THAT GEOGRAPHIC AREA.
THE IDEA THAT PUBLIC INVESTMENT WOULD SUPPORT OR CAUSE PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT.
AND WITH THE PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT, YOU WOULD HAVE AN INCREASE IN THE ASSESSED VALUE AND THE, THE REVENUE AVAILABLE TO THE MUNICIPALITY FROM THE INCREMENT, FROM THE INCREASE FROM THE ORIGINAL LOW ASSESSED VALUE FOR THE, FOR THE BLIGHTED AREA.
AS YOU HAD DEVELOPMENT COME IN, THE AREA WOULD BECOME MORE VALUABLE, THE PROPERTY WOULD BE MORE VALUABLE, SO MORE TAXES WOULD BE PAID.
AND THAT ADDITION IN THE TAXES WAS, IS WHAT WE CALL TIFF REVENUE.
AND WITH THAT TIF REVENUE, THE LOCAL GOVERNMENT COULD EITHER BORROW AND ISSUE BONDS TO BE REPAID WITH THAT TIF REVENUE, OR COULD SPEND THE TIF REVENUE DIRECTLY ON PUBLIC PROJECTS.
SO THE IDEA BEHIND A, A TIF ORIGINALLY WAS THAT BLIGHTED AREAS COULD USE PUBLIC INVESTMENT THAT WOULD CAUSE PRIVATE INVESTMENT, AND THE PRIVATE INVESTMENT WOULD PAY THE COST OF THOSE PUBLIC IMPROVEMENTS.
SO THAT, THAT WAS AROUND CHARLESTON.
SOUTH CAROLINA WAS ONE OF THE FIRST TO USE TO FINANCING AND THE PARKING GARAGE THAT IS ASSOCIATED WITH WHAT USED TO BE THE OMNI HOTEL.
THERE ARE MEETING STREET THAT WAS ONE OF THE VERY FIRST, UM, TIF PROJECTS IN THE STATE.
UM, COLUMBIA CITY OF COLUMBIA WAS NOT FAR BEHIND.
AND, UH, UM, FINDLAY PARK, WHICH HAS NOW JUST BEEN, BEEN, UH, RE REVISED AND REHABILITATED, UH, WAY BACK IN, UM, IN 1988, FINDLAY PARK CAME ON ONLINE, UH, IN THE CITY OF COLUMBIA.
SO THOSE ARE BOTH EXAMPLES OF A PUBLIC INVESTMENT THAT SPURRED PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT AND MADE TIFF DISTRICTS, UH, VERY, VERY, UM, VERY SUCCESSFUL IN, UM, NOW, TIFFS ARE USED ALL OVER THE STATE, INSIDE, UM, MUNICIPALITIES FOR BLIGHTED AREAS.
BUT BLUFFTON AND BLUFFTON IS UNIQUE.
I KNOW THAT THERE IS A WAY OF LIFE THAT IS UNIQUE TO BLUFFTON, AND IN FACT, THE BLUFFTON TAKE ON A A TIFF IS UNIQUE.
THERE IS NO OTHER MUNICIPALITY IN THE STATE THAT, THAT USES OR HAS A TIFF, UM, LIKE THE, LIKE THE, UM, THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON.
NOW, IF YOU GO BACK TO 2004, AND I'VE BEEN WORKING WITH THE TOWN EVEN BEFORE 2004.
IN 2004, YOUR MAYOR WAS HANK JOHNSTON.
AND HE HAD THE IDEA THAT THE, UM, LARGE AMOUNTS OF, UH, UNIMPROVED AGRICULTURAL PROPERTY, THE, THE TIMBER OR THE, UM, THE HUGE TIMBER, UM, ACREAGES THAT WERE BROUGHT INTO THE, TO THE TOWN OF BLUFF.
AND THROUGH PALMETTO BLUFF AND OTHER MAJOR ANNEXATIONS, THOSE PROPERTIES NEEDED PUBLIC INVESTMENT IN ORDER TO SUPPORT PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT, UM, INFRASTRUCTURE, ROADS, INFRA, UH, INFRASTRUCTURE SUCH AS ROADS WERE LACKING THE, UM, THE, UM, UTILITY INFRASTRUCTURE, WATER, SEWER, UH, COMMUNICATION INFRASTRUCTURE.
AND SO MAYOR JOHNSON SAID, WELL, WHY CAN'T WE USE A TIFF? AND IT'S LIKE, WELL, 'CAUSE IT'S NOT BLIGHTED, IT'S UNDEVELOPED.
IT IS, IT HASN'T EVEN STARTED ITS LIFE, UM, IN, IN DEVELOPMENT.
AND SO WE CAME UP WITH A CONCEPT OF AN AGRICULTURAL AREA BEING DEFINED AS AN AREA IN A MUNICIPALITY PREVIOUSLY USED FOR AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES THAT WAS IN NEED OF PUBLIC INVESTMENT TO SUPPORT PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT.
AND IN 2004, WE WERE ABLE TO GET THE, TO HAVE THE TIF STATUTE AMENDED SO THAT FROM THAT POINT FORWARD, THE, UM, A NEW CLASSIFICATION TO QUALIFY FOR A TIF DISTRICT WASN'T JUST BLIGHT ANYMORE.
IT NOW BECAME A LARGE OR BECAME AGRICULTURAL PROPERTY THAT HAD NOT YET BEEN DEVELOPED, THAT WAS IN NEED OF PUBLIC INVESTMENT.
THE OTHER, UM, CHANGE THAT WE WERE ABLE TO MAKE IN THE STATUTE IN 2004 WAS THAT ORIGINALLY TIFF DISTRICTS COULD ONLY BE 5% OF A MUNICIPALITY.
NOW IN THE CITY OF COLUMBIA, WHICH WAS THE LARGEST MUNICIPALITY BEFORE BLUFFTON STARTED GROWING, THE CITY OF COLUMBIA, EXCUSE ME, INCLUDED FORT JACKSON.
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COLUMBIA WAS A HUGE AMOUNT.BUT HERE IN BLUFFTON, AS THE ANNEXATIONS WERE TAKING PLACE, THE IDEA WAS THAT YOU DID NOT WANNA BE LIMITED TO JUST 5% BECAUSE, FOR EXAMPLE, THE WHOLE OF PALMETTO BLUFF AND THE WHOLE OF BUCK WALTER, FOR EXAMPLE, YOU WANTED TO BE ABLE TO INCLUDE THOSE PROPERTIES INSIDE THE TIF DISTRICT.
AND SO, BEGINNING WITH THE AMENDMENTS THAT WERE MADE IN 2004, THE LIMITATION ON THE, THE SIZE OF A TIF DISTRICT COMPARED TO THE BOUNDARIES OF A CITY WERE ELIMINATED.
SO THAT GAVE BLUFF IN THE GREEN LIGHT TO CREATE A TIF DISTRICT THAT, UM, THAT RELIED ON AGRICULTURAL PROPERTY IN NEED OF PUBLIC INVESTMENT, TOGETHER WITH, UM, WITH THE, UH, THE FACT THAT YOU COULD HAVE MORE THAN 5% OF THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON IN, IN THE TIFF DISTRICT.
SO WHEN YOUR TIFF DISTRICT WAS ORIGINALLY CREATED AND ESTABLISHED IN 2004, THE FIRST DEBT WAS ISSUED IN 2005.
THAT THAT INITIAL ASSESSED VALUE THAT IS THE FOUNDATION OF EVERY TIFF WAS $16 MILLION.
IN, UM, 2022, WHEN WE MOST RECENTLY ISSUED, UM, DEBT TO BE REPAID FROM TIFF REVENUE THAT ASSESSED VALUE WAS $180 MILLION.
A HUGELY SUCCESSFUL TIFF IN TERMS OF THE INCREASE IN ASSESSED VALUE.
NOW, ANOTHER U UNIQUE THING ABOUT THE THE BLUFF AND TIFF WAS THAT WHEN IT WAS, WHEN IT WAS IMAGINED ORIGINALLY IN 2004, THERE WAS HOPE THAT THE COUNTY WOULD PARTICIPATE AND THAT THE SCHOOL DISTRICT WOULD PARTICIPATE.
SO THERE'D BE THREE PUBLIC ENTITIES GETTING BENEFITS FROM, FROM THE TIF.
WELL, AT THAT TIME, THE COUNTY WAS WORKING ON THEIR OWN TIF FOR ROADWAYS.
AND SO THEY CHOSE TO NOT PARTICIPATE, AND THE SCHOOL DISTRICT CHOSE TO NOT PARTICIPATE IN OTHER JURISDICTIONS.
SOMETIMES YOU'RE ABLE TO, UM, NEGOTIATE WITH OTHER TAXING DISTRICTS.
SO A A SCHOOL DISTRICT MIGHT SAY, WELL, WE'LL PARTICIPATE TO A VERY LOW LEVEL, OR A COUNTY MIGHT SAY, WE'LL PARTICIPATE AT THIS LEVEL, BUT FOR BLUFFTON, BLUFFTON ENDED UP WITH A TIF THAT ONLY IS THE TOWN'S REVENUE.
AND YOU MIGHT THINK, WELL, THAT'S REALLY NOT, NOT GOOD.
BUT IT ENDED UP ACTUALLY BEING A REAL BOON, A REAL ADVANTAGE FOR THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON FOR Y'ALL, BECAUSE YOU ONLY REALLY ANSWER TO THE TOWN COUNCIL.
YOU DO NOT HAVE TO NEGOTIATE WITH OR BRING ALONG OTHER PUBLIC, OTHER PUBLIC ENTITIES.
ALSO, BECAUSE YOUR TIFF IS SO LARGE, YOU ONLY FOCUS ON 50% OF THAT REVENUE AS TRULY TIF REVENUE.
AND AND 50% OF THAT REVENUE GOES INTO YOUR GENERAL FUND.
SO Y'ALL HAVE BEEN ABLE TO, UM, TO HAVE MANY DIFFERENT PROJECTS, UM, UH, CO UH, COMPLETED AS WE'RE USING BOTH BOND REVENUE OR BOND PROCEEDS AND DIRECT REVENUE, UM, WITHOUT HAVING TO USE YOUR GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDED INDEBTEDNESS.
NOW, VERY BRIEFLY, GENERAL OBLIGATION BONDS, UM, CAUSE MILLAGE TO INCREASE BECAUSE YOU PUT MILLAGE ON TO PAY THAT DEBT.
AND THE, THE TIFF YOU'VE BEEN ABLE TO, TO, UM, TO BENEFIT FROM ALL OF YOUR PROJECT.
AND YOU HAVE NEVER HAD TO RAISE MILLAGE IN ORDER TO HAVE ONE OF THOSE PROJECTS COMPLETED.
SO, UM, THOSE ARE SOME THINGS ABOUT THE, THE BLUFF AND TIFF THAT I THINK ARE, UM, REALLY SUPERLATIVE.
THEY ARE, UM, THEY'VE, IT'S WORKED SO WELL FOR, FOR BLUFF AND OVER THE YEARS.
UM, I DON'T KNOW FOR SURE, BUT I HAVE A SMALL FEELING THAT, UM, THE FACT THAT Y'ALL HAVE HAD SO MANY PUBLIC PROJECTS WITHOUT HAVING, HAVING TO RAISE MILLAGE MAY HAVE PLAYED A VERY SMALL ROLE IN YOUR, UM, YOUR RATINGS UPGRADE TO AAA, WHICH IS ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT THINGS FINANCIALLY FOR THE TOWN THAT Y'ALL HAVE BEEN ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH.
SO, UM, MY UPDATE FOR ON YOUR TIFF IS THAT IT HAS BEEN HUGELY SUCCESSFUL.
UM, IT HAS ROLLED OUT OVER ALL THESE MANY YEARS REALLY WITHOUT A HITCH OR A HICCUP.
AND THAT TO THE EXTENT Y'ALL ARE INTERESTED IN CONTINUING TO USE THAT VEHICLE AS A METHOD FOR, UM, COMPLETING PUBLIC PROJECTS THAT HELP BUILD PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT, Y'ALL ARE IN AN EXCELLENT POSITION TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THAT GOING FORWARD.
AND I'D BE GLAD TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS.
I KNOW SOME OF Y'ALL HAVE, YOU KNOW, HEARD THIS BEFORE, BUT, BUT WE JUST WANTED TO, TO BE ABLE TO, UM, REALLY, UH, PRAISE Y'ALL AND, UM, THANK Y'ALL FOR LETTING ME BE, BE PART OF THIS HISTORY 'CAUSE WE'VE BEEN THERE, UH, THROUGH EVERY STEP OF IT.
AND I'M REALLY VERY PROUD TO, TO, UH, TO BE ABLE TO SAY THAT Y'ALL HAVE ACCOMPLISHED A WHOLE, WHOLE LOT.
ANY QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL MS. SPRING? JUST WANNA THANK YOU.
UM, IT WAS EXCELLENT HISTORICAL PRESENTATION ON THE TIFF.
UM, WHEN YOU FIRST COME INTO OFFICE,
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YOU DON'T USUALLY GET THAT CONTEXT AS, AS THE HISTORY ROLLS OUT.AND SO I'VE BEEN HERE 11 YEARS AND IT WAS EXCELLENT TO HEAR YOUR VERSION OF IT, SO I'M GRATEFUL FOR THAT.
I MIGHT ASK MICHAEL CAESAR TO COME UP AND MICHAEL WILL SORT OF PAINT THE PICTURE ABOUT WHAT THE FUTURE MIGHT HOLD TO THE EXTENT THAT Y'ALL WANNA CONTINUE TO BE, UM, UH, USING TO CONTINUE TO USE YOUR TIFF FOR, UM, FOR YOUR PROJECT.
I AM, UH, AS FRANNY MENTIONED LAW PARTNER.
I'VE WORKED WITH FRANNY FOR 28 YEARS.
UM, SO I'M, I'VE, I'VE STARTED GROWING MY BEARD OUT, UM, IN THE SUMMER AND I'M NOW GETTING SORT OF THE GRAY HAIR, UM, TO, TO, TO SHOW FOR ALL OF THAT.
UM, WHAT I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT, UH, REAL QUICK IS MORE LIKE PROCEDURAL, UH, THINGS.
UH, IN ORDER TO ESTABLISH A TIFF DISTRICT, LIKE FRANNY MENTIONED, YOU HAVE TO, UH, GO THROUGH CERTAIN STEPS UNDER THE, UNDER THE TIFF LAW.
THE FIRST IS TO PRODUCE WHAT'S CALLED A REDEVELOPMENT PLAN.
IT'S, UH, A GENERAL PLAN THAT DESCRIBES THE AREAS THAT ARE GONNA BE PUT INTO THE TIF DISTRICT.
IT DESCRIBES THE CONDITIONS, THE, THE FINDINGS, THE, THE FACTORS THAT WOULD, UH, DEMONSTRATE ELIGIBILITY, WHETHER IT'S AS A BLIGHTED AREA OR A CONSERVATION AREA OR AN AGRICULTURAL AREA.
