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Town prepared to limit annexations?

Port Royal mayor hopes to ease worries by keeping tight restrictions on building

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PORT ROYAL -- Now that Port Royal has approved the controversial annexation of the Mobley tract in Okatie, Mayor Sam Murray says the town is willing to work with municipalities in southern Beaufort and Jasper counties to address growth issues and set building limits.

On Wednesday, the Port Royal Town Council voted to annex and rezone the 105-acre tract on the Chechessee River. The move allows a developer to build up to 250 homes and was taken despite opposition from Beaufort County residents and environmental leaders, who questioned the move because they said it will increase traffic on S.C. 170, harm waterways and marshland, and boost property taxes.

Also at the Town Council meeting, Murray gave a written statement hoping to ease residents' worries. It siad the town has seriously reviewed input provided from groups such as Beaufort County Council and will impose a moratorium on any additional annexations beyond the growth boundaries imposed by the amendment of the town's land-use plan.

Murray said the town is waiting on a response from the Bluffton Fire District and hopes to have an agreement on fire protection for the Mobley tract worked out by next week. The town is negotiating with the district for the service, and Murray said police protection primarily will be provided by the Port Royal Police Department.

Port Royal officials have met with residents and county officials for several months to make an easy transition into the southern part of the county. But some people remain concerned about the pace of growth and the collection of impact fees to pay for new services, such as roads and parks that will be needed because of the growth.

Murray, who said last week it is time for the town to move on from this issue and now focus on the redevelopment of the Port of Port Royal, has maintained the town is willing to work with southern Beaufort County leaders to address any concerns. He said he doesn't want to burden his new neighbors and has extended an olive branch to ensure an effective partnership.

Tom Peeples, mayor of Hilton Head Island, said he is willing to work with Port Royal officials, southern Beaufort County and Jasper County to address the issue of growth in the area. Peeples said the main issues affecting the area are schools, roads and water quality, adding that these can't be addressed by just increasing impact fees.

"We need to look at our entire region and see what we can do realistically," Peeples said of Port Royal joining the southern portion of the county. "We need to play by the rules and understand that impact fees are limited by the state. Don't get me wrong, I support them, but they are so limited to what you can do."

Murray maintains the development agreement will allow the developer, Lyttleton Partners, to be charged impact fees and that any additional cost for services in the southern portion of the county will not be billed to the county and state.

Beaufort County Council Chairman Weston Newton said he left a March 1 meeting with Port Royal and Bluffton Fire District officials thinking the annexation would not happen because the town had not reached an agreement for fire service for the tract.

Newton said the main issues discussed at the meeting were school and fire districts participating in the planning discussions and also encouraging Port Royal to incorporate the Southern Beaufort Regional Plan recommendations into the Mobley tract's development agreement. He said Port Royal and other municipalities need to learn from past mistakes associated with annexation.

"The citizens are going to have to live with this development and other developments for a long time," he said. "The rapid pace of growth is not keeping up with the infrastructure in the area."

Contact Greg Jones at 986-5539 or . To comment on this story, please go to beaufortgazette.com.