Gov. Mark Sanford signed legislation in 2004 calling for the 57-acre property to be closed and sold to a private developer by the end of this year -- giving Port Royal residents access to the waterfront and allowing the municipality to put the land on its tax rolls.

But the two-year process is nearing its deadline, and it could be October before a development agreement for the land -- a key step before the site is presented for bids to private developers -- is handed over to the Port Royal Town Council.

"This is their (Ports Authority) responsibility," Port Royal Town Manager Van Willis said this week. "They are the ones beholden to the legislation, not the town -- but the town will work to accommodate them."

Glen Kilgore, a member of the Ports Authority board, said Ports Authority officials are working hard to meet the legislature's deadline, but he would not say what they are doing to prepare the land for sale.

Ports Authority officials announced this month that the agency has started breaking some of the leases it holds with businesses operating on Port of Port Royal property.

"You just never know because when you have a lot of groups involved it takes time," Kilgore said of whether the land will be sold by the end of the year. "It is in full gear, and we are aware of this and are working to get this resolved."

Only this month did the Ports Authority agree on the amount of park space that should be included in the redevelopment plan, and that proposal, which has to be vetted by the town, stalled when it reached the town's Redevelopment Commission last week.

The plan approved by the Ports Authority board this month includes 22 acres of park space. An original proposal for the port development included 4.2 acres of park space, but Sanford called for the development to include 13 acres.

Many Port Royal officials say they're not surprised the process has taken this long because of the open-space debate and the number of parties involved, including the governor's office, the town and Ports Authority.

"Once we put the open space issue to bed, Town Council and the Redevelopment Commission will revisit other issues (density and height) and include them into the development agreement," Willis said. "The only thing we are focused on now is the (open space) recommendation."

Although the legislation calling for the port to be closed and sold doesn't include penalties if that doesn't happen by the end of the year, Joel Sawyer, spokesman for the governor's office, said all of the groups involved should be trying to reach that goal.

"It would seem all parties involved would want this resolved as quickly as possible so we can move forward in redeveloping this land," he said. "The Authority is committed to pursuing that date. We look forward to soliciting qualifications, finalizing a development agreement and putting the property back on the tax roll."

Port Royal officials must approve the amount of open space before they can begin working on a development agreement, Willis said, adding that several meetings will be held locally next week to hurry the process.

The Redevelopment Commission and the Town Council will hold a conference call with the firm originally hired to craft Port Royal's vision for the port property to discuss the appropriate park space along with height and density issues.

The council doesn't have to follow the commission's recommendation, but town officials say the group's input is vital.

Not until the Town Council and Redevelopment Commission agree on park space can the town turn its attention to creating a development agreement with the Ports Authority. A development agreement, which essentially will guide the future of the port land for years to come, will be subject to two votes and two public hearing from the Town Council.

Mayor Sam Murray said he wasn't sure when the Ports Authority will have a development agreement ready for the town's lawyers to review. But he says if all parties continue to work together they could beat the deadline.

"This is not something you can do in 30 days; I think it will take at least 60 days," he said about the town receiving a first draft of a development agreement from the Ports Authority.