Proposed 5-star Sea Pines resort faces resistance from this new group

A new organization is encouraging Sea Pines property owners to vote against the proposed expansion of The Inn & Club at Harbour Town if a more “equitable agreement” is not reached beforehand, according to the group’s website.

Greg Morris, president and CEO of PACE Enterprises in Morgantown, W.Va., said Monday he founded Alliance for Sea Pines Future because, as a Sea Pines property owner, he is concerned about the lack of information he and other off-island property owners have received about a referendum planned for later this year.

“There’s so many of us in that category who aren’t here and don’t know what’s going on,” Morris said.

Morris lives in West Virginia but purchased property in Sea Pines about five years ago. He visits Hilton Head five or six times a year, he said. PACE Enterprises is a nonprofit that provides services to adults with disabilities.

If approved, the referendum would more than double the size of The Inn & Club at Harbour Town by adding 90 rooms, bringing the total number of rooms to 150. Sea Pines Resort officials have said they want to create a five-star resort by investing $70 million to $100 million over the next five to 10 years, but they need property owners’ approval to do it.

To gain support for the project, Sea Pines Resort has offered a set of benefits for residents contingent on the passage of the referendum. Among these incentives are an increase in the annual assessment the resort pays to Sea Pines Plantation, a $1 million grant to the community, and a transfer of about 300 acres of wildlife habitat zone land to the Forest Preserve Foundation.

Community Services Associates, which represents all property owners in Sea Pines, has unanimously approved setting a community-wide referendum vote, which is scheduled for early fall.

Alliance for Sea Pines Future was formed by property owners to “answer the one-sided publicity campaign of the resort,” according to a letter from Morris on the organization’s website. He said thousands have signed up for the group’s email list.

Morris said Monday the resort has done excellent work with previous improvements, and that his organization is not opposed to the proposed hotel expansion if certain conditions are met.

“It’s not necessarily what’s in the current offer; it’s what’s not in it,” Morris said, noting there are seven major areas the group wants addressed in the terms of the referendum.

Those issues include:

▪  A master plan for Harbour Town

▪  Increased funding for CSA

▪  More information on the proposed construction of a new Harbour Town pool

▪  The right of first refusal, which requires a seller to notify Sea Pines Resort when a property is up for sale, allowing the resort to buy the property before someone else

▪  Governance, which the group contends is largely controlled by the resort and commercial interests

▪  A proposed gate fee increase

▪  A new site for the relocation of tennis courts

Residents have raised concerns at board meetings of CSA and the Association of Sea Pines Plantation Property Owners, a voluntary group representing most property owners, about the fate of Lawton Stables, the proposed site of the tennis court relocation. An online petition with more than 1,100 signatures is urging a “no” vote to the planned referendum if an alternative location is not found.

Morris said there have been rumors about the status of the referendum after both CSA and ASPPPO approved the final terms set forth by Sea Pines Resort last month.

“The situation seems to change daily,” he said. “There are pretty good indications now that it may be re-evaluated.”

Charlie Miner, president of ASPPPO, said last week property owners have been presented with only a “rough outline” of the proposed benefits, and that the resort document listing those incentives needs to be “reduced to a detailed agreement.” Miner said ASPPPO and resort officials are in the process of exchanging drafts of a proposed agreement.

“The resort continues to monitor feedback and still hasn’t decided what their next step is,” Miner said.

Steve Birdwell, president of Sea Pines Resort, said Monday the resort continues to receive feedback from residents and will continue to communicate with them. He said resort officials plan to discuss the terms of the referendum with the resort’s board of directors at a meeting in early August, and that it’s possible the terms could change as a result of that discussion.

Birdwell said previously he believes the referendum has more support than opposition. He said Monday the resort is trying to set up a meeting with representatives of the Alliance for Sea Pines Future to discuss their concerns.

Morris said a survey was sent earlier this month to property owners to gauge support for the referendum, after the referendum terms had already been approved by both ASPPPO and CSA, which he noted was “puzzling” to him.

According to the CSA website, the survey was sent by CSA to “gain a sense of the community’s thoughts about the possible improvements being discussed.”

Morris said the survey results have not been shared with property owners.

“There are indications that both the resort and ASPPPO have seen and heard what we’re talking about,” Morris said. “I think it’s fair to say they clearly know we exist and know what our position is generally.”

This story was originally published July 24, 2017 at 4:05 PM with the headline "Proposed 5-star Sea Pines resort faces resistance from this new group."