July LIBPA Newsletter

Island Notes: Congratulations to Dr. O. L. Mikell, MD, of Dermatology Associates of the Lowcountry on his selection by the South Carolina Dermatological Association as its 2008 Physician of the Year. His selection was based on his exemplary service to the organization and his commitment to the practice of medicine in the field of dermatology. Thank you to each of the candidates in the June 10 primary for the speed with which they and their supporters removed the political signs from alongside the roadways. Beaufort - Jasper Water and Sewer Authority is a good business partner to the Lady’s Island community and responded as soon as they were notified that a problem existed with sidewalks and landscaping being damaged as part of the BJWSA sewer project in front of the Bluff Farm community. Thanks Mr. Moss. Construction of Butler Marine’s new home is the reason for the construction under way directly across from the Lady’s Island Marina on Sea Island Parkway. Once completed, Butler Marine will move from its present location on Lady’s Island Drive at which time planning can begin for that property to become part of Crystal Lake Park..

Has Wal-Mart Really Lost Interest In Lady's Island? With the withdrawal of the request by Wal-Mart to fill a small piece of wetlands on the property near the Lady’s Island Airport – has Wal-Mart lost interest in Lady’s Island? Perhaps, but the Wal-Mart history in other parts of the country would indicate Lady’s Island has not heard the last in regard to a new Wal-Mart Store. At this point in the permitting process Wal-Mart has every right to submit another request to the City of Beaufort to build a Wal-Mart in the same location (next to the Lady’s Island Airport) as the first request. To increase its chances of approval this new request would not request approval to build a large super center type of store but rather a cluster of smaller stores. Such Wal-Mart stores are already in existence with the first one being opened in 1998 and today number over 128 in the United States. They are called Neighborhood Markets with an average size of 40,000 square feet and usually are located in areas which already have a super center type of Wal-Mart. These smaller stores are designed to reinforce the Wal-Mart existing position in the local grocery market and usually offer a bakery, deli, pharmacy, dairy products, frozen foods, general groceries, meat, seafood, snacks and liquor. Their attraction, when compared to the larger Wal-Mart stores, is the ability to offer easier parking, less crowded aisles and faster checkouts. Will a Neighborhood Market or some modified version of it be the next chapter in the story of Wal – Mart and Lady’s Island? The truth is, only Wal-Mart knows.

Big Box Ordinance Passed By Horry County Council: After two Wal-Mart stores went up under existing ordinances in the Myrtle Beach area but without the review or approval of the Horry County Planning Commission or County Council they took a second look at their permitting process for large retail establishments. The result was an ordinance passed in May 2008 by Horry County Council that said any retail establishment in excess of 100,000 square feet would be permitted only within a planned development district (planned unit development in Beaufort County) in which retail facilities of that size or larger are specifically authorized. It is not a complicated ordinance in the respect that it simply requires “big box” type of stores to be reviewed by the planning commission and approved by the county council. The majority of the 30 page ordinance was dedicated to establishing design guidelines which would have to be followed by all new large retail stores. The City of Beaufort Council recently directed that an ordinance be prepared for their consideration which would clearly define the acceptable location(s) for large scale retail establishments. Hopefully, such an ordinance can be developed and concurred in not only by the City of Beaufort but also the Town of Port Royal and Beaufort County. We certainly do not need to repeat the Horry County experience of waiting until large scale retail stores are built in inappropriate areas and then pass an ordinance to say where such stores should be built. LIBPA extends a special thanks to the members of the Beaufort City Council for taking the initiative in developing such an ordinance.

Membership Rosters Updated: During June an effort was made to call each LIBPA member who had not paid their 2008 dues. These calls combined with a review of the members who we know we have lost since last year provided an insight into our community. Sadly, some of our long time members have passed away, some members due to the drop in residential construction or the real estate market have relocated, some members indicated that due to other commitments they can no longer attend the monthly meetings and some indicated that LIBPA had not served the role for which they had originally joined. Final letters have been forwarded to each member who has not paid their 2008 dues and their name will be deleted from the active roles. At the midpoint of the year we have had the pleasure of welcoming 19 new members in 2008. To each of you who continue to support LIBPA and the many projects with which it is involved – thank you.