IT DESCRIBES THE PROPOSED PROJECTS THAT WOULD BE UNDERTAKEN EITHER THROUGH BORROWING OR THROUGH, UH, THE, JUST THE INCREMENTAL TAX REVENUES AND PROVIDE SOME ESTIMATES AS FAR AS WHAT THE, WHAT THE PROJECT COST WOULD BE.
UH, IT'S, IT IS REALLY A BLUEPRINT.
THIS DOCUMENT WAS PRODUCED, WAS ADOPTED BACK IN, UH, 2005.
UH, IT HAS BEEN AMENDED FOUR TIMES, UM, TO BOTH ADD ADDITIONAL PROJECTS AS WELL AS TO ADD TO, TO CHANGE THE BOUNDARIES OF THE TIF TO, TO ADD PROJECT, UM, UH, PROPERTY WITHIN THE TIF DISTRICT.
UM, IT WAS LAST AMENDED IN 2022.
AND AS FRANNIE MENTIONED, TO THE EXTENT THAT COUNCIL CHOSE TO UNDERTAKE PERHAPS ADDITIONAL PROJECTS, PERHAPS, UH, CHANGING THE BOUNDARIES OF THE DISTRICT, UM, IT WOULD GO THROUGH A SIMILAR PROCESS.
SO, UNDER SOUTH CAROLINA LAW, THE, OBVIOUSLY THE PLAN WOULD HAVE TO BE UPDATED.
UM, IN ORDER TO DESCRIBE THE NEW AREAS, FOR EXAMPLE, OR THE NEW PROJECTS THAT MIGHT BE UNDERTAKEN, UH, THERE WOULD BE, UH, IT, IT IS ADOPTED BY ORDINANCE.
SO TWO READINGS BY THIS TOWN COUNCIL.
THERE WOULD BE A PUBLIC HEARING, UH, TO ALLOW INTERESTED PARTIES TO, TO COME AND MAKE COMMENTS AND, AND OFFER, UH, THEIR VIEWS.
UH, THE, THE, THAT PUBLIC HEARING WOULD HAPPEN 15 TO 30 DAYS AFTER A NOTICE IS PUBLISHED IN THE NEWSPAPER.
AND IT, AND THE NOTICE WOULD TALK ABOUT THE, THE TIFF AREA, MAYBE WHAT THE CHANGES ARE THAT ARE BEING UNDERTAKEN.
UM, AND OF COURSE, AFTER THE, THE, THE DISTRICT IS, IS AMENDED, THEN TOWN COUNCIL WOULD BE, UH, ASKED ON A SEPARATE OCCASION, MAYBE AT THE SAME MEETINGS, MAYBE LATER TO AUTHORIZE A, A BORROWING.
SO YOU WOULD HAVE WHAT'S CALLED A BOND ORDINANCE.
AND IT WOULD, UH, DELEGATE THE AUTHORITY TO, UH, TOWN OFFICIALS IN ORDER TO, UM, PUT TOGETHER A, A, A, A METHOD OF SALE, EITHER AS A, A PRIVATE PLACEMENT WITH A BANK.
THE LAST FOUR TIF BONDS HAVE ALL BEEN PRIVATE PLACEMENTS WITH, UM, WITH EITHER LOCAL BANKS OR WITH, WITH A NATIONAL BANK.
UM, A LITTLE BIT ABOUT SECURITY.
FREDDY DID A GOOD JOB TALKING ABOUT THE SECURITY FOR THE EXISTING BONDS, WHICH ARE A PORTION OF THE TAX REVENUES, THE PORTION OF THE INCREMENTAL TAX REVENUES, UH, IN THE, UH, FIRST FEW SERIES OF BONDS.
THOSE WERE ALSO SECURED BY ASSESSMENTS THAT WERE, THAT WERE GENERATED FROM MUNICIPAL IMPROVEMENT DISTRICTS.
THE, IN 2022, THOSE BONDS, BECAUSE OF THE SUCCESS OF THE TIF DISTRICT, THOSE BONDS WERE SECURED ONLY BY THE INCREMENTAL TAX REVENUES.
THERE WAS NO, UH, NEED TO, TO ALSO ADDITIONALLY SECURE THEM WITH ASSESSMENTS.
SO I WOULD EXPECT THAT IF TOWN COUNCIL WERE TO APPROVE A BOND ISSUE, UH, AGAIN, THAT OR AUTHORIZE A BOND ISSUE, THAT THESE BONDS TOO WOULD BE SECURED SOLELY BY INCREMENTAL TAX REVENUES AND NOT BY ASSESSMENTS.
UM, THAT'S REALLY THE END OF MY PREPARED REMARKS.
I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS IF, IF Y'ALL MIGHT HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FROM COUNSEL.
I THINK ALL OF US HAVE BEEN ON THROUGH ALL THIS SO MANY TIMES WE'RE FAMILIAR WITH IT, BUT GREAT, GREAT JOB.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH EXPLAINING THE WAY IT WORKS.
[V. ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES ]
ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES.ARE THERE ANY CHANGES TO THE REGULAR MINUTES OF AUGUST 11TH 26? I MOVE TO SECOND MINUTES.
NEXT, AN AMENDMENT TO THE REGULAR TOWN COUNCIL MEETING.
WHAT IS THAT ABOUT? MARSHA CAN GIVE SOME CLARIFICATION OF THAT.
SHE'S HAVING TO CORRECT A VOTE THAT WAS RECORDED.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNSEL.
ON FEBRUARY 11TH, 2025, THERE WAS A REQUEST MADE TO PULL CONSENT.
AGENDA ITEM NUMBER THREE FROM, FROM THE AGENDA FOR FURTHER DISCUSSION.
AFTER APPROVING THE AGENDA ITEMS ONE, TWO, AND FOUR, THE DISCUSSION
[00:30:01]
HAPPENED ABOUT, UH, THE MOTION, MOTION NUMBER THIRD, I'M SORRY, CONSENT AGENDA ITEM NUMBER THREE.AND IT WAS IN REGARD TO AN EASEMENT DONATION FOR PUBLIC SAFETY CAMERAS.
PHASE SIX A FIFTH MOTION WAS THEN TAKEN AND IT APPROVED WITH APPROVED UNANIMOUSLY.
THIRD, THE MOTION FOR THE THIRD, THIRD AGENDA ITEM, UM, FOR THE FINAL TIME.
SO WE NEED TO CAPTURE THAT ON RECORD.
SO DO WE NEED TO VOTE ON THAT? HAVE A MOTION AND YES.
SO WOULD SOMEBODY LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION TO CLARIFY DAN'S CONFUSION? AYE.
MAYOR, I'LL MAKE THE MOTION ON ITEM TWO UNDER ADOPTION OF THE MINUTES, REGULAR TOWN COUNCIL MEETING.
MINUTES OF FEBRUARY 11TH, 2025.
[VI. PUBLIC COMMENT ]
COMMENT.FIRST, DURING PUBLIC COMMENT, EACH SPEAKER IS LIMITED TO A TOTAL OF THREE MINUTES PER MEETING, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER THE PERSON IS SPEAKING ON THEIR OWN BEHALF OR AS AN AGENT FOR OTHERS, MEETING ATTENDEES MAY NOT DONATE, TRANSFER, YIELD, OR GIVE ALL OR ANY PORTION OF THEIR SPEAKING TIME TO ANOTHER PERSON.
ALL PUBLIC COMMENTS ARE TO BE CONDUCTED FROM THE PODIUM AND DIRECTED TO THE TOWN COUNCIL AS A WHOLE AND NOT TO ANY MEMBER THEREOF.
ALL SPEAKERS SHALL BE MINDFUL AND RESPECTFUL OF THOSE PARTICIPATING IN OR PRESENT AT THE MEETING.
SPEAKERS SHALL BE EXPECTED TO BE CIVIL IN THEIR LANGUAGE AND SHALL REFRAIN FROM COMMENT OR BEHAVIOR THAT INVOLVES DISORDERLY SPEECH OR ACTION, NAME CALLING, PERSONAL ATTACKS, THREATS, OBSCENE OR INDECENT REMARKS AND OR DISRUPTIVE ACTIONS.
ALL SPEAKERS SHALL CONFINE THEIR COMMENTS TO ISSUES UNDER THE JURISDICTION OF THE TOWN COUNCIL.
SPEAKERS SHALL NOT USE THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD TO PROMOTE OR ADVERTISE AWARDS, BUSINESSES, SERVICES, GOODS, OR CANDIDATES FOR PUBLIC OFFICE.
ANY SPEAKER THAT VIOLATES THESE RULES AND PROTOCOLS FOR PUBLIC COMMENT MAY BE RULED OUT OF ORDER BY THE PRESIDING OFFICER.
ANY PERSON WHOSE COMMENTS HAVE BEEN RULED OUT OF ORDER SHALL IMMEDIATELY CEASE AND DESIST FROM FURTHER IMPROPER COMMENTS.
THE REFUSAL OF AN INDIVIDUAL TO DESIST FROM FURTHER IMPROPER COMMENTS MAY SUBJECT THE INDIVIDUAL TO REMOVAL FROM THE MEETING AND OR A CITATION UNDER SECTION TWO DASH FOUR NINE OF THE TOWN CODE.
UM, UP FIRST WE HAVE MR. RICKY FRAZIER.
HELLO, MR. MAYOR AND DISTINGUISHED MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL.
I'M AN OWNER AND RESIDENT IN THE PINE CREST COMMUNITY, AND I'M ADDRESSING YOU TODAY ON BEHALF OF OUR COMMUNITY.
I'M, UH, WE'RE HERE TODAY TO CONTINUE TO REMIND YOU OF OUR OPPOSITION TO ANY PROPOSALS FOR DEVELOPMENT ON THE PINECREST GOLF CLUB PROPERTY.
PINE CREST IS NOT A GOLF COURSE COMMUNITY.
RATHER, IT IS A RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITY THAT WAS DEVELOPED ON PRIVATE PROPERTY AROUND A GOLF COURSE.
AS YOU ARE PROBABLY AWARE, UNFORTUNATELY, THE GOLF COURSE WAS CLOSED THIS PAST DECEMBER.
OBVIOUSLY, THAT ACTION WAS PROMPTED BY A NUMBER OF VARIABLE VARIABLES, NOT THE LEAST OF WHICH BEING A LACK OF PROFITABILITY.
AS WITH ANY BUSINESS VENTURE, THE ELEMENT OF RISK EXISTS.
WE, AS HOMEOWNERS, DO NOT BELIEVE THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON SHOULD CONSIDER ANY PROPOSAL THAT WOULD IN EFFECT BAIL OUT THE MANAGEMENT OF ONE CORPORATION'S FAILED VENTURE AT THE EXPENSE OF APPROXIMATELY 850, HOMEOWNERS, RESIDENTS, AND VOTERS BY APPROVING ANY REQUEST TO DEVELOP ANYTHING OTHER THAN WHAT THE PROPERTY WAS ORIGINALLY INTENDED TO BE.
FURTHER, SUCH A PROPOSAL WERE TO BE APPROVED 18 UNATTENDED GOLF, UH, UNATTENDED GOLF HOLES WOULD REMAIN TO INVARIABLY SUFFER THE SAME UNSIGHTLY WEED INFESTED FATE AS THE TRADITIONS IMPACTING MUCH MORE THAN JUST THE VIEWS OF THE MANY HOMEOWNERS WITH PROPERTIES ADJACENT TO THE COURSE.
RECENTLY, REPRESENTATIVES OF TOPPER GOLF WORLD, THE OWNERS MET WITH BOARD MEMBERS OF OUR POA TO DISCUSS THEIR PLANS AS A RESULT OF THAT MEETING.
FIRST, TGW REMAINS INSISTENT ON DEVELOPING THE ENTIRE DRIVING RANGE AND WOODED AREA ALONG MCCRACKEN.
TGW IS CURRENTLY DOING MINIMAL MAINTENANCE NOW ON THE COURSE, BUT THEY CLAIM THAT'S TO BE SHORT
[00:35:01]
TERM TO THE BEST OF OUR KNOWLEDGE, TGW HAS NOT PUT THE GOLF COURSE ON THE MARKET, AND THEY STATED THAT THEY'RE WILLING TO WAIT FOR THE TOWN COUNCIL TO APPROVE THE DEVELOPMENT AND LET THE REST OF THE COURSE TURN INTO THE TRADITIONS.ASIDE FROM AESTHETICS, THE COMMUNITY'S MANY CONCERNS ARE ADDITIONAL TRAFFIC, SAFETY AND SECURITY.
ADDITIONALLY, LEAVING THE REST OF THE GOLF COURSE UNATTENDED WOULD UNDOUBTEDLY RESULT IN NEGATIVE EFFECTS ON PROPERTY VALUES OF EVERY HOME IN PINECREST, WHETHER THEY'RE ON THE THE COURSE OR NOT.
WE RESPECTFULLY REQUEST THAT YOU CONTINUE TO SUPPORT OUR POSITION THAT NO DEVELOPMENT OF ANY KIND OCCURS ANYWHERE ON THE GOLF COURSE.
THAT'S MY BELL, EXCEPT HAVE ONE MORE SENTENCE.
SAID, YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE TONIGHT.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME AND YOUR CONSIDERATION.
[VII. COMMUNICATIONS FROM MAYOR AND COUNCIL ]
COMMUNICATIONS FROM US.I'VE NEVER KNOWN DAN TO BE SPEECHLESS, MR. I MEAN, IF DAN'S NOT TALKING, I DON'T FEEL LIKE I CAN SAY ANYTHING.
AND, AND HOW ABOUT REVEREND HAMILTON? I'M GOING TO GIVE DAN TIME TO YOU.
WELL, I CAN ONLY SAY THAT I'M THANKFUL THAT THE LAST COUPLE OF DAYS IN THE MORNINGS HELPED A LITTLE BIT BETTER THAN THE LAST THREE MONTHS.
THE WIND OUT IN NORTHEAST MAKES ME FEEL BETTER BECAUSE I HAVE BEEN AS LAZY AS I EVER HAVE IN MY LIFE ALL SUMMER.
IT'S JUST BEEN TOO HOT FOR ME.
AND I DON'T KNOW IF IT'S HOT OR IF IT'S JUST ME GETTING OLDER, BUT I HAVEN'T BEEN PRODUCTIVE, SO I WELCOME FALL.
[VIII. WORKSHOP AGENDA ITEMS]
WE'LL GET ON TO BUSINESS WORKSHOP ITEM AGENDA, AGENDA ITEMS, DISCUSSION OF POTENTIAL UNIFIED DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE AMENDMENTS RELATED TO CERTAIN STANDARDS AND BUILDING TYPES IN OLD TOWN.LEFT IN HISTORIC DISTRICT, DISTRICT SECTION 5.15.
AND RESIDENTIAL USES IN THE LIGHT INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT.
UH, GOOD EVENING, MAYOR COUNCIL, UH, WE ARE HERE FOR A WORKSHOP.
UM, SO, UH, JUST A KIND OF QUICK OVERVIEW FOR, UM, SOMETIMES WE NEED, UH, TEXT AMENDMENTS TO OUR UDO.
UH, SOMETIMES, UH, WE HAVE ITEMS THAT, THAT COME UP, UM, THAT NEED TO BE ADDRESSED.
