Council approves PRC purchases

2 sites in West Ashley to cost total of $16.5M

Almost half of the half-percent sales tax revenue for new county parkland will be spent west of the Ashley.

Charleston County Council gave its blessing Tuesday for its park agency to buy about 117 acres on Morris Island, as well as 1,568 acres at the Long Savannah site and 420 acres in Meggett for the land known as Harmony Hall.

While council quickly approved paying $1.5 million for the uninhabited northern tip of Morris Island, known as Cummings Point, approval didn't come so easily for the controversial West Ashley sites.

Council members voted unanimously to let the Park and Recreation Commission pay Long Savannah LLC $6.5 million to buy the tract west of Bees Ferry Road.

But they threw out perhaps the most-criticized factor of the deal: Council did not agree to move the urban growth boundary, as developers asked, in exchange for the large new park.

The company wants to build three times as many homes as the current zoning allows. The development would also likely be immediately annexed into the city of Charleston. Those plans didn't sit well with council members.

Said Chairman Tim Scott: "Council is adamantly opposed to making a parkland acquisition contingent on the urban growth boundary line and annexation."

Scott said that while council did not agree to move the urban boundary, the process is already under way for the developers to seek the change.

The county's Planning Commission on Aug. 13 is slated to review the Long Savannah project and the merits of moving the growth boundary, and so the issue will soon make its way back to Council.

Charleston Mayor Joe Riley shared his support for the project during council's Finance Committee meeting.

He noted that the city is considering a separate deal that would buy 232 acres near the Long Savannah development for a city park, and he said the new parks would better define where suburban growth ends.

"It becomes an impenetrable urban growth boundary and a gorgeous feature," Riley said.

The $10 million Harmony Hall tract drew mixed views among council.

While some questioned its location close to other county parks, others argued that the land was precious and needs to be preserved.

By the end of the night, five councilmen voted in favor — Scott, Henry Darby, Teddie Pryor, Curtis Bostic and Curtis Inabinett. Joe McKeown and Dickie Schweers voted no. Paul Thurmond and Colleen Condon abstained.

Thurmond said he refrained from voting on the Meggett parcel because he doesn't want his close relationship with Rep. Chip Limehouse, R-Charleston, to be called into question. Limehouse's family-owned business, Limehouse Properties, is brokering the $10 million deal.

The PRC has about $36 million to spend on new county parks.

Condon questioned paying so much for the land when other areas, such as East Cooper and North Charleston, should be considered higher priorities. But she said she didn't have enough information to cast a vote. "I feel like I'm missing some facts," Condon said.

Bostic said there is an overall trend where growth is moving westward and that the county should preserve what it can now. "If we wait 10 years ... it won't exist to buy," he said.

McKeown said studies have shown that more open, green space is needed east of the Cooper.

"Our immediate need is not in Meggett," he said. "We're out of money before we attack those greatest needs."

Scott said he was originally opposed to buying Harmony Hall but changed his mind after he learned that it offers 1.83 miles of accessible waterfront.

While critics have questioned the level of secrecy and high price surrounding the Harmony Hall deal, PRC Chairman Kevin Hollinshead defended the purchase Tuesday, saying, "It was a gut-call decision."

Reach Tenisha Waldo at 937-5744 or twaldo@postandcourier.com.