Earnest discussion and development of plans to rezone and revamp the Port of Port Royal can begin next week, as town officials confirmed Thursday they received documents from the S.C. State Ports Authority outlining the future of the property.

The step comes a month after town leaders and Ports Authority officials were expected to meet to discuss the plans for the 57 acre property and three months before the due date for its sale. Redevelopment of the state port property has been in the works since Gov. Mark Sanford signed legislation in 2004 requiring it be closed and sold by the end of this year.

"We have played a waiting game, there is no doubt," town Planning Administrator Linda Bridges said.

The draft of the property's zoning plan will be available to the public after the Joint Municipal Planning Commission meeting Oct. 2, Town Manager Van Willis said. But because the draft of the property's development agreement is a contractual document, it may not be available to the public until just before its hearing, Willis said.

Willis said he would not release the documents to the public or press until they are reviewed and considered by the proper governmental bodies.

Byron Miller, spokesman for the Ports Authority, deferred to town officials and said since the documents are still drafts and require contractual negotiation, they are considered sensitive and could not be released.

Just after receiving the documents Thursday afternoon, Willis was pleased.

"At first glance, it's a pretty good document," he said.

Willis said he planned to distribute the documents to members of the town's Redevelopment Commission on Thursday night. The commission will review the zoning plan at a meeting Tuesday before passing it on to the Beaufort-Port Royal Joint Municipal Planning Commission, which will consider it Oct. 2.

After that, Bridges said she is hopeful town officials can finish discussion and approval of the plans by the council's Nov. 8 meeting.

Both the zoning plan and development agreement could go through first readings before the council at its Oct. 11 meeting and be heard publicly Nov. 1. A necessary second hearing for the development agreement could occur Nov. 8 and both documents could then pass second readings the same night, Bridges said.

While residents and officials could raise issues during the process that could slow decision making, Bridges said she was confident resolution would not be hard to find.

"We feel reasonably certain we're going to have something here," Bridges said.

Councilman Joe Lee said the town would consider the documents thoroughly but with the end-of-year deadline in mind.

"We're going to be diligent and get it turned around back to them, but we're still going to spend our time that we need to go through it," he said.

The Ports Authority is still working on satisfying the leases of current tenants of the property, including the dry stack marina, Port Royal Cement and fertilizer company Yari North America, said Miller, the Ports Authority spokesman.

The marina is "essentially vacant," Miller said. He would not comment on the status of the other properties nor confirm what other leases are in place on the property that need to be dealt with.

"We're continuing to ... figure out a way to end the relationships," Miller said. "It's neither quick nor easy nor cheap."