UM, SOMETIMES IT'S, UH, UNINTENDED CONSEQUENCES OR OUTCOMES, UH, UNCLEAR OR VAGUE LANGUAGE OR MISSING OR NEEDED REGULATIONS.
SO THE ITEMS I'M GONNA TALK ABOUT THIS EVENING, UM, FOCUS ON DEALING, UH, SPECIFICALLY IN THE HISTORIC DISTRICT ABOUT WINDOWS.
AND I'M GONNA GO INTO GREATER DETAIL ON ALL OF THESE.
SO I'M JUST HITTING THE HIGHLIGHTS, UH, WINDOWS, UH, SOME FENCES AND THE, UM, MINIMUM TRANSPARENCY REQUIREMENTS, UH, CARRIAGE HOUSES AND HOW WHEN THEY'RE ATTACHED TO, UH, THE, THE, UH, PRINCIPAL STRUCTURE, UM, HOW THE APPEARANCE OF THEM ARE, UM, DEALING WITH ADDITIONAL BUILDING TYPES IN OUR HISTOR DISTRICT.
'CAUSE IT'S A FORM-BASED CODE.
AND THEN TALKING ABOUT RESIDENTIAL USES IN THE LIGHT INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT.
SO, UH, FIRST OFF, I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT WINDOWS.
CURRENTLY IN OUR CODE, WE HAVE, UM, A A WE TALK ABOUT THE TYPES OF WINDOWS THAT ARE ALLOWED, AND IT STATES THAT IT'S ENCOURAGED.
SO WHAT THAT MEANS IS THAT IT'S SUGGESTED AND NOT NECESSARILY REQUIRED.
UM, SO WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TO DO IS CHANGE SOME OF THE, UH, RULES SO THAT WAY IT'S REQUIRED.
AND I HAVE SOME PICTURES HERE.
UM, SO THE FIRST IMAGE IS A HISTORIC WINDOW.
SO YOU CAN SEE THE TRUE DIVIDED LIGHT.
UM, THAT'S WHERE IT'S EACH INDIVIDUAL WINDOW PANE.
IT'S CALLED LIKE A SIX OVER SIX RIGHT THERE.
UH, SO THERE'S SIX DIFFERENT WINDOW PANES IN EACH ONE OF THOSE.
SO A TOTAL OF 12 DIFFERENT WINDOW PANES.
UM, SO THAT'S TYPICALLY WHAT, WHAT YOU'LL SEE IN HISTORIC STRUCTURES.
UM, SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT'S, UH, CLASSIFIED.
UH, AND THEN THE SIMULATED DIVIDED LIGHTS.
SO THAT'S MAINLY FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION.
WHAT YOU'LL SEE, AND YOU CAN NOTICE THAT THERE, THERE IS A, THERE'S A, IT MIGHT BE A SINGLE WINDOW, UM, AND I CAN GET THE CURSOR HERE.
UM, BUT YOU CAN STILL SEE THAT THERE'S A VARIATION IN THOSE WINDOWS.
UM, AND IT KIND OF LIKE PROTRUDES OUT A LITTLE BIT, UH, VERSUS THE MUTTON VERSION, WHICH IS THE, UM, WHERE IT'S LIKE IN BETWEEN THE GLASS.
AND WHAT WE'RE SEEING, UM, IS THAT THIS, UM, THIS TYPE OF GLASS IS BEING USED.
UH, IT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'RE INTERESTED IN, UH, CHANGING.
SO THAT WAY, UM, WE HAVE THAT WE KIND OF STICK WITH THAT SIMULATED DIVIDED LIGHT SPECIFICALLY, UH, FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION, OBVIOUSLY.
UM, IN A, IF IT'S A, UH, A CONTRIBUTING RESOURCE, UM, AND IT
[00:40:01]
HAS THE SIMULATED DIVIDED LIGHT, OBVIOUSLY WE'D WORK WITH THEM TO CONTINUE TO DO THAT.OR IF IT WAS THE TRUE DIVIDED LIGHT, WE WOULD LOOK TO, TO HAVE THEM.
BUT WHAT WE'RE LOOKING TO DO IS REMOVE, UH, REMOVE BOTH THAT MUTTON AND THEN MAKING SURE THAT WE'RE REQUIRING THAT SIMULATED DIVIDED.
AND IF YOU DON'T MIND, I'D LIKE TO GO THROUGH ALL THESE ITEMS AND THEN WE CAN GO BACK TO EACH ONE OF THEM.
UM, AND, AND GO AND GO FROM THERE.
SO, UH, THE NEXT ITEM THAT WE HAVE IS DEALING WITH, UH, FENCES.
UM, THE WAY OUR ORDINANCE READS, IT SAYS, FENCES, GARDEN WALLS AND HEDGES, UH, SHALL HAVE A MINIMUM 25%, UM, OPACITY.
UM, AND THERE'S BEEN SOME CONFUSION IN THERE.
SO WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DO IS, IN ESSENCE, WE JUST WANNA CREATE AN PUT AN IMAGE INTO THE UDO TO SHOW, LIKE, THIS IS WHAT WE MEAN WHEN WE TALK ABOUT 25% OPACITY OF HIGHLIGHTED THE, THE IMAGE HERE, UH, IN GREEN TO SHOW, GIVE YOU AN EXAMPLE.
UM, SO THERE'S JUST A LITTLE BIT OF CONFUSION THERE, UM, AS TO WHAT THAT MEANT.
SO WE'RE LOOKING TO ADD THAT, UH, VISUAL INTO THE ORDINANCE SO PEOPLE HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF THAT.
UH, THE NEXT ONE IS DEALING WITH CARRIAGE HOUSE.
UM, SO WHAT WE'RE STARTING TO SEE IS THAT A LOT OF THE, UM, I SAY A LOT PROJECTS ARE STARTING TO COME IN, UH, WHERE INDIVIDUALS ARE ATTACHING, UH, CARRIAGE HOUSES TO THE PRINCIPAL STRUCTURE.
UH, IN THE HISTORIC DISTRICT, WE LIKE TO HAVE A HIERARCHY WHERE THERE'S, YOU HAVE YOUR PRINCIPAL STRUCTURE, AND THEN YOUR CARRIAGE HOUSE IS SECONDARY.
AND THAT SECONDARY IS MEANT TO BE, IT'S TRULY SECONDARY.
UH, THE IMAGE HERE, YOU CAN SEE, UM, A TYPICAL SUBURBAN BONUS ROOM, UM, YOU KNOW, WOULD BE ATTACHED.
IT WOULD BE A SINGLE WALL, SINGLE PLANE, SINGLE ROOF LINE, UH, GOING ACROSS THE TOP.
UH, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO PREVENT.
UH, WE'RE STARTING TO SEE SOME PROJECTS, AND I'VE GOT AN IMAGE HERE IN A SECOND, UH, WHERE THAT'S STARTING TO HAPPEN.
AND WHAT OUR GOAL IS TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN GET SOME LANGUAGE INTO THE ORDINANCE, UH, TO MAKE SURE THAT IF A PROJECT IS, UM, UM, IS, IS COMING THROUGH, THAT THERE IS A TRULY DISTINCT, UM, DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THAT PRINCIPLE STRUCTURE AND THAT CARRIAGE HOUSE.
UH, HERE'S AN IMAGE TO KIND OF SHOW YOU, UH, LIKE A CUT THROUGH OF A HOUSE WHERE, UH, IT'S REALLY DIFFICULT TO TELL WHERE THE PRINCIPLE STRUCTURE, UM, ENDS AND THEN THAT CARRIAGE HOUSE BEGINS.
UH, SO WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN, UH, CRAFT SOME LANGUAGE TO MAKE SURE THAT THERE IS, UH, DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN THE TWO OF THEM.
UH, NEXT UP WE TALK ABOUT, UH, ADDITIONAL BUILDING TYPES.
SO ONE OF THE CONCERNS THAT WE'RE STARTING TO SEE IS THAT INDIVIDUALS ARE COMING IN AND AUTOMATICALLY GOING TO OUR ADDITIONAL BUILDING TYPE.
UM, SO WHAT WE'D LIKE TO DO IS, UM, LOOK TO PUT SOME, UM, LANGUAGE AND RESTRICTIONS TOGETHER.
UH, I'VE PROVIDED AN EXAMPLE OF, UH, THE MEDIUM HOUSE TYPE, AND I'VE LISTED ALL OF THEM ON THE SIDE JUST TO KIND OF GIVE YOU AN IDEA.
I'M, I'M OBVIOUSLY NOT GOING THROUGH EACH ONE OF THESE, BUT, UH, YOU CAN SEE THAT THERE'S CHARACTERISTICS.
SO YOU HAVE LIKE A GENERAL, UH, IN THE SENSE OF LIKE, IS THIS RESIDENTIAL, IS IT A RESIDENTIAL DETACHED ATTACHED, OR IS IT A COMMERCIAL USE? UH, IT GIVES YOU A FOOTPRINT, IT GIVES YOU A SIZE RANGE.
IT GIVES YOU CHARACTERISTICS, IT GIVES YOU A HEIGHT.
UH, IT GIVES YOU SOME IMAGES AS TO WHAT, WHAT THIS BUILDING TYPE LOOKS LIKE.
NOW, FOR THE ADDITIONAL BUILDING TYPE, THIS LANGUAGE IS THE ONLY LANGUAGE THAT WE HAVE, UM, WHEN WE'RE REFERRING TO ADDITIONAL BUILDING TYPES.
SO IT'S VERY DIFFICULT FOR OUR, UM, HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION AS WELL AS STAFF MEMBERS.
UH, WHEN SOMEONE COMES WITH AN IN WITH AN ADDITIONAL BUILDING TYPE, THERE'S REALLY NO REGULATIONS FOR US TO, TO KIND OF CLASSIFY WHAT DOES THAT MEAN? SO WHAT WE'D LIKE TO DO IS BE ABLE TO WORK WITH HPC, UM, AS WELL AS THE PLANNING COMMISSION, UH, TO COME UP WITH SOME OF THOSE RULES AND REGULATIONS.
UH, AND AGAIN, JUST SO, AND, AND, AND WHAT THAT LOOKS LIKE.
WE'RE, WE'RE STILL IN THE, THE, YOU KNOW, THE, THE PHASES OF TRYING TO FIGURE ALL THAT OUT.
BUT SOMETHING ON THE LINES WHERE IT'S LIKE CRITERIA TO SHOW WHAT, WHAT WE WANT TO ESTABLISH.
UM, THE NEXT ITEM, THIS IS, UH, FOR OUTSIDE OF THE HISTORIC DISTRICT.
UM, AND THIS WAS AN ITEM THAT CAME TO US FROM PLANNING COMMISSION.
UM, THEY BROUGHT FORWARD THEIR INTERESTED IN LOOKING AT EITHER REMOVING OR RESTRICTING USES OF THE RESIDENTIAL USE IN THE LIGHT INDUSTRIAL ZONING DISTRICT.
SO AS YOU CAN SEE IN THE TABLE OF TABLE 4.3 HERE, I'VE HIGHLIGHTED LIGHT INDUSTRIAL.
YOU CAN SEE THAT, UM, THAT'S PERMITTED BY, RIGHT, THAT'S WHAT THE P STANDS FOR, FOR SINGLE FAMILY DETACHED ATTACHED, WHICH WOULD BE A TOWN HOME.
UM, AND THEN MULTIFAMILY, THAT WOULD BE YOUR APARTMENT COMPLEX.
UH, AND THEN ACCESSORIES ARE ALL ALLOWED IN THE LIGHT INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT.
UH, I WANTED TO PROVIDE A MAP HERE TO SHOW YOU.
THESE ARE THE LIGHT INDUSTRIAL DISTRICTS THAT WE HAVE IN THE TOWN.
SO, UH, SPECIFICALLY, UM, WE HAVE THE CROWN APARTMENTS.
THAT'S WHAT'S UNDER CONSTRUCTION RIGHT NOW ON BUCK ISLAND ROAD.
THAT'S THE 200 UNITS ADJACENT TO THAT IS THE RSI PROPERTY.
AND THEN THERE'S TWO SMALLER PROPERTIES, FERAL GAS, AND THEN I, I BELIEVE IT WAS ROSE KITTY'S, UH, PROPERTY THAT HAS SINCE BEEN SOLD.
AND THERE'S A, LIKE A TURF MANAGEMENT GROUP THAT'S IN THERE.
NOW YOU HAVE THE BUCKWALTER, EXCUSE ME, YOU HAVE THE BEAUFORT COUNTY, UH, CONVENIENCE CENTER UP OFF OF THE PARKWAY.
UH, THE SRM CONCRETE OFF OF PERSIMMON.
THERE'S THE MULTI-TENANT BUILDINGS
[00:45:01]
NORTH OF, UH, THE PARKWAY, AS WELL AS BURNT CHURCH DISTILLERY.SO, UM, THAT ONE CAME UP AS TO, UM, LOOKING TO EITHER RESTRICT OR REDUCE THAT.
AND THAT'S WHERE WE'RE GONNA GET INTO SOME DISCUSSION HERE.
SO, SO FROM A QUESTION STANDPOINT, UM, WHAT WE ARE LOOKING FOR FROM, UH, COUNCIL IS, UH, WE HAVE THESE FIVE ITEMS RIGHT HERE.
UM, DEALING WITH THE WINDOWS AND LIGHTS IS TO MOVE FROM ENCOURAGING TO THE REQUIRING OF THE, UM, DIVIDED LIGHTS, UM, THE WALLS AND FENCES, PROVIDING THAT, UH, ADDITIONAL CONTEXT OR THE IMAGES, UH, DEALING WITH OPACITY, UH, THE CARRIAGE HOUSE REQUIRING DISTINCT ARCHITECTURAL SEPARATION FROM THE PRIMARY STRUCTURE, UH, FOR ADDITIONAL BUILDING TYPES, ENCOURAGING THE STANDARD BUILDING TYPES FIRST.
SO OUR TRADITIONAL BUILDING TYPES USE THOSE FIRST.
UM, AND THEN ALSO CREATING STRICTER DESIGN CRITERIA, UH, FOR THOSE NON-STANDARD ADDITIONAL BUILDING TYPES, BOTH RESIDENTIAL AND NON-RESIDENTIAL.
AND THEN THE LAST ITEM IS TO EITHER RESTRICT OR ELIMINATE THE RESIDENTIAL USES IN THE LIGHT INDUSTRIAL.
UH, FROM A NEXT STEP STANDPOINT, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT IS, UH, BRINGING, PULLING THIS INFORMATION TOGETHER, OBVIOUSLY AFTER DIRECTION FROM YOU, UH, BRINGING THIS IN FRONT OF THE HISTORIC PRESERVATION COMMISSION FOR A WORKSHOP.
UH, THEY DO NOT, UM, THEY DON'T HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE UDO UH, CHANGES, UM, BUT WE WANNA BRING IT TO THEM TO GET THE CONTEXTUAL ASPECT OF IT, BRING THAT TO PLANNING COMMISSION, UH, AND THEN BACK TO YOU FOR A FIRST READING, THEN SECOND READING.