Lady's Island Voters And The Recent Primary Election: As we get ready for the November General Election it is only appropriate to review the manner in which the voting population of Lady’s Island responded to the June 10 Primary Election. First it is a pleasure to report that 27% of the registered voters on Lady’s Island actually went to the polls and voted. Although 27% voting participation is not a reason for celebration it is in fact better than the 22% voting rate in the primary for the remainder of Beaufort County. Since December of 2006 Lady’s Island has enjoyed an increase of 519 registered voters and presently has a base of 6,730 registered voters. The Lady’s Island precinct with the highest voting rate in the recent election was Lady’s Island 3.B (Factory Creek) with a 38% voting rate. The precinct with the lowest voting rate was Lady’s Island 2.B (Sams Point, Coosa Island) with a 24% voting rate. In other words, the Lady’s Island precinct with the lowest voting rate was still 2% better than the Beaufort County average. It is offered that a high percentage of voters regularly going to the polls equates to a high level of attention by elected officials; not only at election time but all of the time. Please continue to make Lady’s Island an area that speaks loudly at election time – vote.

Fastest Growing Types Of businesses On Lady's Island: A review of licenses issued for businesses on Lady’s Island for the last 5 years indicates the following are the types of businesses increasing in number at the fastest rate.                          From 2003 to 2007 Lady’s Island attracted 270 new businesses which generated $48 million in additional revenue. All of which is good news. The less than good news is we (Lady’s Island) still have an excess of office space and an insufficient amount of property available for light industrial uses. The shortage of property zoned for light industrial use can be corrected reasonably easy, if we want to do it. The excess of available office space is more a matter of the local and national economy.

Welcome To Lady's Island Signs: As an organization the Lady’s Island Business and Professional Association in partnership with a local business, Spectrum Graphics, installs and maintains the “Welcome to Lady’s Island” signs at the Woods Memorial Bridge and McTeer Bridge. A recent inspection of the signs indicated that it was time for some basic maintenance to be performed on the signs. If you notice one of the signs is missing, that is only to allow the necessary work to be accomplished. When the project to widen Lady’s Island Drive is completed a decision will be made as to the desirability of replacing the present McTeer Bridge welcome sign. LIBPA also sponsors the sign at the McTeer Bridge which recognizes the landscaping contribution of the Lady’s Island Garden Club and the signs on each of the medians on Sams Point Road. The source of funding for these projects is LIBPA membership dues. Frank Bailey, owner of Spectrum Graphics, provides the labor and technical support at a reduced cost as a public service gesture.

Foreclosure & Bankruptcy Report: The number of Beaufort county homes involved in foreclosure procedures saw a slight jump in the month of June. South of the Broad River saw an increase of 16 homes for a total of 85 cases and north of the Broad River saw an increase of 3 for a total of 20 cases. Beaufort County presently has 105 homes involved in foreclosure procedures versus 86 homes in May. Following is a review of the number of homes in Beaufort County involved in bankruptcy procedures.                                                       Editor’s Note: All data contained in this article is derived from www.foreclosure.com.

LIBPA Calendar: The following schedule of guest speakers for the Lady’s Island Business and Professional Association monthly meetings is provided for your planning purposes. August 12 – Dr. Valerie Truesdale, Ph.D, Superintendent of Beaufort County School District September 9 – District 46 State Senate Candidates Forum (Mr. Tom Davis (R), Mr. Kent Fletcher (D) October 14 – District 124 State House of Representatives Candidates Forum (Ms. Shannon Erickson (R), Mr. Jim Brown (D) November 11 – Speaker TBD, Oyster Roast Each of the above scheduled meetings, with the exception of the Oyster Roast, will be held at 8 AM at the Sea Island Conference Center.

