On Monday, the county agreed to pay $311,250 for development rights to the property as part of its land conservation efforts, and to prevent development that could interfere with the air station's mission.
The Department of Defense will reimburse the county $155,625, half the cost of the development easement.
"The goal is compatible land use," said Marine Corps Lt. Col. Patrick Noonan, the air station's community plans and liaison officer. "We just want to permanently ensure compatible land use so we don't end up like Oceana."
Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach, Va., faces encroachment problems that have interfered with pilot training.
A federal program started last year permits the Defense Department to partner with other organizations, such as local governments, to buy buffer land or development rights around bases. The land must be used for conservation, not to expand the base, and property owners must agree to sell, Noonan said.
In this case, the military joined forces with the county's land buying partner, The Trust For Public Land, to purchase property recommended for conservation by the county's Rural and Critical Lands Program as part of a $40 million land buying referendum passed by voters in 2000.
The Defense Department-mandated round of military Base Realignment and Closure set for next year makes the purchase doubly important, Beaufort County Council Chairman Weston Newton said.
"Efforts to protect and address encroachment are significant to the Pentagon," he said. "The joint acquisition of development rights is the first of its kind in the country.
"This meets two complimentary goals," Newton said.
The purchase agreement only allows the land to be used for farming, passive recreational use, silviculture, grazing and the use of natural resources. The agreement also allows for the construction of a single-family guest house no larger than 1,500 heated square feet, a fish pond no larger than 3 acres, a tennis court for personal use and up to three additional barns no larger than 600 square feet and up to 40 feet in height.
"It gives us an opportunity to maintain the family farm and gives us some benefits from owning the property," said property owner William Winn, director of the county's Emergency Management Division.
Newton said the amount of independent work that went into the purchase should prevent any negative perceptions about the county buying development rights from a county employee.
The Rural and Critical Lands Program identified the property, the Trust for Public Land negotiated the deal and the property was assessed by an independent third party, Newton said.
Military Enhancement Committee Chairman John Payne called the purchase a historic event.
"It definitely prevents encroachment on that piece of property" said Payne, a retired Marine Corps colonel. "We're not only talking the talk, we're walking the walk. We're out there buying development rights to prevent encroachment."
The committee, an off-shoot of the Greater Beaufort Chamber of Commerce working to protect area bases, got another piece of good news Tuesday in the shape of a $5,000 check from the South Carolina Credit Union League for the committee's first fundraiser golf tournament.
Fund-raising chairman Jimmy Boozer said the committee's goal is to raise $25,000 at the Nov. 11 tournament at Ocean Creek Golf Club on Fripp Island.
The tournament, which costs $275 per person, will include a hole-in-one shoot out and silent auction as the committee works to raise money and awareness for its efforts, Boozer said.
Garry Parks, the president and chief executive officer of the S.C. Credit Union League and a retired Marine Corps lieutenant general, said it was important to his business to protect the bases because of the impact they have on the community.
"Our credit union members are members of the community," he said.
The league's donation is a step in the right direction, but the committee still needs more help from local businesses, said Payne, who has identified a lack of private donations as the committee's biggest disappointment.
"There are lots of local businesses that benefit from the military being here," he said. "I think they they've been lulled into a sense of security because we've been through so many rounds of (closures) and haven't lost anything."
For more information on the Military Enhancement Committee or the golf tournament, visit www.beaufortmec.com.