NOW, I'D LIKE TO SAY THAT THESE ARE JUST A FEW ITEMS THAT WE HAVE, UM, UH, LISTED IN FRONT OF YOU.
PLEASE NOTE THAT THERE ARE A LOT OTHER ITEMS THAT ARE OUT THERE.
UM, WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF UPDATING THE OLD TOWN MASTER PLAN.
WHAT WE'D LIKE TO DO IS, DURING THAT PROCESS, WE'LL BE ABLE TO COLLECT QUITE A FEW DIFFERENT ITEMS, UM, THAT HAVE COME UP IN CONVERSATIONS.
I KNOW SOME OF THE HPC MEMBERS, UH, HAVE, UM, ADDITIONAL ITEMS THAT THEY WOULD LIKE TO ADDRESS.
WHAT WE'D LIKE TO DO IS GO THROUGH THAT, UM, THE OVERHAUL OF THE, THE MASTER PLAN.
FROM THERE, GET SOME RECOMMENDATIONS, AND THEN TAKE, INCORPORATE THE, THE, UH, CHANGES THAT ARE BEING PROPOSED AS WELL AS ANY FUTURE CHANGES.
AND DO A, IN ESSENCE, AN OVERHAUL OF THE UDO IN THE FUTURE ONCE WE HAVE THAT, UM, THAT, UH, OLD TOWN MASTER PLAN.
BUT THESE ARE SOME IMMEDIATE ITEMS THAT WE'D LIKE TO ADDRESS.
SO WITH THAT, UM, I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS AND THEN OPEN IT UP FOR DISCUSSION.
WHY DON'T WE GO TO THE FIRST, UM, THE WINDOWS FIRST, KEVIN? SURE, I CAN GO BACK TO THAT.
WE'LL, JUST, THAT WAS THE FIRST ONE, RIGHT? YES, SIR.
YEAH, WE'LL, WE'LL GO THROUGH, GO THROUGH 'EM JUST LIKE YOU PRESENTED THEM IN ORDER.
UM, QUESTIONS FROM COUNSEL MS. BURTON.
UM, SO THIS IS JUST TO CLARIFY IN THE ENTIRE HISTORIC DISTRICT THAT WE WOULD REQUIRE THE TWO ON THE LEFT VERSUS THE ONE WITH DEX ON IT.
SO ANYBODY THAT NEEDS TO REPLACE A WINDOW IF IT CURRENTLY LOOKS LIKE THE THIRD ONE.
SO, AND, AND THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'LL LOOK TO DO.
SO FROM A RE REPLACEMENT STANDPOINT, OBVIOUSLY IF YOU HAVE THE MUTTON VERSION THAT'S ALREADY IN YOUR HOUSE, WE'RE NOT EXPECTING YOU TO, UM, TO CREATE THE DIVIDED LIGHT ONE.
UM, YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO, UM, YOU'D BE ABLE TO CONTINUE TO USE THE TYPE OF WINDOW THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE IN YOUR HOUSE, WHETHER IT'S A REPLACEMENT OR A POTENTIAL ADDITION TO THE HOUSE.
I I THINK THAT THAT'S SOMETHING THAT WE'D WANT TO LOOK AT, UM, OBVIOUSLY ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS, BUT WE CAN LOOK TO, UH, KIND OF CREATE LANGUAGE THAT WILL STATE THAT TO MATCH THE REST OF THE HOUSE.
SO THIS POTENTIALLY IS JUST FOR A NEW BUILD, WOULD HAVE TO HAVE THE MUTTON YEAH.
FOR, YEAH, FOR, FOR THE NEW CONSTRUCTION.
UM, THIS ONE'S A TOUGH ONE FOR ME, ALTHOUGH I DO LIKE THE TWO ON THE LEFT BETTER.
I, I'M GONNA HAVE A HARD TIME REQUIRING THOSE VERSUS THE MUTTON.
UM, I WOULD BE INTERESTED TO SEE ON THIS WHAT HPC SAYS.
DOES THIS ALSO ADDRESS THE WINDOW TYPE? UM, AM I CORRECT THAT YOU HAVE TO, I KNOW THERE'S DIFFERENT MATERIALS FOR WINDOWS AND THEY'VE COME A LONG WAY OVER THE LAST PROBABLY SINCE THE OLD TOWN MASTER PLAN PLAN WAS COMPLETED.
SO IS THIS ALSO ADDRESSING THE TYPE OF WINDOW THAT'S ALLOWED WE, WE ALREADY ALLOW FOR, FOR A LOT OF DIFFERENT TYPES OF THE COMPOSITE ASPECT OF IT? SO THAT'S ALREADY BEEN ADDRESSED.
THIS IS THE FOCUS ON THIS ONE IS DEALING WITH THOSE, UM, THE, THE, THE, THE ENCOURAGED VERSUS, UM, REQUIRED REQUIRED, UM, DEALING WITH THE SIMULATED.
AND OBVIOUSLY IT REALLY IS A, IT'S A CASE BY CASE BASIS, LIKE FOR THE HISTORIC DISTRICT.
UM, IF YOU HAVE SIMULATED AND YOU HAVE A CONTRIBUTING RESOURCE, OBVIOUSLY WE'RE NOT TELLING YOU YOU HAVE TO GO TO THE TRUE DIVIDED, BUT AS YOU STATED EARLIER THAT WHAT, WHAT YOU HAVE EXISTING IS WHAT YOU WOULD BE ABLE TO CONTINUE WITH MR. HAMILTON.
KEVIN, THIS IS, THIS IS ONLY FOR CONTRIBUTING STRUCTURES.
THIS IS IN THE HISTORIC DISTRICT.
SO IT'S A COMBINATION OF CONTRIBUTING RESOURCES AS WELL AS ALL HOMES IN THE HISTORIC
[00:50:01]
DISTRICT AND ALL NEW CONSTRUCTION IN THE HISTORIC DISTRICT.HOW MUCH OF A PRICE DIFFERENCE IS, UH, SIMULATED IN MUTTON? UH, I DO NOT KNOW.
KEVIN, KEVIN, THIS DOESN'T INCLUDE NEIGHBORHOOD GENERAL OR DOES IT? YES, SIR, IT DOES.
AND SO I'LL GIVE YOU A QUESTION.
UM, SO MY HOUSE WAS BUILT IN THE EIGHTIES, AND THE WINDOWS ARE WOODEN, WHICH OBVIOUSLY DETERIORATE HAD TO HAVE SOME OF THEM WORKED ON.
AND THE DIVIDERS THAT YOU'RE SHOWING ON THE TWO TO THE LEFT OF THE, OF THE MU, THEY FALL OUT, THEY COME OUT 'CAUSE THEY'RE ARTIFICIAL.
AND I'VE EVEN HAD TO TAKE SUPER GLUE AND TRY TO GLUE SOME OF 'EM BACK ON.
UM, SO IF I HAD TO GO REPLACE A WINDOW TODAY ON MY HOUSE WITH THE TIGHT WINDOWS THAT I JUST DESCRIBED, AM I GONNA BE ABLE TO USE A COMPOSITE WINDOW? AM I GONNA HAVE TO GO BACK WITH WOOD? IF YOU'RE GONNA REPLACE YOU, YOU DO NOT HAVE A CONTRIBUTING RESOURCE, CORRECT? RIGHT.
SO YOU'D BE ABLE TO GO BACK WITH A, A NEWER TYPE OF WINDOW, WHICH WOULD BE A COMPOSITE WINDOW.
UM, KEVIN, I THINK IN OUR RULES, THIS WAS BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION LAST YEAR, IF YOU LIVE IN A DOUBLE WIDE AND YOU WANT TO BUILD, UM, A GARAGE APARTMENT IN YOUR YARD, YOU'RE REQUIRED TO PUT THE SAME WINDOWS THAT YOU GOT IN THE DOUBLE WIDE.
SO WHAT ARE WE REALLY SAYING? I MEAN, THAT'S, THAT'S A REQUIREMENT.
SO IF YOU GOT THE, YOU KNOW, IF, IF YOU'RE BUILDING ANOTHER STRUCTURE AND YOU LIVE IN ONE, CORRECT ME IF I'M WRONG, I REMEMBER GOING THROUGH THIS.
SO, SO HOW DOES THAT MAKE SENSE IF WE'RE
I MEAN, THAT RULE SUPERSEDES THIS ONE BECAUSE IF YOU, IF YOU GOTTA MAKE IT THE SAME AS THE ONE THAT YOU ALREADY HAVE AND IF IT'S GOT THE MU MUTANT OR HOWEVER YOU SAY THAT.
SO AGAIN, IF YOU HAVE, IF YOU HAD THE, THE, THE MUTTONS TYPE WINDOW ALREADY ESTABLISHED, UM, I THINK USING A, UM, A A MANUFACTURED HOME IS KIND OF DIFFICULT.
BUT I THINK WHAT WE CAN DO IS WE COULD ADD, WE COULD LOOK TO ADD LANGUAGE, UH, THAT DEALS WITH THAT.
WE, WE HAVE LANGUAGE SIMILAR RIGHT NOW WHERE LIKE IF YOU HAVE A A A, UM, MANUFACTURED HOME IN THE HISTORIC DISTRICT, YOU'RE ALLOWED TO REPLACE A MANUFACTURED HOME WITH THAT.
UM, SO WHAT WE COULD DO IS LOOK TO ADD SOME LANGUAGE, UH, THAT DEALS WITH, UM, EXISTING STRUCTURES THAT ARE, THAT ARE NOT IN CONFORMANCE, UM, UH, AND THEN FIGURE OUT HOW HOW WE COULD MAKE IT SO, SO THAT WAY SIM SIMILAR TO THAT, LIKE YOU, YOU'RE GOING AS CLOSE AS YOU CAN TO THE GREATEST EXTENT PRACTICAL.
UH, AND AGAIN, IT'S A, YOU KNOW, IT'S A CASE BY CASE BASIS.
SO, UM, IT, IT IS, IT IS, IT'S, IT'S MURKY IN MY OPINION.
AND YES, AND I ALSO PERSONALLY, I, I DON'T, I DON'T KNOW WHO, WHO SAID THAT THE OTHER ONES WERE SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE, THE OTHER ONE.
YOU KNOW, I MEAN, I, I DON'T TOTALLY AGREE THAT WE SHOULD DICTATE WHAT SOMEBODY'S WINDOWS LOOK LIKE AS LONG AS THEY MEET SOUTH CAROLINA CODE AS FAR AS BEING SAFE AND HURRICANE AND INSURANCE AND ALL THAT.
UM, I CAN LOOK AT THE WINDOWS AND SAY THE TWO ON THE LEFT ARE DEFINITELY PROBABLY MORE EXPENSIVE, YOU KNOW? YES.
AS THE COST TO BUILD A HOUSE GOES UP AND UP AND UP.
AND WE'RE TRYING TO FIND WAYS OF, YOU KNOW, OUR KIDS BEING ABLE TO AFFORD TO LIVE HERE IN 10 YEARS OR 20 YEARS.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S A, THAT'S A PART OF IT TOO.
UM, AND IN MY LAST, AND I'M GONNA SHUT UP.
UM, IF YOU CAN'T, IF YOU'RE NOT SITTING ON THE STREET WHERE EVERYBODY THAT WALKS ON THE SIDEWALK AND COMES BY CAN SEE YOUR HOUSE, WHY DO WE, UM, WHO, I GUESS WHY IS THAT SUCH A BIG DEAL TO, TO HAVE IT LOOK SOMEWHERE, LOOK A CERTAIN WAY IF YOU CAN'T EVEN SEE THE WINDOWS WITHOUT GOING ON PRIVATE PROPERTY? UM, I KNOW THAT'S, YEAH.
I DON'T MEAN TO BE COMING DOWN ON YOU, I'M JUST SAYING NO.
YOU KNOW, THESE ARE GRAY AREAS FOR MY BRAIN.
UM, FROM, FROM A HISTORIC DISTRICT ASPECT TO IT IS THAT ONCE YOU START TO ALLOW FOR THINGS LIKE THAT, IT, IT SLOWLY STARTS TO ERODE ALL ASPECTS OF IT.
SO IF WE ARE TO ALLOW YOU TO HAVE, YOU KNOW, IF WE DON'T NECESSARILY, IF WE DON'T CARE ABOUT THE BACK, ALL WE CARE ABOUT THE, THE IS THE FRONT, THEN THAT'S JUST A, IT'S JUST A FACADE.
IT'S, IT'S NOT THE THE ENTIRE DISTRICT THAT YOU'RE FOCUSED ON.
SO YOU, THE ENCOMP THE ENTIRE HOUSE IS THE, IS THE FOCAL POINT.
UM, I THINK THAT WHAT, WHAT STARTS
[00:55:01]
TO HAPPEN IS THAT, UH, I MEAN, YOU START WITH A WINDOW, THEN WHAT HAPPENS WHEN IT'S A DIFFERENT TYPE OF BUILDING MATERIAL AND YOU SLOWLY GET IT TO WHERE, UM, YOU KNOW, YOU GO DOWN INTO SOME SUBURBAN, UM, NEIGHBORHOODS WHERE, YOU KNOW, THEY HAVE THE BRICK ON THE FRONT AND THEN EVERYTHING ELSE IS VINYL SIDING AROUND THE SIDE.UM, AND THEN THAT'S WHERE IT'S JUST KIND OF LIKE YOU'RE, YOU'RE NOT FOCUSED ON THE ENTIRE BUILDING.
YOU'RE ONLY FOCUSED ON WHAT IT SHOWS FROM THE FRONT.
SO THAT'S ONE THAT'S FROM A STATUS CONCERN.
UM, IT'S NOT, I DON'T THINK IT'S APPROPRIATE, UH, TO START TO ALLOW FOR THINGS LIKE THAT TO HAPPEN.
AND MY, AND MY THOUGHTS ON THAT, AND I UNDERSTAND YOU, YOU KNOW, YOU GUYS ARE JUST TRYING TO MAKE THIS CLEAR SO THAT YOU CAN ENFORCE WHAT, OR HAVE A RULE TO, TO GO BY.
UM, LUTON HAS ALWAYS BEEN VERY DIVERSE.
I MEAN, WE GOT MOBILE HOMES, WE'VE GOT BIG HOUSES, WE'VE GOT LITTLE HOUSES, WE'VE GOT FLAT ROOFS, WE'VE GOT EVERYTHING.
AND, AND THAT'S WHAT MAKES BLUFFTON BLUFFTON.
I MEAN, I, I, I DON'T KNOW THAT I'M ALL THAT SUPPORTIVE OF TRYING TO BUILD A CERTAIN BLUFFTON FOR 30, 40 YEARS FROM NOW.
YOU KNOW, A CERTAIN LOOK, I DON'T KNOW, UM, THAT I'M PERSONALLY ON BOARD WITH THAT THEORY.
UH, IF I COULD, LIKE, FROM A, FROM A A, A COLLECTIVE STANDPOINT, IT SOUNDS AS THOUGH YOU'RE NOT NECESSARILY BIG FANS OF THIS PROPOSED CHANGE.