Lady's Island - Neither Fish Nor Fowl: The phrase “neither fish nor fowl” is a common phrase (at least in the south) used to identify something that is difficult to describe or understand because it is like one thing in some ways but like another thing in other ways. On Lady’s Island, as a result of being a blended community (governmental wise), the answer as to who can and should provide basic services such as grass cutting, street cleaning and median landscaping is never clear and we often fall in the category of neither fish nor fowl. Neither the county nor SCDOT are organized or funded to provide municipal type services. The City of Beaufort has annexed a good bit of commercial property on Lady’s Island but is not inclined, nor financially able, to expand those services to the entire island without a source of funding. Over the next few years we, on Lady’s Island, are going to see a wider Lady’s Island Drive, a new connector road (Highway 21 and Lady’s Island Drive), additional sidewalks and more planted medians. That is the good news. The less than good news is that in spite of the fact that Lady’s Island Drive and the connector road will serve as the gateway to the sea islands for the over 1.5 million annual visitors to Hunting Island Park, there is no system in place to adequately keep the grass cut beside these roads and sidewalks, to landscape and maintain the planted medians or to keep the streets clean. This is not new – we learned it the hard way with the widened portion of Sams Point Road. Following is a brief history of “lessons learned” with the Sams Point Road project. Planted medians. Today the medians on Sams Point Road are very attractive, well maintained and serve as a model of a successful public/private venture. It only took LIBPA about 5 years of effort to recruit businesses (LIBPA members) to assume the responsibility for the maintenance of the 5 medians in return for advertising signage which is provided and funded by LIBPA. Hopefully, using the lessons learned from the Sams Point experience we can move more quickly in regard to finding sponsors for the new medians. The alternative is grass medians with the grass being cut at the discretion of SCDOT. Trash. After the Sams Point Road project was completed, the road and right of way were constantly filled with various forms of trash. After years of pleading by LIBPA and special support from Mr. Windell Milligan, the local Director of SCDOT Public Works, the S. C. Department of Transportation provided adequate funds to contract a commercial firm to sweep the road. Today, perhaps the contractor does not sweep it as frequently as we would like, but it is much better than in the past. The trash alongside the road was a constant problem until Everett Ballenger and the employees of then Ballenger Reality, now Keller – Williams stepped up to the plate and volunteered to assume the responsibility for periodic “trash pick ups” as part of the Keep America Beautiful program. Although we already have organizations that pick up trash along Lady’s Island Drive new organizations will have to be recruited for the connector road. Grass cutting. The South Carolina Department of Transportation is responsible for building and maintaining roads. It will, on special occasions such as was the case with Sams Point Road and Lady’s Island Drive, approve the construction of sidewalks. In the best of fiscal years (state wise) SCDOT can only afford to periodically mow the grass in medians and alongside the road and sidewalks. This infrequent mowing results in grass reaching heights deemed unacceptable by the general public. As for the grass along Sams Point Road the residents and communities such as New Point and Bluff Farm have kept the grass cut and the sidewalks trimmed. This is not a perfect solution and when the adjoining property is undeveloped, such as at the intersection of Sams Point Road, Brickyard Point Road and Holly Hall Road the grass reaches unacceptable heights and starts to infringe on the sidewalks. For the Sams Point Road the present combination of public and private efforts is marginally acceptable. With the new roads, sidewalks and medians scheduled for Lady’s Island Drive and the new connector road, it is questionable the same system will work. LIBPA will once again take the lead in finding sponsors for the new planted medians. Volunteer groups hopefully will continue to support litter control through the Keep America Beautiful program. If SCDOT, Beaufort County, the Town of Port Royal or the City of Beaufort cannot come up with a joint system of responsibility for the cleanliness and landscaping of these new roads - who will? Surely, a practical solution can be found before the projects are completed and the problem reaches a point of embarrassment.

Land Planning Facts: (Living close to the water) More than half of Americans live within 50 miles of the Atlantic, Pacific, Gulf and Great Lakes coast on just a one fifth of the country’s land. (Center for Environment and Population) (Increase in developed land) Each American today occupies almost 20% more developed land (housing, schools, and roads) than 20 years ago. By the late 1990’s 1.7 acres of land was being developed for every person added to the population. This (1.7 acres) is the equivalent of about 220 parking spaces or 16 basketball courts. (Center for Environment and Population)

A Real Estate Snapshot In Time - May 2007 vs May 2008: By Everett Ballenger, President, Beaufort County Association of Realtors, Keller Williams Realty/Ballenger Associates. Following is a statistical comparison for May 2007 versus May 2008 for residential sales for the combined area to include the City of Beaufort, Mossy Oaks, Port Royal, Burton and Lady’s Island.                                      The numbers speak for themselves. Numbers wise we saw a 13% drop in the number of houses sold. May saw some houses on the high end sell and as a result the average price increased in 2008 but the median price (50% above and 50% below) experienced a 4.6% drop. The statistics show nothing new. Homes in the Beaufort area are selling but not at the rate enjoyed in the past. Finding the price for the home which satisfies the seller and still attracts the buyer is still the average Realtors major challenge. Next month we will do a comparative analysis of the first 6 months of 2007 versus the first 6 months of 2008 for the northern Beaufort County real estate market.

