Is it time for Charleston County to take another look at the incentives it's offering to lure new industry here?

That's the question that County Council members raised last week even as they endorsed a multimillion-dollar incentive package to lure DaimlerChrysler's Sprinter van assembly plant.

Councilman Curtis Bostic praised county economic development director Steve Dykes, then added, "Maybe we're getting too much of a good thing. If people want to preserve beautiful land, we're going to have to take a measured approach to economic development."

Councilman Ed Fava also wondered if council could use stand to have a discussion about what incentives to use and which ones not to use.

He recalled how the county pushed very hard to lure new industries a decade ago to compensate for the closure of the Charleston Naval Base and Shipyard and noted, "We're still running on a railroad track with these projects."

Others sensed the county's geography could limit its ability to lure new industries.

"I think we're nearing the point where our natural resources are limiting what we can do," Council Chairman Leon Stavrinakis said. "We've got an oddly shaped county and a lot of land you can't use for anything."

Councilman Tim Scott doubted whether economic development efforts are driving the area's population explosion as much as its coastal climate, but he said the county needs good available jobs for the people who come here.

He also said the county should focus on cherry-picking the kind of jobs it desires "and how we can get the kind of people we want in Charleston County."

None of these concerns slowed council members' enthusiasm for the DaimlerChrysler deal, which is expected to create 220 new jobs in North Charleston. On Tuesday, they're expected to give unanimous approval to a three-pronged incentive package that includes:

--Allowing DaimlerChrysler to receive previous incentives given to American LaFrance, whose property DaimlerChrysler took over. Dykes said this break will be worth about $311,000 next year.

--Providing $50,000 from the county's economic development fund to relocate utilities near the DaimlerChrysler van plant.

--Giving DaimlerChrysler a break on its property taxes, specifically assessing its property at 6 percent, instead of the standard 10.5 percent. That would amount to about a 40 percent tax break for 20 years.

Dykes said the company still will pay about $22.2 million in taxes to the county, schools and other local governments under the deal, and he declined to estimate the total dollar value of the incentive package.

"We use this incentive sparingly, and we use it strategically in situations where we feel that, but for the use of that, the investment would go somewhere else," he said. "Would you rather have 60 percent of something substantial or 100 percent of nothing?"

It's unclear when - or if -County Council will have a more in-depth discussion on what incentives it wants to use and under what circumstances.

The issue wasn't on the agenda for its day-long retreat Saturday at James Island County Park, but council's underlying concerns aren't expected to change soon.

"We give away tax base every time we do incentives, for some period of time," Stavrinakis said. "There is somewhere out there a limit to how much of this you want to do. At some point, the quality of life will be impacted."

Reach Robert Behre at 937-5771 or at rbehre@postandcourier.com.