NOW, THESE OTHER FOLKS, I WANT TO SEE WHAT HPC COMES UP WITH.
YOU KNOW, THAT'S WHAT PART OF THE PROCESS IS.
SO I WOULD RATHER HEAR BACK FROM THEM BEFORE WE TRY TO COME TO SOME, RIGHT.
THIS IS JUST A WORKSHOP, WE'RE JUST YEP.
SO THE NEXT ITEM WOULDN'T MAKE KEVIN, UM, I'M SORRY.
DAN, I, I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE SAYING, BUT IF HE'S, IF HE KEEPS GOING DOWN TO THE NEXT LEVEL, NEXT LEVEL, NEXT LEVEL, THEN, AND, AND COUNCIL'S NOT IN, IN FAVOR OF IT, THEN IT, WE JUST WASTE A BUNCH OF TIME.
SO I I I, I UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU'RE ASKING.
YOU KNOW, DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME IF THAT'S NOT WHAT WE NEED.
AND RIGHT NOW WE HAVE IT ENCOURAGED.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, WHAT WE CAN LOOK AT IS, IS SEE IF THERE'S ANY ALTERNATIVES, UM, NOT NECESSARILY REQUIRING THEM TO DO THAT SIMULATED DIVIDED LIGHT, BUT IF THERE'S OTHER WAYS THAT WE COULD LOOK TO ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO DO IT, WE CAN, WE CAN LOOK AT THAT.
UH, THE NEXT ITEM WAS WITH THE DEALING WITH THE FENCE.
UM, IT'S JUST, AGAIN, ADDING AN IMAGE TO HELP TO EXPLAIN.
UM, ARE THERE ANY CONCERNS WITH THAT? I HAVE A QUESTION.
UM, SO IS THIS ON ALL FENCES NO MATTER WHAT THE MATERIAL? SO, BRICK, WOOD, ANYTHING? YEAH, SO THE FENCES, UM, GARDEN WALLS AND HEDGES, UM, AND ALL THAT IS WANTED TO DO A BRICK FENCE.
LIKE SOME OF THE ONES WE HAD RECENTLY PUT UP, THEY WOULD NOT BE ALLOWED BECAUSE LIKE BRICK FENCES, LIKE SOME OF THE ONES WE HAVE AROUND TOWN, NO, THEY'RE ALLOWED ABSOLUTELY.
WHAT WE'RE JUST SAYING IS IT'S A MINIMUM 25%.
THE THE PROBLEM WAS, IS THAT PEOPLE WERE JUST, WHAT YOU'RE SAYING RIGHT THERE, YOU'RE GETTING A LITTLE CONFUSED AS TO, WELL, IF I PUT UP A FULL BRICK FENCE, IS THAT OKAY? AND WE'RE LIKE, ABSOLUTELY.
UM, THIS IS TO PREVENT YOU FROM, UM, I DON'T EVEN KNOW WHAT A UNDER 25% OPACITY FENCE WOULD LOOK LIKE.
UM, BUT WHAT WE'RE DOING IS WE JUST WANTED TO PROVIDE A VISUAL IS THAT THIS IS WHAT A 25% OPAQUE FENCE LOOKS LIKE.
UH, JUST BECAUSE PEOPLE WERE THINKING THE OPPOSITE, THAT THEY HAD TO DO A FULL, LIKE A FULL BLOWN, LIKE, YOU KNOW, LIMITED VIEW THROUGH LIKE THE HIGH PRI UH, PRIVACY TYPE OF FENCE.
SO WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THEY UNDERSTAND.
SO LET ME GIVE ANOTHER EXAMPLE.
'CAUSE I LIKE GOOD CASE STUDIES AT ONE OF OUR PARKS IN TOWN, WE HAVE A FENCE THAT I WOULD SAY IS PROBABLY LESS THAN 25% OPAQUE.
IT'S THE WOOD, WHATEVER YOU CALL IT, YOU KNOW, I MEAN, WOULD THAT NOT SPLIT RAIL? YES.
I MEAN, LIKE AT THE MAR IT'S AT THE MARTIN FAMILY.
BUT IT ALSO INCLUDES LIKE, LANDSCAPING TO IT, SO THAT HELPS.
THEN THE LANDSCAPING WOULD BE YEAH, THE, THE LANDSCAPING HELPS TO, YEAH.
'CAUSE THAT'S WHERE WE TALK ABOUT HEDGES.
SO THE HEDGES PART OF IT THAT ACTUALLY HELPS TO PROVIDE THAT, THAT MINIMUM OPACITY.
IT IS JUST, AND, AND WE CAN, THIS WAS ED AI, UH, GENERATED IMAGE HERE.
UH, WE COULD LOOK TO ADD SOME, UH, POTENTIAL FOR, UH, YOU KNOW, SHOWING SOME LANDSCAPING ON THERE AS WELL.
UH, JUST TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF WHAT THAT 25% IS.
WE'RE TRYING TO PROVIDE THAT VISUAL TO HELP TO EXPLAIN TO PEOPLE.
[01:00:01]
WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS.KEVIN, HOW YOU GONNA SEE THE PEOPLE'S WINDOWS IF YOU PUT A FENCE OUT?
SO YOU CAN HAVE A SOLID PRIVACY FENCE, BUT YOU GOTTA HAVE A CERTAIN WINDOW IN THE BACK OF THE HOUSE.
UH, THE NEXT ITEM WAS DEALING WITH THE CARRIAGE HOUSE TO, UM, TO GIVE US, UH, AND WE'RE GONNA WORK ON GETTING SOME LANGUAGE PUT TOGETHER TO HELP, TO, TO HELP TO DISTINGUISH BETWEEN, UM, YOU KNOW, YOUR, YOUR CARRIAGE HOUSE AND YOUR MAIN STRUCTURE.
UH, WE'RE STARTING TO SEE WHERE IT'S THE, YOU KNOW, THAT SINGLE ROOF LINE, LIKE IN THIS IMAGE ON THE, THE, THE TOP IMAGE HERE, YOU CAN SEE HOW IT'S A SINGLE ROOF LINE GOING FROM WHAT IS YOUR PRINCIPAL STRUCTURE TO YOUR, TO YOUR CARRIAGE HOUSE.
UM, WE'D LIKE TO SEE SOME DEFINITION.
YOU MIGHT HAVE VARIED ROOF LINES, YOU MIGHT HAVE DIFFERENT, UM, YOU KNOW, OFFSETS, UH, FROM YOUR BUILDING WALLS.
WE JUST WANNA BE ABLE TO PROVIDE SOME LANGUAGE IN THERE WHEN YOU ARE ATTACHING THE STRUCTURE TO THE, THE, THE, THE, UM, THE PRINCIPAL STRUCTURE.
AND AGAIN, IN THIS IMAGE RIGHT HERE, YOU CAN SEE WHERE THEY START TO USE, UH, THAT UPSTAIRS WHERE IT STATES, AND I DON'T HAVE MY GLASSES WITH ME, UM, THE, LIKE OWNER'S, UH, YOU KNOW, DRESSING ROOM OWNER'S BEDROOM ABOVE WHAT IS THE GARAGE AREA, AND THERE'S THE TWO CAR GARAGE.
SO WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT WE'RE PROVIDING FROM, FROM THE OUTSIDE TO, TO HELP TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN THE TWO OF THEM.
SO THE TOP ONE YOU HAVE THERE, BASICALLY THAT'S MY HOUSE NONCONFORMING.
UH, IT POTENTIALLY, OKAY, I'D HAVE TO LOOK AT IT AGAIN.
BUT AGAIN, YOU, YOU'RE, IT'S AN EXISTING STRUCTURE, SO THIS IS DEALING WITH NEW CONSTRUCTION.
UH, EVEN IF YOU HAD A, IF YOU HAD AN EXISTING STRUCTURE AND YOU WANTED TO ADD ON TO IT, WHAT WE WOULD DO IS TO MAKE SURE THAT, YOU KNOW, THERE IS SOME DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN THE TWO OF THEM.
IF IT GOT KNOCKED DOWN BY HURRICANE, UH, WELL THEN THAT, THAT GETS INTO NON-CONFORMING STATUS AND THAT'S A, THAT'S ON A DIFFERENT LEVEL.
SO DEPENDING ON HOW MUCH IT'S DESTROYED, YOU'RE ALLOWED TO BUILD BACK, UH, THE BACK.
UH, THE SAME, WHOSE IDEA IS THIS? UH, I BELIEVE THIS IS ONE OF THE ITEMS THAT FROM HPC AS WELL AS STAFF THAT WE'VE BEEN DEALING WITH, UH, WE ALSO HAVE HAD A COUPLE PROJECTS THAT HAVE COME THROUGH, UM, WHERE IT IS THIS, UH, LONG CONTINUATION OF THE BUILDING, UM, THAT MAKES IT, UM, THERE'S NO DISTINCTION, DISTINCTION BETWEEN THE CARRIAGE HOUSE AND THE PRIMARY STRUCTURE.
I'M, I'M GONNA, I DON'T MEAN TO BE JUMPING AHEAD, BUT I'M GONNA GO BACK TO WHAT I SAID A WHILE AGO.
THAT TOP HOUSE IS A HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS CHEAPER TO BUILD THAN THE BOTTOM ONE.
MR. HAMILTON, THESE, UM, LU SIZE, DOESN'T LUT SIZE PLAY A PART IN WHICH, WHAT TYPE OF, UM, YES, SIR.
AND AGAIN, THIS ISN'T AI IMAGE THAT WAS JUST GENERATED TO HELP TO PROVIDE SOME CONTEXT.
UH, THIS IS NOT NECESSARILY A HOUSE THAT'S IN BLUFFTON.
UM, BUT YES, IN THIS SITUATION, UH, THIS IS FOR SOMEONE THAT HAS A VERY WIDE LOT, UH, WHERE YOU'RE HAVING THE HOUSE AND YOUR TWO CAR GARAGE TO THE SIDE, UH, VERSUS A NARROWER LOT WHERE THE STRUCTURE WOULD BE IN THE REAR.
UM, WHICH WITH THE EXAMPLE OF THIS, YOU CAN, SORRY.
UH, THE EXAMPLE HERE IS ON THE FRONT, THIS IS IN ESSENCE, UM, UH, THE, THE FRONT OF THE, THE, THE STRUCTURE HERE.
AND THEN, UH, YOU CAN SEE HOW IT KIND OF JUST GOES TOWARDS, TOWARDS THE BACK.
AND IT'S JUST A KIND OF A VERY LONG STRUCTURE.
UH, AND, AND AGAIN, IT'S NOT NECESSARILY TO SAY THAT THEY CAN'T BE ATTACHED AND THEY CAN'T BE USED TO FUNCTION LIKE THIS, BUT WE, FROM THE OUTSIDE, AGAIN, YOU GOTTA REMEMBER THIS IS A FORM-BASED CODE.
SO THE FOCUS IS ON THE OUTSIDE, AND THE INSIDE IS THE SECONDARY COMPONENT OF IT, RIGHT? SO WE WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THERE'S JUST DIFFERENTIATION BETWEEN THOSE TWO.
YOU MIGHT HAVE AN OFFSET WALL, UM, MATERIALS, DIFFERENT ROOF LINES.
UM, THAT'S WHAT WE'RE LOOKING AT.
HOW FLEXIBLE WILL YOU BE WHEN THE LOT SIZE REALLY DICTATE WHAT TYPE OF STRUCTURE THEY CAN, THEY CAN, THEY CAN BUILD.
WELL, AND THAT GETS BACK TO, UM, AND I DON'T HAVE IT, UM, IN THIS ACTUALLY HERE.
THIS IS IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD GENERAL HISTORIC DISTRICT.
SO DEPENDING ON YOUR LOT WIDTH, WHICH IS THAT SECOND COLUMN, FIND THAT HERE.
SO YOUR DIFFERENT LOT WIDTHS ALLOW FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF HOUSES.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, LIKE YOUR SIDE, THE SIDE YARD HOUSE, THAT'S TYPICALLY YOUR LOT WIDTH IS BETWEEN 50 AND 65.
SO THAT MEANS IT'S PRETTY NARROW.
SO THE HOUSE IS A VERY NARROW ONE, SO YOU'RE NOT GONNA HAVE A GARAGE UP TOWARDS THE FRONT.
IT IS GONNA BE IN THE REAR, BUT THAT
[01:05:01]
LONG WALL ON THE SIDE, WE JUST WANNA MAKE SURE THAT THAT'S NOT JUST A LONG STRAIGHT WALL.THAT THERE'S, THERE'S SOME, YOU KNOW, BREAKS TO IT.
AND WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR IS JUST, IS BE ABLE TO PUT SOME LANGUAGE TOGETHER TO HELP GUIDE PEOPLE, UH, WHEN THEY'RE COMING IN.
'CAUSE THEIR GOAL IS THAT THEY NEED TO BE LOOKING THROUGH THE UDO AND SAY LIKE, ALRIGHT, IF I'M BUILDING THIS STRUCTURE, WHAT ARE THE RULES AND REGULATIONS THAT I NEED TO FOLLOW? AND WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE CAN GIVE THEM SOME GUIDANCE.
'CAUSE RIGHT NOW THERE'S, THERE'S REALLY NOTHING THERE TO HELP SHOW THAT MS BURDEN.
UM, DO YOU MIND TAKING THIS BACK TO THE SURE.
SORRY, DETAILS PICTURE? I HONESTLY DIDN'T THINK THAT THE FIRST PICTURE WAS CURRENTLY ALLOWED.
SO THEN, BUT, BUT THAT'S, BUT, BUT WHAT, WHAT'S STARTING, WE'RE STARTING TO SEE IS PE PEOPLE ARE PUSHING THE ENVELOPE AS TO WHAT, WHAT THEY CAN DO.
UM, AND, YOU KNOW, IF WE DON'T HAVE ANY RULES AND REGULATIONS IN PLACE TO, TO HELP TO DEFINE WHAT THAT CARRIAGE HOUSE IS, THEN IT'S DIFFICULT FOR US TO SAY, NOT TO NECESSARILY SAY NO, BUT LIKE REDIRECT THEM TO HOW THEY NEED TO BE ABLE TO DO IT.
ANYTHING ELSE ON THIS ONE? OKAY.
UH, THE NEXT ONE WAS DEALING WITH THE RESIDENTIAL USES IN THE LIGHT INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT.
AND I'M HAPPY TO EITHER GO TO THIS SLIDE OR THE NEXT ONE IF YOU HAVE QUESTIONS FOR IT.
WHAT'D YOU SAY, KEVIN? I WAS READING SOMETHING.
UH, I WAS JUST SAYING I HAVE BOTH SLIDES HERE, UM, FOR DISCUSSION, AND THIS IS JUST DEALING WITH ALLOWED RESIDENTIAL USES IN THE LIGHT INDUSTRIAL DISTRICT.
SO RIGHT NOW IT COULD BE USED.
SO IS WHAT WE'RE SAYING THAT WE NEED TO CHANGE THIS TO WHERE IT CAN'T BE USED FOR RESIDENTIAL? WELL, AGAIN, THE, THIS HAS BEEN, UH, BROUGHT UP FROM, UH, PLANNING COMMISSION THAT THEY'RE LOOKING TO EITHER RESTRICT OR ELIMINATE THE RESIDENTIAL USES IN THE LIGHT INDUSTRIAL.