Is Real Estate A Good Long Term Investment?: By Everett Ballenger, President, Beaufort County Association of Realtors, Keller Williams Realty/Ballenger Associates. Realtors are often asked if real estate is a good long term investment. Naturally, the answer to that question depends on the location of the real estate. To allow you to decide for yourself, in regard to residential real estate in northern Beaufort County, the following data is provided to show the annual average percentage of increase in the selling price of a home over the last decade.                                   If you take the best case scenario average price...the City of Beaufort saw the greatest appreciation at around 10.5% annually over the last decade. Lady’s Island had the lowest average annual increase in selling price at 5.9%. One can get out of numbers whatever one wants to, but even with the serious market correction of the last two years, over the long haul (10 years) property still shows a respectable rate of return. There are many security indices with which to compare, but if you take the S&P 500 over the last ten years, you would see an appreciation of around 6%. Some indices are lower – some are much higher. I know we have seen a volatile housing market lately. This kind of volatility is not that unusual in the security markets. Money markets are of course much less volatile – but pay far less return. Another advantage of real estate is that you can actually live in it! I am not sure when the preoccupation with appreciation started. In the past, when people first owned or built a house, it was for the comfort and safety of their family. If after 5-6 years of ownership they decided to sell and move on…and the house sold for more than they paid for it – that was a bonus! Most folk’s primary residence is still their largest investment. It should be an investment in their families comfort, lifestyle, and security –not just a speculative investment purchased for the purpose of making a financial windfall. In that regard, we all accept deprecation of our cars, boats, RV’s and almost everything we buy. However, when it comes to our homes - that is another matter. Due to the housing bubble experienced over the last decade we, as a nation, came to expect that when we sold our home, regardless of how long we have owned it, the final selling price would be significantly more than what we had originally paid for it. The brutal truth is that if we live in house for 5-6 years and breakeven at the closing table, we have had the pleasure of living in a comfortable home, for the cost of our mortgage interest, taxes, and any maintenance. Personally I believe and the data confirms that over the long haul real estate in northern Beaufort County still makes an excellent investment…even if we don’t become instant millionaires when we eventually come to sell! Realtor’s Note: The percentage of annual increase in the value for the homes in the respective areas provided in this article utilized the calculator available at www.dollartimes.com. This site contains a calculator that allows you to quickly and easily determine the annual increase in value of your home.

Repaving Scheduled For Two Lady's Island Roads: by Rick Butler, LIBPA Transportation Representative Contracts have been let to Rea Construction Company for repaving Royal Pines Boulevard and Oyster Catcher Road on Lady’s Island. The repaving of the two roads is part of a larger contract signed June 23. Before asphalt actually begins to be laid down on Lady’s Island, the contractor is scheduled to pave a road in Bluffton. Actual work on the two local road repaving projects might start in late July, and will be underway during August. On the dirt roads front, the Beaufort County Transportation Committee has reached the testing phase of a new formula for prioritizing which of the more than 120 miles of County dirt roads might be paved in the next few years. The new formula will be tested to reprioritize all roads in the County, and be reviewed at the Transportation Committee’s September meeting. As reported in a recent LIBPA newsletter, about 17 miles of dirt roads remain on Lady’s Island. Dirt roads create storm evacuation and emergency vehicle hazards, vehicle damage and ongoing maintenance costs. Ms. Maggie Hickman of the Engineer’s Office contributed to this report.

