Speakers push a new kind of growth in Beaufort County

Beaufort County residents are well-versed on the pluses and minuses of growth.

On one hand, development brings in new residents, new businesses and new revenue to local governments.

On the other, development also brings more traffic, strains the environment and demands more government services.

Can the region grow without giving up what makes it special?

That's the question speakers attempted to answer at a conference sponsored by the Beaufort Regional and Jasper County chambers of commerce last week.

"You all are sitting on a gold mine here. This is a beautiful, beautiful place," said Tad Leithead, vice president for development at Cousins Properties in Atlanta. "But growth will strangle the quality of life unless you're extremely cautious."

For years the Lowcountry has seen its population surge, though it's recently slowed because of the national economic downturn. Speakers emphasized that no matter how growth-weary people are, more growth can be expected in the future.

"We're going to have 1.3 to 1.5 million people coming to the state ... by 2030. And about 35 percent of those will be in the coastal region," said John Knott, former chairman of the South Carolina chapter of the Urban Land Institute.

Knott said to manage the growth, local officials have to be judicious in setting development rules. Preserving the area's fragile ecosystem should be the top priority.

Knott and other speakers are part of what's been dubbed as the "smart growth" movement.

Though the term is sometimes used broadly, proponents generally decry sprawling strip-mall development and support more compact growth that puts homes and apartments near schools, restaurants and entertainment. The movement favors public transit, biking and walking.

Former Bluffton town manager Josh Martin, now working with the Coastal Conservation League in Charleston, said southern Beaufort County has not always lived up to smart growth ideals.

"I feel many of the parts of the land that we've developed, especially south of the Broad along the (U.S.) 278 corridor and even in the Okatie area, is a travesty," said Martin. But he added that it isn't too late.

He pointed to the proposed re-development of Tanger Outlet Center 1, expected to be rebuilt using environmentally friendly methods. Martin said the county should bring in new housing as part of that re-development.

"This is a perfect opportunity, where they're going to totally redo the outlet mall," Martin said. If housing were part of the re-development plan, the mall project not only would be built to green standards, but it would also reduce sprawl, he said.