AND YOU CAN SEE HERE THAT, UM, WE HAVE VERY FEW LIGHT INDUSTRIAL, UH, ZONED PROPERTIES, UM, THAT AS OF RIGHT NOW.
SO CONVENIENCE CENTER, THE, THE CONCRETE MIXING PLANT, UM, BURNT CHURCH DISTILLERY, I DOUBT THEY'RE GONNA BE CHANGING ANYTIME SOON.
UM, YOU HAVE RSI, UM, AND THEN THE OTHER PROPERTIES.
SO, UM, YOU KNOW, COULD THERE BE REDEVELOPMENT THERE POTENTIALLY? UH, IS THERE, I DON'T KNOW.
UM, BUT YOU KNOW, IT'S, YOU KNOW, FROM A AN ECONOMICAL STANDPOINT, OBVIOUSLY YOUR INDUSTRIAL USES ARE, UM, ARE MORE PROFITABLE
SO I'M IN, I'M IN FAVOR OF RESTRICTING OR ELIMINATING RESIDENTIAL SPECIFICALLY.
UM, I THINK IF YOU GO BACK THE MULTIFAMILY, UM, RESIDENTIAL.
AND WHAT, AND AGAIN, WHAT WE'LL DO IS WE'RE GONNA WORK ON, UM, DOING MORE RESEARCH ON IT AND THEN WE'LL PROVIDE THAT, UH, AND THEN PROVIDE THAT ADDITIONAL CONTEXT TO IT.
MR. HAMILTON, ANY COMMENT ON THIS? NOT RIGHT NOW.
BUT I, I HEAR YOU, BUT I THINK YOU SHOULD BE MORE CONCERNED ABOUT MAKING SURE LIGHT INDUSTRIAL IS NOT IN RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS THEM OUT MORE THAN, BECAUSE THAT'S, THAT BECOMES MORE OF A CONCERN FOR ME THAN CREATING RESIDENTIAL.
SO THE, THE OPPOSITE, YOU WANT US TO LOOK AT SOME OF THE RESIDENTIAL DISTRICTS TO SEE IF THERE'S ANY USES THAT SHOULD BE REMOVED THERE, THERE LIKE THE, SO WE HAVE OTHER, OTHER RESIDENT, OBVIOUSLY YOU HAVE YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD CORE, UH, THAT'S A MIXED USE, UH, DISTRICT AS WELL AS THE GENERAL MIXED USE.
UM, SO THOSE DO ALLOW FOR COMMERCIAL USES AS WELL AS RESIDENTIAL USES.
UH, TYPICALLY IN THAT RESIDENTIAL GENERAL, YOU'RE, YOU'RE GONNA FIND VERY LIMITED TYPES OF, UH, COMMERCIAL USES THAT WOULD BE ALLOWED.
BUT, UM, DEFINITELY NOT ANY TYPE OF INDUSTRIAL USES.
I, I, WHEN I SAW THOSE APARTMENTS, AND I CALLED KEVIN ABOUT THIS, I THINK WE WERE ALL TAKEN ABACK OVER THERE ON BUCK ISLAND ROAD.
UM, YOU KNOW, IN MY MIND IT WAS COMMERCIAL INDUSTRIAL TO MAKE THE CONNECTION
[01:10:01]
NEAR FUTURE WHEN RESIDENTIAL WAS ATTACHED TO IT.AND, UH, BUT I, AND I AGREE WITH WHAT SHE HAD TO SAY.
UM, SO THE MAP THAT YOU JUST HAD UP, ARE THERE PLACES OUTSIDE OF THIS MAP IN THE CITY LIMITS OF BLUFFTON THAT HAVE THAT SAME ZONING? UH, NO SIR.
THERE'S NOT, THERE ARE, UH, IF YOU WERE TO LOOK AT THE SCHULTZ TRACK, UH, WHICH IS BLUFFTON PARK, UM, THEY HAVE, UM, THEY HAVE LIKE THE, THE, THE, THE MIXED, UM, OFFICE FLEX SPACE.
UM, BUT THAT'S MORE OF, UM, LIKE THAT'S YOUR, YOU KNOW, YOUR PLUMBERS, YOUR, UM, YOU KNOW, TYPE OF DELIVERY PEOPLE, UM, UH, ELECTRICIANS THAT USE THAT FOR JUST LIKE STORAGE SPACE, NOT NECESSARILY LIKE A MANUFACTURING, UM, TYPE OF USE.
UH, AND AS WELL AS ALL THE PUDS HAVE THEIR ESTABLISHED RESIDENTIAL UNITS AS WELL AS ACREAGE.
UH, SO THEY'RE EITHER, THEY'RE LIMITED ON THAT ASPECT OF IT, BUT NO, AND I WAS JUST THINKING OUT, YOU KNOW, OFF OF, UH, THE PARKWAY GOING OUT TO WHERE THE, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS GONNA BE A WALMART OUT THERE AT ONE POINT AND ALL THIS KIND OF STUFF, BUT, UH, I, I, I JUST WANTED TO BE SURE THAT IF THERE WAS ANYTHING ELSE EXISTING OUT THERE THAT COULD CONVERT FROM LIGHT INDUSTRIAL TO, TO OUR UDS OR IDUS, WE WOULDN'T.
YEAH, THERE'S, AS FAR AS I, I KNOW THERE'S NO MORE CONVERSIONS THAT ARE ALLOWED FROM COMMERCIAL USES TO RESIDENTIAL OR VICE VERSA.
SO, UH, SO WE WOULDN'T HAVE THAT ISSUE.
NOW, MAY I CLARIFY ONE THING THOUGH? UM, DO YOU MIND GOING BACK TO THE, THANK YOU.
UM, LIGHT INDUSTRIAL OBVIOUSLY ALLOWS FOR THAT MULTI-FAMILY, WHICH I THINK IS WHAT THAT THE DEVELOPMENT THAT DAN SPOKE OF, UM, ON BUCK ISLAND WAS.
SO IF ANYTHING IS ZONED NEIGHBORHOOD CORE OR GENERAL MIXED USE, THEY WOULD ALSO BE ALLOWED TO BUILD SOMETHING SIMILAR TO THAT.
SO IN ORDER TO TRULY PREVENT SOMETHING LIKE THAT, WE WOULD HAVE TO GET RID OF THAT MULTI-FAMILY, ALLOW ALLOWANCE, UM, FROM ALL THREE OF THESE, AND NOT JUST THE LIGHT INDUSTRIAL, BECAUSE EVEN THOUGH THERE'S ONLY FEW LIGHT INDUSTRIAL, THERE'S PLENTY MORE NEIGHBORHOOD CORE OR GENERAL MIXED USE.
SO AGAIN, THAT'S, UM, BROUGHT FORTH BY PLANNING COMMISSION.
UH, WHAT WE CAN DO IS WE CAN DO SOME OF THE RESEARCH ON THAT, UH, JUST FROM A, A, UM, UH, LIKE AN ACREAGE STANDPOINT, LIKE HOW MANY PROPERTIES ARE CURRENTLY ZONED THAT GENERAL MIXED USE AND NEIGHBORHOOD CORE, UH, THE MAJORITY OF THAT GENERAL MIXED USE IS UP OFF OF 2 78.
UM, SO THAT'S YOUR SHERIDAN PARK, YOUR, UH, BELFER COMMERCIAL TYPE OF AREA, AREAS THAT ARE ALREADY ESTABLISHED, UH, WITH COMMERCIAL.
UM, SO THE NEIGHBORHOOD CORE, THERE ARE SOME, UM, THERE ARE SOME PROPERTIES THAT ARE RIPE FOR REDEVELOPMENT, UH, ALONG, UM, AVER ROAD THAT POTENTIALLY COULD, UM, HAVE AN APARTMENT COMPLEX.
IF THAT'S SOMETHING THAT SOMEONE, YOU KNOW, WANTED TO MOVE FORWARD WITH, THAT IS A POSSIBILITY.
UM, IF YOU'D LIKE, WE CAN LOOK TO BOTH FOR THE LIGHT INDUSTRIAL AND THEN DO, UH, KIND OF A, A DEEPER SCRUB ON THAT NEIGHBORHOOD CORE, UH, TO PROVIDE SOME MORE INFORMATION.
I MEAN, IT SEEMS TO ME, IF WE'RE TRYING TO PREVENT THAT LARGE SCALE APARTMENT COMPLEX TYPE OF LOOK IN OUR TOWN, WE NEED TO ALSO LOOK AT IT LIKE YOU SAID, PROBABLY MOST LIKELY IN SPECIFICALLY NEIGHBORHOOD CORE, IN ADDITION TO LIGHT INDUSTRIAL.
AND IF YOU LIKE, WHAT WE CAN DO IS, UM, AND, AND MAYBE NOT NECESSARILY ELIMINATE, UM, BUT LOOK TO CREATE SOME CONDITIONS, UH, DEALING WITH, UH, THE APARTMENT USE.
SO THAT WAY IF SOMEONE WERE WANTING TO GO INTO THAT NEIGHBORHOOD CORE, UM, WE COULD LIMIT LIKE BUILDING SIZES.
UM, SO THAT WAY IT HELPED TO BRING DOWN THAT MASS AND SCALE THE HEIGHTS DID THAT, UH, WE DID A COUPLE YEARS AGO SPECIFICALLY FOR, UM, THE, UH, I THINK IT WAS THE HEIGHT REQUIREMENT.
UH, WE CHANGED THE HEIGHT, UM, IN THAT, UM, TO, FOR APARTMENTS, UH, WE BROUGHT IT DOWN, UH, AN ADDITIONAL STORY.
BUT WHAT WE CAN DO IS WE CAN ACTUALLY LOOK AT MAKING APARTMENTS CONDITIONAL AND THEN CREATING SOME STANDARDIZED LANGUAGE, UM, TO MAKE SURE THAT SOMEONE DOESN'T COME IN AND PUT A A, A 200 UNIT APARTMENT BUILDING AND WE COULD RESTRICT THE NUMBER OF UNITS THAT ARE ALLOWED PER BUILDING, UH, AND THEN THAT WAY BREAK IT DOWN.
I THINK THAT MIGHT, THAT MIGHT BE BETTER THAN, THAN JUST, JUST OUTLAWING OUTLAWING IT ALTOGETHER.
ANYTHING ELSE ON THIS ONE? I THINK, I THINK THAT'S ALL I HAD.
YEAH, I THINK IDENTIFYING WHERE ALL THOSE PROPERTIES ARE, YOU KNOW, AND, AND JUST HAVE 'EM A CERTAIN COLOR SO THAT WHEN WE LOOK AT IT AGAIN, WE CAN KIND OF GET A IDEA OF WHAT KIND OF VOLUME IS OUT THERE THAT POSSIBLY COULD OKAY.
UM, FALL UNDER THIS AND GO FROM THERE.
AND JUST SO YOU KNOW, UH, JUST THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL THIS INFORMATION.
WE MIGHT BE ADJUSTING THIS, UH, TIMELINE, UH, JUST TO GIVE US MORE TIME TO DO THE
[01:15:01]
RESEARCH AND THEN, UM, UH, THOROUGHLY VET IT.SO, UH, EMILY AND I RECEIVED AN EMAIL, I DON'T KNOW WHO ELSE, UH, FORMER MAYOR SULCA, AND SHE HAD A LOT OF GOOD INFORMATION IN THERE, BUT SHE SITS ON THE COMMITTEE, RIGHT? YEAH.
SO I MEAN, YOU KNOW, I JUST WANTED TO ENTRUSTED HER.
SHE WOULD BE HEARD, BUT I KNOW SHE WILL BE.
UM, I RECEIVED THAT AFTER, UH, WE'VE ALREADY POSTED THE, UH, THE AGENDA AND THE STAFF REPORT.
UH, WHAT WE WOULD LIKE TO DO IS TO LOOK OVER THAT.
I THINK THERE'S A LOT OF GOOD INFORMATION AS WE'RE GOING THROUGH THE OLD TOWN MASTER PLAN THAT WE'D BE ABLE TO INCORPORATE THAT.
I THINK SHE'S LEARNING THE CODE AS WELL AS YOU
[X. FORMAL AGENDA ITEMS ]
UH, GREAT, THANK YOU.UP NEXT, WE HAVE FORMAL AGENDA ITEMS, CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON, MUNICIPAL CODES OF ORDINANCES, CHAPTER 13, PUBLIC PROPERTY, ARTICLE TWO, PUBLIC PARK DOCK AND BOAT LANDING RULES TO INCLUDE DOCK RULES FOR THE NEW RIVER LINEAR TRAIL.
SECOND AND FINAL READING, MS. HEATHER COLLINS? YES, SIR.
SO THIS IS SECOND AND FINAL READING OF THE NEW RIVER TRAIL DOCK RULES, AND YOU WILL HEAR IT, UM, REFERENCE NEW RIVER TRAIL DOCK RULES, NEW RIVER LINEAR TRAIL, ALL ONE AND OF THE SAME.
UM, SO THE REQUEST IS FOR THE FINAL READING TO AMEND CHAPTER 13 THAT PERTAINS TO THE GENERAL TO THE, THOSE, UM, TOWN PARK AND DOC RULES.
THE WAY WE HAVE IT ESTABLISHED NOW AND HOW WE'VE SET IT UP IS THAT THERE'S GENERAL, UM, UH, RULES AND REGULATIONS, AND THEN EACH, UM, TOWN PARK OR DOC IS, UM, LISTED SEPARATELY.
SO NOW THAT WE'VE ADDED THIS NEW ELEMENT TO THE NEW RIVER TRAIL, WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT WE HAVE RULES THAT PERTAIN TO THAT.
UM, IN THE FUTURE, WE'RE LOOKING TO MAKE THAT EASIER WHEN WE DO ADD ELEMENTS, BUT AT THIS POINT, UM, THIS IS HOW IT HAS BEEN SET UP.
SO MOVING FORWARD WITH THAT, UH, THE PROPOSED AMENDMENTS REALLY ADDRESS JUST YET GENERAL PUBLIC SAFETY, PROPERTY PROTECTION, YOU WILL SEE SOME CHANGES TO THOSE GENERAL, UM, RESTRICTIONS.
UM, JUST LIKE ANYTHING IS YOU HAVE RULES THAT ARE WRITTEN AND THERE'S MAYBE SOME CHALLENGES OR CHALLENGERS OF THOSE RULES AND REGULATIONS, AND THEY'RE, YOU KNOW, VERY SPECIFIC.
WELL, IT DOESN'T SAY EXACTLY THAT.
SO AGAIN, JUST TO CLARIFY, NOT CHANGING, THIS IS NOT AN E-BIKE ORDINANCE, THIS IS NOT NEW, UM, PROHIBITIONS OR REGULATIONS, JUST CLARIFICATION AND EDUCATION.
WHAT IT'S REALLY MEANT TO ADDRESS IS THAT NEW RIVER TRAIL PROJECT, UM, THAT'S THAT THREE MILE, UM, MULTIPURPOSE PATHWAY THAT WE ARE IN THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING.