"Lauren Gentry" Bill Signed Into Law:  (photo) L-R Ms. Lauren Gentry, Governor Mark Sanford, Representative Shannon Erickson as Governor Sanford signs Lauren Gentry Bill. Lauren Gentry, was a star softball player at Battery Creek High School who transferred to Beaufort High School in an effort to escape harassment from an ex–boyfriend. In changing schools without a change in address, the S. C. High School League ruled that had lost her eligibility to play softball her senior year. District 124 Representative Shannon Erickson, upon hearing of Lauren’s problem, initiated a bill to insure that S. C. law would allow high schools to make exceptions in cases, such as Ms. Gentry’s, where the reason for transferring involved the individual’s safety. The picture above this article tells the end of the story in that the House of Representatives and the Senate supported the “Lauren Gentry” bill and Governor Sanford is shown signing the bill with Ms. Gentry and Representative Erickson in attendance. The bill did not pass in time for Ms. Gentry to play softball her senior year. However, the fact that her state representative would take up her cause and insure that in the future, students in cases similar to hers could continue to play sports is priceless. That is real constituent service on the part of an elected official. Nice work Representative Erickson.

Northern Regional Plan Update: by Jim Hicks, Lady's Island Representative, Beaufort Planning Commission For over a year a small group of elected and appointed representatives of each of the municipalities north of Broad River and Beaufort County have met on a monthly basis attempting to find “common” planning ground on which to base a comprehensive plan capable of guiding future growth. In the final months of 2007 they succeeded in developing an 86 page document that said between now and 2025 we are going to be faced with more growth than we can afford and that we had best learn to work together. As way of guiding future growth the participating governments agreed to specific growth boundaries (Port Royal Island and Lady’s Island) and identified specific areas that would remain rural. The Councils of the City of Beaufort, the Town of Port Royal and Beaufort County each passed a resolution supporting the plan. In December 2007 Beaufort County incorporated the key elements of the Northern Regional Plan into their Comprehensive Plan. The Town of Yamassee withdrew from the process for a variety of reasons but retained the option to adopt the plan at a later date. With the Northern Regional Plan adopted by the county and two municipalities some of the next steps to be taken are: Intergovernmental Agreement. This is a document which spells out how the governments will work together to guide future growth and define how disagreements will be resolved. At the present time each of the governments are reviewing a draft agreement put together by the steering committee. Overlay Districts for Key Roads. Some of the property along Highways SC 802 and U. S. 21 falls under the jurisdiction of each of the participating governments all of which have different zoning regulations and enforce these regulations through separate corridor review boards. To avoid a hodge-podge of different types of businesses and architecture the committee is investigating the feasibility of developing an overlay district for both roads that would standardize zoning regulations and architectural standards and possibly use a joint corridor review board for reviewing proposed projects. Transfer of Development Rights. To protect the Marine Corps Air Station the land immediately adjoining federal property was placed in an overlay district which basically froze the land in perpetuity as rural property and strongly discouraged development. To offset the property owner’s loss of opportunity to develop their property at higher densities the Marine Corps is funding a study of the feasibility of implementing a concept entitled “Transfer of Development Rights”. The premise behind the “Transfer of Development Rights” program is to allow a property owner to sell the right to build a home on his property to a developer, in another location, who is limited in the number of houses he can build in another area and thus can increase his density. The theory is simple, the execution is very complicated. At this point it has been recommended that a property owner in the area adjacent to the Air Station (sending area) could sell the right to build a house on his land to a developer, who desires additional density, in a designated area on Port Royal Island (receiving area). The recommended price is $32,000 per house forfeited and for this the developer could build an additional 3 homes. Originally, Lady’s Island was included as an area in which a developer could purchase additional density through this program. However, after looking at the projected growth and the road and bridge limitations a decision was made to exclude Lady’s Island as a potential receiving area. The Lowcountry Council of Governments is the lead agency for this study and there are many questions which must be answered before a “Transfer of Development Rights” program becomes a reality. Regional Commercial. The recent request by Wal-Mart to build a super center on Lady’s Island raised the question of where such large commercial enterprises should be authorized. The Beaufort County Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Lowcountry Economic Network has looked at this question and provided recommendations and comments. The City of Beaufort has taken the lead in this area by directing the development of an ordinance that would establish where large retail “big box” stores should be located within the municipality. Rural Zoning. The present zoning for rural property has been in effect since 1997. The Beaufort County Planning Department has completed an “in depth” analysis of what has occurred while this zoning has been in effect and what may happen if no changes are implemented. From this analysis has evolved recommended changes to the present rural zoning. The next step is to insure that the long term implications of the proposed changes are identified and that the public is involved in the final decision. As can be seen none of the above subjects lend themselves to easy answers. However, that the elected leaders of both our county and municipal governments are seeking solutions in a joint effort may, just may, provide our county with an opportunity to better cope with future growth. At least the effort is being made and made together.

