Plans for 5-star Sea Pines resort move a step forward, despite some residents’ concerns

A proposed major expansion of The Inn & Club at Harbour Town took a step closer Thursday to becoming reality, though plenty of residents’ concerns were raised after a vote by the Association of Sea Pines Plantation Property Owners.

The ASPPPO board, which represents most of the homeowners in Sea Pines, voted 7 to 1 to approve a proposed referendum that would more than double the current size of The Inn & Club at Harbour Town, and a set of benefits that Sea Pines Resort would agree to provide to residents if the referendum receives final approval this fall.

Resort officials have said they want to turn the hotel into a five-star resort with the approximately $70 million to $100 million expansion project, which would add 90 rooms to the existing 60-room hotel.

About 70 residents attended Thursday’s meeting, and more than a dozen addressed the ASPPPO board and Sea Pines Resort officials during the question-and-answer session following the board’s vote. A reporter from The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette was allowed to attend the meeting, which normally is closed to non-property owners.

The residents who spoke were overwhelmingly concerned about the terms of the referendum, with many noting that expanding the hotel itself was not a problem. Last month, residents voiced similar concerns about the referendum at a community meeting.

Christopher Cliffe, a property owner, said the referendum was an assault on the Sea Pines founders.

“Change always seems to be a source of conflict, and quite often, has unintended consequences,” he said. “With change, the devil is often in the detail. And the detail is not being presented for scrutiny.”

Other concerns raised by residents included the impact of more traffic in Sea Pines, a need for revision of the covenants, and the effect of relocating tennis courts to Lawton Stables would have on the community.

“Every bit of that 21 acres is used,” said Natalie Lieberman, a client of Lawton Stables and a Sea Pines property owner. “Taking eight acres would force Lawton Stables to reduce the number of horses kept on the property due to the lack of pasture ... (and would) ultimately cause the business to fail.”

Steve Birdwell, president of Sea Pines Resort, said more than 10 areas were studied for possible relocation of the tennis courts, but Lawton was the only property that would accommodate the tennis facilities. He said boarding horses at Lawton would no longer be possible under the proposed relocation, but that trail rides, pony rides and the petting farm would continue to operate.

“We’re at a place where we either need to exit the tennis business or utilize the eight acres on that site,” he said.

Prior to the meeting, Birdwell said he believes a majority of residents are in favor of the referendum.

During the board’s discussion of the referendum terms — after a failed motion to table the discussion and vote — comments were made about increasing real estate values, the ability to set forth future referendums, the need for covenant revisions, and a desire for Sea Pines Resort officials to seek input from Lawton Stables representatives before any plans are finalized.

“Today is a disappointing day because you’ve all rushed to a decision that I think is very precipitous,” Dana Advocaat, a property owner and vocal critic of the resort, said after the vote. “I think that we haven’t done our homework.”

But Becky Pardue, another property owner, said the agreement would benefit the entire Sea Pines community, noting that passing the referendum was crucial.

Because the referendum requires the approval of residents, the resort has offered several benefits, including an increase in the annual assessment paid by the resort to the community, a grant of $1 million to Sea Pines Plantation, and a transfer of about 300 acres of Wildlife Habitat Zone land to the Forest Preserve Foundation.

On Monday, the Community Services Associates board will vote on the referendum terms. After that, there will be a public forum. The referendum is scheduled to be brought to a final vote in early fall, said Charlie Miner, president of ASPPPO.

Passage of the referendum will require approval of more than 75 percent of property owners in Sea Pines. Ballots will be mailed to residents for them to vote.

This story was originally published June 22, 2017 at 7:14 PM with the headline "Plans for 5-star Sea Pines resort move a step forward, despite some residents’ concerns."