THIS IS A PICTURE OF THAT, UM, PAVILION DOCK AREA, IF YOU'VE HAD A CHANCE TO GO OUT AND TOUR IT.
IT'S NOT OPEN TO THE PUBLIC YET, BUT STAFF HAS BEEN OUT THERE AND I BELIEVE, UM, SOME OF Y'ALL HAVE, UH, JOINED US AS WELL.
SO IT IS ON TRACK TO BE OPEN BY THE END OF THIS MONTH, UH, DESPITE SOME WEATHER CHALLENGES THAT WE'VE BEEN PRESENTED, BUT IT IS ON SCHEDULE.
SO AGAIN, THE PURPOSE OF THE AMENDMENTS ARE REALLY JUST TO FURTHER CLARIFY SOME OF THE NEW TECHNOLOGIES AND TRENDS WE'RE SEEING, AGAIN, JUST AS THINGS EVOLVE AND TRENDS, E-BIKES, MOTORCYCLES, MOPEDS THAT HAVE GONE INTO EITHER OUR TOWN BATHROOMS, UH, PAVED, YOU KNOW, PAVED, UH, FACILITIES, THINGS LIKE THAT.
AND IT'S WHEN IT'S NOT SAFE AND IT DOES DAMAGE.
SO I JUST WANNA CLARIFY WHERE THEY CAN GO.
AGAIN, IT'S NOT IT, IT'S NOT ALLOWED NOW, BUT JUST AGAIN TO FURTHER CLARIFY IT SO THAT IF YOU ARE TRYING TO EDUCATE A USER, HEY, YOU KNOW, YOU NEED TO MOVE TO THE TRAIL, YOU NEED TO MOVE TO ANOTHER LOCATION.
JUST TO FURTHER CLARIFY IT, STAYING WITH THE DOCK, UM, ISSUES WE'VE SEEN ISSUES WHERE PEOPLE, WE DO NOT RESTRICT SWIMMING IN THE RIVER, OBVIOUSLY, UM, THAT'S ALLOWED, BUT WE SEE WHERE PEOPLE JUMP OFF OF MAYBE THE TOP OF A DOCK OR A DOCK COVERED DOCK STRUCTURE.
AND SO REALLY LIKE, AGAIN, IT'S JUST MEANT TO EDUCATE AND, UM, MAKE SURE THAT OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR CITIZENS ARE SAFE.
AND AGAIN, IT'S JUST TO HELP WITH THAT ENFORCEMENT AND THAT EDUCATION.
SO, UM, IN THE STAFF REPORT, IT DOES SAY, AND I'LL GET TO IT, THAT UM, THERE WERE NO CHANGES FOR FIRST READING.
THERE IS A CHANGE THAT I WILL GET TO, UM, BUT AGAIN, THIS IS JUST FOLLOWING THE GENERAL DOC SAFETY RULES AND REGULATIONS.
UM, AND AGAIN, GOING THROUGH THAT CLARIFICATION, AGAIN, IT'S NOT AN E-BIKE ORDINANCE, BUT WANNA ADDRESS THE NEW TECHNOLOGY THAT WE'VE BEEN SEEING AND HERE'S WHERE THAT CHANGES.
SO ONE THING WITH THE NEW RIVER TRAIL DOCK, UM, IT'S NOT DESIGNED FOR BOATS TO BE ABLE TO DOCK THERE.
IT'S JUST, THAT'S NOT, IT'S NOT CONDUCIVE FOR THAT.
SO AT FIRST READING, I DID INCLUDE THAT FISHING WAS ALLOWED, HOWEVER IT WAS ALLOWED, IF IT DOESN'T INTERFERE, INTERFERE WITH WATERCRAFT.
HOWEVER, THERE'S NOT TO BE WATERCRAFT THERE.
SO WE DID, UM, DID CONFIRM WITH LEGAL THIS MORNING OR THIS AFTERNOON RATHER.
AND SO YOU WILL SEE A STRIKE THROUGH IN THAT LANGUAGE, UM, UNDER SPECIFICATIONS BECAUSE THERE WAS A LITTLE BIT OF A CONFLICT BETWEEN, UH, SUBSECTION
[01:20:01]
TWO AND SIX THAT DEALT WITH DOCKING AND FISHING.UM, YOU DID APPROVE FIRST READING AT THE AUGUST MEETING RIGHT NOW WE ARE AT SECOND AND FINAL READING TODAY.
SO OBVIOUSLY YOU CAN APPROVE THE SECOND AND FINAL READING, CHANGE IT MODIFICATIONS OR QUESTIONS.
AND I DID, UM, CHANGE THAT PROPOSED MOTION TO, UH, REFLECT THAT, UM, OVERSIGHTS FOR NUMBER SIX FOR FISHING.
SO UNLESS YOU HAVE ANY QUESTIONS, HERE'S A PROPOSED MOTION.
PARDON? I HAVE A QUESTION AND I, IT MIGHT HAVE BEEN IN THERE AND I COULD HAVE MISSED IT, SO I APOLOGIZE.
BUT ARE E-BIKES ALLOW, IS THIS HAVING TO DO WITH THE NEW RIVER LINEAR PATH AS WELL? NO, THIS IS JUST THE DOCK.
THIS IS GENERAL, THIS IS, THAT IS CODIFIED UNDER THE GENERAL RULES AND REGULATIONS.
UM, ARE THEY PLANNING ON DOING IT? MAYBE HAVING THE RULES IN SPANISH IN ADDITION TO ENGLISH, JUST TO MAKE SURE EVERYBODY CAN UNDERSTAND THEM.
'CAUSE I KNOW THAT KIDS LIKE TO JUMP OFF THOSE DOCKS A LOT.
OTHER THAN THAT, I HAVE NO QUESTIONS.
YEAH, AND THERE'S A LOT OF ALLIGATORS AT THIS DOCK, A LOT OF ALLIGATORS AT THIS DOCK.
YOU'RE IN WRIST AND OTHER CREATURES.
THEY BE AND OTHER CREATURES TOO.
I SURE SOMEBODY SWIMMING AROUND THERE SEEN THEM BIGGER THAN THE BOAT.
MAYBE WE SHOULD HAVE A SIGN SAYING THAT TOO.
MAKE SURE PEOPLE REALIZE MAYBE DNR COULD HELP WITH SOME WORDING IN THAT BECAUSE, YOU KNOW, THERE'S CERTAIN, CERTAIN AREAS THAT ARE JUST INFESTED WITH LIKE THAT AREA.
AND THAT'S, THAT'S, UM, THAT'S A BAD SPOT FOR PEOPLE TO FALL IN THE WATER.
I'LL LOOK INTO THAT AND SEE IF THAT'S, WE MAY ALREADY HAVE THAT IN THE WORKS, BUT I WILL, UM, DEFINITELY ADDRESS THAT.
ANYTHING FROM ANYONE ELSE? OKAY.
SO YOU'D LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION.
I NEED TO APPROVE THE MOTION AS PRESENTED ON THE SCREEN.
UP NEXT, WE HAVE CONSIDERATION OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE TOWN OF BLOOD AND FISCAL YEAR 2027 BUDGET TO PROVIDE FOR THE EXPENDITURES, CERTAIN FUNDS, AND TO ALLOCATE SOURCES OF REVENUE FOR THE SAID FUNDS TO CARRY OVER UNSPENT EXPENDITURES AND ENCUMBRANCES FROM THE 2026 BUDGET TO THE 2027 BUDGET.
FIRST READING, MS. NATALIE, GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
UM, I AM HAPPY TO PRESENT THE FIRST BUDGET AMENDMENT FOR FISCAL YEAR 2027.
UM, WITHIN THE BUDGET AMENDMENT, WE'RE RECOGNIZING SOME GRANTS AND ENTITLEMENTS, INSURANCE PROCEEDS, ADJUSTMENTS, AND THEN USE OF PRIOR YEAR FUND BALANCE.
UM, THIS IS THE UNAUDITED, UM, ESTIMATE FOR FISCAL YEAR 26.
WE ARE ANTICIPATING ADDING, UM, AROUND $7 MILLION TO THE GENERAL FUND FUND BALANCE WITH THE FIRST FUND.
UM, WE ARE PROPOSING TO INCREASE THE BUDGET BY $2.3 MILLION.
THIS RECOGNIZES, UM, SOME ENTITLEMENTS FROM, OR SOME STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA FUNDING FOR THE PARKS AND REC STUDY.
AND THEN THE, UM, AEDS THAT'LL GO THROUGH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT.
THE TOWN IS ALSO GOING TO APPLY FOR ACCOMMODATIONS, TAX FUNDS FOR THE OLD TOWN SHUTTLE SERVICES.
UM, AND THEN RECOGNIZING THE REMAINDER OF THE FEDERAL POLICE TECH GRANT.
UM, THAT WILL BE COMPLETED THIS FISCAL YEAR.
WE DID HAVE, UM, AN, AN ACCIDENT AT THE BARN PARK GATE, SO WE'RE RECOGNIZING THE INSURANCE PROCEEDS FOR THAT.
AND THEN A TRANSFER IN FOR THE BALANCE OF THE OLD TOWN SHUTTLE SERVICES FROM HOSPITALITY TAX AND THEN A TRANSFER IN FROM LOCAL ACCOMMODATIONS TAX FOR EVENTS AND VENUES.
AND THEN THE PRIOR YEAR FUND BALANCE.
ON THE EXPENDITURE SIDE, WE ARE SHOWING AN INCREASE IN BLUFFTON IN THE IN BUILDING SAFETY FOR COMMERCIAL PLAN REVIEW SERVICES.
AGAIN, THE EVENTS AND VENUES, RECOGNITION FOR THE EVENTS.
AND THEN THE DOOR INSTALLATION, THE AEDS FOR THE PD THAT IS FUNDED THROUGH THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA.
THE FE, THE FEDERAL TECH GRANT.
UM, THE BARN PARK GATE REPAIR THERE, THE OLD TOWN SHUTTLE SERVICES, THE REMAINDER OF THE CONTRACTS AND ENCUMBRANCES, IT'LL CARRY FORWARD FROM 26 TO 27.
AND THEN THE TRANSFER OUT TO CIP.
THE NEXT FUND IS A LOCAL, LOCAL HOSPITALITY TAX FUND.
THE MAJORITY OF THIS IS FOR PROJECT BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS IN THE CIP, BUT THEN ALSO RECOGNIZING THE TRANSFER OVER INTO GENERAL FUND FOR THE SHUTTLE SERVICES.
AND THEN ACCOMMODATIONS TAX, SIMILAR SITUATION, BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS FOR CIP
[01:25:01]
AND THEN THE TRANSFER TO GENERAL FUND FOR EVENTS AND VENUES.THE STORM WATER FUND BUDGET HAS THE MAJORITY FOR CONTRACTS AND CARRY FORWARDS AS, AS WELL AS AN ANTICIPATED LEASE.
UM, AND THEN THE TRANSFER TO CIP, UM, DECREASING OF ABOUT $105,000.
CIP RECOGNIZES THE STATE FUNDING FOR BOUNDARY STREET.
AND THEN THE ROTARY COMMUNITY CENTER.
WE ARE ALSO GOING TO APPLY FOR ANOTHER STATE ACCOMMODATIONS TAX FUND FOR BRIDGE STREET.
AND THEN THESE ARE THE TRANSFERS IN BUDGET ADJUSTMENT ADJUSTMENTS IN THE CIP FUND.
THE FINAL FUND IS DEBT SERVICE.
UM, SOME BUDGET ADJUSTMENTS THERE, UM, BUT IT DOES RESULT IN AN INCREASE OVER TO THE TRANSFER TO CIP FOR LAND.
UM, AND HERE IS THE CONSOLIDATED.
UM, THIS BUDGET AMENDMENT IS A LITTLE LESS THAN $7.2 MILLION, WHICH WILL BRING THE REVISED 2027 BUDGET TO JUST OVER A HUNDRED TWENTY ONE A HUNDRED TWENTY $1 MILLION.
AND I'M HAPPY TO ANSWER ANY QUESTIONS THAT YOU MAY HAVE.
HMM, MS. BERGER? I'M GOOD AS WELL.
MAYOR, I'LL MAKE THE MOTION AS SHOWN ON THE SCREEN.
UP NEXT WE HAVE CONSIDERATION OF ACCOMMODATION TAX COM ADVISORY COMMITTEE FUNDING, FUNDING RECOMMENDATIONS, RECOMMENDATIONS FOR QUARTER ENDING JUNE 30TH, 2026.
FOR THE QUARTER THAT ENDED JUNE 30TH, WE HAD SIX AT TAX GRANT APPLICATIONS AS SHOWN ON YOUR SCREEN HERE, THEY WERE ALL REPEAT APPLICANTS AND AWARDEES, AND THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF REQUESTED FUNDING WAS $172,710.
OUR CURRENT AVAILABLE FUNDS FOR DISTRIBUTION ARE $676,984.
WE HAD A PRETTY LARGE, UH, COLLECTION FOR THE QUARTER THAT ENDED JUNE 30TH.
IT WAS JUST OVER $572,000, WHICH WAS LIKE A 30% INCREASE OVER THE SAME QUARTER LAST CALENDAR YEAR.
WE HAVE MADE OUR ALLOCATIONS TO THE GENERAL FUND, THE DMO AND HOUSING.
WE DID NOT HAVE ANY LAPSE GRANTS LAST QUARTER, SO WE'RE LEFT WITH THAT FUND BALANCE OF JUST UNDER $677,000.
HERE IS A SUMMARY OF HOW THE AVERAGE SCORES WERE MADE BY AAC FOR ALL APPLICANTS.
AND OUR FIRST ONE IS THE COASTAL CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION REQUESTING $10,000 TO SUPPORT THEIR CONSERVATION WEEKEND.
THEY SELL TICKETS TO A BANQUET THAT WILL ACTUALLY BE HELD THIS COMING WEEKEND, AND THEY ENCOURAGE OVERNIGHT STAYS FOR PEOPLE THAT HAVE COME TOWN FOR THE BANQUET.
THIS IS THE FOURTH YEAR I BELIEVE THAT THEY REQUESTED FUNDING FOR THIS.
AND IT'S ONLY ABOUT 7% OF THEIR TOTAL BUDGET.
UH, THE COMMITTEE VOTED UNANIMOUSLY TO RECOMMEND $10,000 AS THAT AWARD.
COMMENTS, QUESTIONS FROM COUNSEL? IF NOT, IS THERE A MOTION I MOVE TO APPROVE A $10,000 GRANT TO THE COASTAL CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION FOR THE 2026 COASTAL CONSERVATION WEEKEND IN BLUFFTON? THANK YOU.
OUR NEXT ONE IS THE ARTS AND SEAFOOD FESTIVAL.
I'M GONNA RECUSE MYSELF FROM THIS ONE, MS. MARSHA.
THEY'RE REQUESTING $80,000 OR APPROXIMATELY 43% OF THEIR TOTAL EVENT BUDGET.
UH, IT'S A 10 DAY EVENT THAT WILL TAKE PLACE NEXT MONTH.