The Future Of The Rural Part Of Lady's Island: Beaufort County, as part of the state requirement to rewrite its Comprehensive Plan each 10 years, is evaluating the effectiveness of the present rural zoning. Although it is much more complicated, the most common understanding of rural zoning in Beaufort County is that it allows 1 house to be built on every 3 acres. The question, now being asked, is over the last 10 years has the present rural zoning served Beaufort County well and if so, could it be improved. Based on the community meetings, held to date, the answer to that question would appear to depend on where you live. Those living north of the Whale Branch desire a rural zoning that promotes increased economic development; St. Helena residents indicate a desire to retain low density and emphasize cultural protection and although individual property owners on Lady’s Island may desire minor changes to the present zoning, one thing comes across loud and clear – they desire the rural portion of Lady’s Island to remain rural in every respect and not become another Bluffton. In the very recent past most of Lady’s Island was rural. Today, even though the island continues to present a rural appearance, only 6,864 acres of the 14,385 acre island or 48% of the total island is actually zoned rural. The majority of the rural land is located on the northern part of the island, the land surrounding the Ashdale community and the property between the Lady’s Island Airport and Chowan Creek. There is a logical reason for the rural zoning of each of these areas. - The northern part of the island is zoned rural due to a portion of it being in the flight path of the Marine Corps Air Station. It is also the location of a major aquifer recharge area and has over 200 acres of the Mitchell family property protected by a conservation easement. To prevent further development in the flight path of the Air Station Beaufort County and the Marine Corps purchased 65 acres, as part of the Rural and Critical Land Program, on the northern part of the island. -The majority of the rural property near the Ashdale community consists of the 646 acres placed in a conservation easement by Dr. Pratt. - The property located along Sea Island Parkway from the Lady’s Island Airport to the Chowen Creek remains rural because most of it is wetlands. Today there are 1,121 homes in the rural area of Lady’s Island which calculates to a density of 1 dwelling unit/ 6 acres. Under the present rural zoning conceivably another 1,949 homes could be built in the rural area alone. If that occurred the density of the Lady’s Island rural area would be 1 dwelling unit per 2.23 acres. This is a mathematical illusion in that within the rural portion of the island are communities approved for development at a higher density than allowed by rural zoning. Examples are Coosaw Point (450 homes with a final density of 1.22 units/acre), Pleasant Point (614 homes and 155 multifamily units with a final density of 1.46 units/acre), and Coosaw River Estates (200 homes with a final density of 1.5 units/acre). So, in the future approximately 1 out of every 2 homes in the rural area of Lady’s Island will be in established communities located within the rural area. The remaining homes, under the current zoning, will continue to be able to enjoy a low density, rural life style. In the next few months the residents of Lady’s Island will be asked to comment on possible changes to the present rural zoning. One of the changes being considered is a revision of the time that property must be owned by one family for it to be considered a “family compound”. A designation of “family compound” allows additional homes to be built on the property for members of that family. At the present time the minimum period of ownership, by a family, for eligibility as a family compound is 50 years or original ownership occurring in 1947 or earlier. Another possible change being considered and certain to be controversial is to replace or modify the 1 house per 3 acre density rule for rural property with a sliding density scale and do away with a Rural Residential classification. A very common sense change being considered is to allow the owner of a farm to “cluster” (higher density than 1/3 acres) the number of homes he is allowed for his total property into a single development and continue to farm the remaining land versus being required to leave the remaining land as “open space” as required under the present regulations. Lady’s Island has unique requirements for rural zoning as do our neighbors on St. Helena and those communities north of the Whale Branch. Since 60% of the land north of the Broad River is presently zoned rural the simple truth is that when it comes to rural zoning it is impossible to please every one but hopefully any changes will include fairness to the individual property owner and a full understanding of the resulting infrastructure cost. One thing is for sure, the residents of Lady’s Island like the rural nature of the island and anything that would change that should be opposed.