THEY TYPICALLY HAVE AROUND 50, 55% OF REPORTED TOURISM THAT ATTEND THIS FESTIVAL.
UM, AND $80,000 IS WHAT THEY'VE HISTORICALLY REQUESTED OVER THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS.
AND ATAC AGAIN UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO RECOMMEND THIS FULL REQUEST.
I MOVE TO APPROVE $80,000 GRANT TO THE HISTORIC BLUFFTON ARTS AND SEAFOOD FESTIVAL.
YOU'RE CALLING FOR THE MOTION
UM, THERE A MOTION TO APPROVE OR DENY THE HISTORIC BLUFFTON ARTS AND SEAFOOD FESTIVAL.
I MOVED TO APPROVE THE $80,000 GRANT TO THE HISTORIC BLUFFTON ARTS AND SEAFOOD FESTIVAL FOR THE 2026 EVENT.
[01:30:01]
ALL IN FAVOR OF THE MOTION? AYE.AND OUR NEXT ONE IS THE OLD TOWN BLUFFTON MERCHANT SOCIETY REQUESTING $15,000 FOR MARKETING EXPENSES.
IT'S BEEN A COUPLE YEARS SINCE THEY'VE APPLIED REQUESTING MONEY, BUT THEY TYPICALLY PREVENT OR PRINT THOSE BLUFFTON TOURIST MAPS THAT THEY DISTRIBUTE ALL OVER THE PLACE, HOTELS, REST AREAS, THINGS LIKE THAT.
THIS IS ABOUT 42% OF THEIR TOTAL BUDGET AND ATAC RECOMMENDED A UNANIMOUS AWARD FOR THEIR FULL $15,000.
IF NOT, IS THERE A MOTION? MAYOR, I MOVE TO APPROVE THE $15,000 GRANT TO THE OLD TOWN BL MERCHANT SOCIETY FOR THE MARKETING BUT DESIGNATION PROJECT.
ALL IN FAVOR? ALL I I NEED A SECOND.
NEXT IS THE SOCIETY OF BLUFFTON ARTISTS ALSO REQUESTING MARKETING EXPENSES.
UH, THIS ALIGNS WITH THEIR FISCAL YEAR, WHICH RUNS SEPTEMBER 1ST THROUGH AUGUST 31ST.
UH, LAST YEAR THEY REQUESTED $40,000 BUT DIDN'T QUITE SPEND IT ALL.
SO THEY'RE ASKING FOR A LITTLE BIT LESS THIS YEAR.
UH, $35,000 FOR MARKETING AND A FACT UNANIMOUSLY VOTED TO RECOMMEND THIS AWARD AS WELL.
ANY QUESTIONS? IS THERE A MOTION I MOVE TO APPROVE A $35,000 GRANT TO DECIDE TO BLUFFING AUGUST FOR THE, FOR THE FISCAL YEAR OF 2027.
PHASE THREE, SECOND FAVOR, SAY AYE.
NEXT IS CONGREGATION BETH YAM FOR THE 2026 HANUKKAH CELEBRATION IN BLUFFTON.
THIS IS ANOTHER ONE THAT I BELIEVE IS IN ITS FOURTH YEAR REQUESTING AND BEING AWARDED FUNDING FOR THIS EVENT.
UH, THE 2025 EVENT HAD ABOUT A 45% TOURIST ATTENDANCE AND THE EVENT WILL BE HELD DECEMBER 12TH AT MARTIN FAMILY PARK.
THEY ASK FOR SOME MARKETING AND A LITTLE BIT OF HELP WITH LIKE RENTALS, TABLES, CHAIRS, THOSE SORT OF EVENT EXPENSES.
AND THEY'VE REQUESTED $7,710 AND THE COMMITTEE VOTED TO UNANIMOUSLY RECOMMEND THIS AWARD AS WELL.
WE LIKE TO MAKE THAT MOTION OR DISCUSS IT.
I MOVE TO APPROVE A $7,710 GRANT TO THE CONGREGATION BETH YAM IN SUPPORT OF THE 2026 HANUKAH CELEBRATION IN BLUFFTON.
AND FINALLY, WE HAVE BLACKWOOD, SOUTH CAROLINA FOR THEIR ROOTS AND RIVER FESTIVAL.
IT WILL BE HELD THIS COMING WEEKEND ON SEPTEMBER 12TH AT OYSTER FACTORY PARK.
THEY'RE REQUESTING $25,000 TO SUPPORT ADVERTISING, AGAIN, SOME FACILITIES, SECURITY, TOURIST TRANSPORTATION, UM, AND THE COMMITTEE VOTED TO A UNANIMOUSLY IT'S $25,000 AS WELL.
IS THERE A MOTION I MOVE TO APPROVE A $25,000 GRANT TO BLACK EQUITY SC IN SUPPORT OF THE 2026 ROOTS AND RIVERS FESTIVAL? THANK YOU.
UP NEXT WE HAVE CONSIDERATION OF A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE ACCEPTANCE OF A DONATION AND CONVEYANCE OF APPROXIMATELY 0.11 ACRES OF REAL PROPERTY IN BLUFFTON, SOUTH CAROLINA, LOCATED AT 34 THOMAS HAYWARD STREET, TMS NUMBER R 6 1 0 0 3 9 A 0 4 2 6 0 0 FROM SOUTHERN COASTAL HOMES LLC TO THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON, SOUTH CAROLINA IN AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION AND RE COORDINATION RECORDATION OF CERTAIN DOCUMENTS IN CONNECTION THERE WITH KEVIN ECHART.
UH, WE'RE HERE FOR, UH, THIS IS THE AUTHORIZATION, UH, AUTHORIZATION FOR THE TOWN MANAGER TO, UH, MOVE FORWARD WITH ACCEPTING, UM, VIA RESOLUTION A PIECE OF PROPERTY.
I HAVE IT SHOWN HERE ON YOUR SCREEN.
UM, IT'S APPROXIMATELY 4,900 SQUARE FEET OF, UM, LOCATED OFF OF THOMAS HAYWARD.
UM, THIS WAS PART OF THE ACTION, UH, THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY BROUGHT IN FRONT OF YOU.
UH, THE APPLICANT WAS ABLE TO CARVE OFF THIS PORTION OF PROPERTY, UH, THAT WILL BE DONATED TO THE, TO THE TOWN.
UM, THIS WAS RECORDED IN THE BOOK, UM, UM, PLAT BOOK 1 68 AND PAGE 1 48.
UM, WHAT WE'RE LOOKING FOR IS FOR YOU TO, UM, ACCEPT, UH, THIS, UH, RESOLUTION, UM, AND MOVE IT FORWARD.
AND I HAVE THE MOTION IN FRONT OF YOU, KEVIN.
WHERE? ITTY BITTY RIGHT THERE.
[01:35:01]
GREEN, YES.I HAVE A MOTION BEFORE YOU, ANY QUESTIONS FROM COUNCIL? IF NOT, IS THERE A MOTION? I GOT A QUESTION FOR STEVEN.
WHAT, WHEN WE ACCEPT THIS PROPERTY, UM, WHAT DO, WHAT DO THE DONOR EXPECT FROM US? SO THIS WAS PART OF THE, UH, NEGOTIATED AGREEMENT FOR THE, UM, JOINER HOUSE.
UM, THE JOINER HOUSE, WHENEVER COUNCIL APPROVE THAT SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT.
UM, WITH THAT THEY PROVIDED A DONATION AND IF THE TOWN SO CHOOSES, WE CAN PUT A MARKER TO IDENTIFY THE OLD JOINER PROPERTY AS A HISTORIC JOINER.
NELLY AND NELLY BROWN, THE BROWN COTTAGE, SORRY, NELLY BROWN COTTAGE.
UM, UM, PUT A HISTORICAL MARKER TO RECOGNIZE THE COTTAGE THAT, UM, WAS, IS ALLOWED TO BE REMOVED, WHICH THEY OFFERED MONEY FOR, AND THEY DID PROVIDE $5,000 TO, TO COVER THE COST FOR THAT MARKER TO GO ALONG WITH THE PROPERTY DONATION.
$5,000 TO COVER THE TOTAL COST.
THEY'RE GIVING US THE LAND AND $5,000.
WE'VE ALREADY RECEIVED THAT PAYMENT A WHILE AGO, FRED, THANKS YOU FOR THAT.
I HAVE ONE COMMENT BEFORE THE MOTION.
UM, I WOULD LIKE THE US TO CONSIDER, UM, NAMING THE LITTLE POCKET PARK AFTER MS. NELLY BROWN IN ADDITION TO THE SIGN, BUT IT'D BE, YOU KNOW, I THINK IT'D BE NICE TO POTENTIALLY NAME IT AFTER HER AS WELL.
WE CAN, WHENEVER WE MOVE FORWARD, WE'LL BRING BACK TO COUNCIL.
'CAUSE Y'ALL HAVE TO APPROVE NAMING OF ANYTHING THAT WE DO.
IS THERE A MOTION I MOVE TO APPROVE AS PRESENTED ON THE SCREEN? IS THERE A SECOND? SECOND.
UP NEXT, WE HAVE CONSIDERATION OF PUBLIC ARTS COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION TO PURCHASE A SCULPTURE CREATED BY WALTER PALMER, PHYSICAL IMPACT $23,000.
GOOD EVENING, MAYOR AND COUNCIL.
SO I HAVE BEFORE YOU THE LATEST RECOMMENDATION FROM THE PUBLIC ART COMMITTEE.
THIS IS BROUGHT BY A MEMBER OF THE PUBLIC ART COMMITTEE, UH, FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION AND THEIR, FOR THEIR RECOMMENDATION AND YOUR CONSIDERATION.
UM, IT IS A, A SCULPTURE OF A BIRD READING A BOOK TO TWO SMALLER BIRDS.
UM, THE RECOMMENDED LOCATION IS BLACKTON LIBRARY AND THE ARTIST IS WALTER PALMER.
UH, WALTER PALMER IS A LOCAL LOW COUNTRY ARTIST FOR, UH, WELL OVER 40 YEARS.
UH, HE HAS PIECES EXHIBITED AND PLACED ON HILTON HEAD AS WELL AS IN PRIVATE COLLECTIONS.
UM, AND HE'S FEATURED IN MANY COMPANIES AND HOTELS AND CRUISE LINES.
UM, IT WAS BROUGHT TO THE COMMITTEE'S ATTENTION THAT THE TOWN DOES NOT HAVE ANY OF HIS PIECES, AND HE'S ONE OF THOSE LOCAL STAPLES IN THE ART COMMITTEE FOR, FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.
SO IT WAS RECOMMENDED TO CONSIDER, UH, PURCHASING ALL OF HIS PIECES.
THE PIECE THAT IS, UH, PRESENTED BEFORE YOU IS TITLED STORY TIME.
UM, THE BEAK AND THE FEET AND THE BOOK ARE ALL MADE OF BRONZE.
THE BODIES OF THE BIRDS ARE FIBER GLASS FIBERGLASS WITH RESIN, UH, COVER.
AND THE, UH, THE DOCK PILINGS ARE WOOD.
THE SIZE IS ACTUALLY ABOUT SIX FEET TALL, UH, SEVEN FEET WIDE AND THREE FEET DEEP.
SO IT'S ACTUALLY BIGGER THAN IT APPEARS ON THE SCREEN.
THE, UH, MAINTENANCE IS MINIMAL.
YOU CAN POLISH THE BROAD, UM, BRONZE AS NEEDED.
UM, AND IT IS AVAILABLE IMMEDIATELY.
THE PUBLIC ART COMMITTEE RECOMMENDED APPROVAL.
UM, THE FUNDING AVAILABILITY IS WITHIN BUDGET AND OUR SOURCE OF FUNDS IS THE HOSPITALITY TAX.
ANY QUESTIONS? QUESTIONS FROM COUNSEL MR. WOOD? I'M GOOD, SIR.
MR. HAMILTON, WHERE IS THIS GONNA BE DISPLAYED? THEY RECOMMENDED THE BLUFFTON LIBRARY BECAUSE IT'S A BIRD READING A BOOK TO CHILDREN, OR THE, THE TOWN OWNS THAT PARK RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE LIBRARY WHERE WE DID A, UH, THE ACTUAL LEADERSHIP CLASS AT A STORYBOOK TRAIL ALONG IT A COUPLE YEARS AGO.
MOTION, I'LL MOVE TO PROVE THE RECOMMENDATION FROM PUBLIC ARTS COMMITTEE TO PURCHASE THE SCULPTURE CREATED BY WALTER PALMER FOR A FISCAL IMPACT OF $23,000.
HE'S, HE'S QUITE A, AN ARTIST AND I'VE KNOWN HIM PRETTY MUCH ALL MY LIFE AND HIS FATHER AS WELL, SO IT'S PRETTY UNIQUE WORK THAT HE DOES.
[XI. CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS ]
UP NEXT WE HAVE CONSENT AGENDA ITEMS. IS THERE ANYTHING THAT NEEDS TO BE REMOVED OR DISCUSSED AT THIS TIME? COUNSEL,[01:40:05]
YOU MAY SAY YAY OR NAY.ANYBODY WANNA CALL ANYTHING? UM, MOTION.
[XII. EXECUTIVE SESSION ]
WE WILL BE MOVING INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION FOR DISCUSSIONS RELATING TO, RELATING TO AUTHORIZING THE TOWN MANAGER TO NEGOTIATE A CONTRACT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TOWN AND AFFORDABLE HOUSING DEVELOPER TO SOUTH CAROLINA FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 30 DASH FOUR DASH SEVEN.SECONDLY, DISCUSSIONS RELATING TO THE POTENTIAL LEASE OF PROPERTY BY THE TOWN OF BLUFFTON INFORMATION ACT 30 DASH FOUR DASH 7 82.
AND THIRD DISCUSSION RELATING TO LEGAL ADVICE AND PROPOSED CONTRACTUAL MATTERS PURSUANT TO FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT 34 78 2, WE RUN CONVEYANCE EXPIRATION COVENANTS.
I MEAN, YEAH, COVENANTS THE EXPIRATION OF VILLAGE.
WE ARE, WE WILL HAVE KEEPING THE LIGHT ON, WE WILL HAVE ACTION
[XIII. ACTION FROM EXECUTIVE SESSION ]
COMING OUT.AM I MAKING THE MOTION? MM-HMM
ARE WE GOOD? UM, I WOULD LIKE TO MAKE A MOTION, UM, I MAKE A MOTION TO AUTHORIZE THE TOWN MANAGER IN CONSUL, CONSTELLATION, UM, CONSULTATION WITH THE TOWN ATTORNEY TO NEGOTIATE A CONTRACT WITH WDA COOPER COMMUNITIES INC.
FOR A PUBLIC PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP TO DEVELOP AFFORDABLE HOUSING AND ASSOCIATED INFRASTRUCTURE AT PROPERTY, LOCATED AT ONE 15 BLUFFTON ROAD, IN, IN SUBSTANTIALLY THE FORM OF THE ATTACHED LETTER OF INTENT CHAIR.
ANY DISCUSSION? ALL IN FAVOR SAY AYE.