In Beaufort County's hottest race, Bluffton, controversial golf course are hot topics

With June 12's statewide primary looming, candidates for Beaufort County's most hotly contested council seat took stances on a host of hot-button issues at a recent forum.

Republicans Randy Boehme, Mark Lawson, Mike Raymond and Laura Sterling, and Democrat Mark McGinnis, addressed a small crowd at Monday night's event hosted by the Greater Bluffton Chamber of Commerce.

They're vying for a chance to replace Tabor Vaux Jr. (R), who announced earlier this year he would not seek re-election for the District 9 seat representing Bluffton, Pritchardville and Daufuskie Island.

For the Republicans, the pressure is on as the primary is just a few weeks away. McGinnis will get to sit back and watch things unfold ahead of November's general election.

But the stakes are high for all candidates, who were asked to take stances on, among other things, development, growth, local referendums — and Hilton Head National Golf Course.

Hilton Head National was the first issue candidates had to tackle, as forum moderator Shellie West, executive director of the Greater Bluffton Chamber of Commerce, asked whether they agree with county council's decision to deny the course's request to change its zoning. The denial prevented course owners Scratch Golf LLC from turning Hilton Head National into hundreds of apartments and homes and thousands of square feet of commercial space — but council's decision resulted in a lawsuit the county's still fighting.

The question acted as a primer for the rest of the forum, much of which concerned the balance of development, property rights and responsible growth.

"I think the county kind of backed themselves into a corner and didn't have a whole lot of options at the point they had to make their decision," said Raymond, selected as the first respondent to the question. The county's Community Development Code (CDC) — the document guiding growth and construction in the area, adopted in 2014 — needs overhauling to prevent future court battles, he said.

Sterling, who often brings a printout of the hundreds-pages-long CDC to campaign events, also blamed the document for the lawsuit.

"(County council) should have said 'No' to the zoning change, basically because of what that ... would have allowed, and because all the plans were conceptual (and not set in stone)," Sterling said. She later called the CDC "the biggest POA/HOA I didn't sign up for."

While Lawson said the CDC wasn't perfect, he also said the "system actually worked the correct way," as it forced a back-and-forth between Scratch Golf and the county, and allowed council to make a decision after hearing public input.

"The system that's out there right now is what we have," Lawson said, "and what we have to deal with."

Boehme said council "stepped up and did the right thing, unconditionally" considering concerns about home and population density on the property.

McGinnis said that while he would love to have said 'No' to Hilton Head National, he would have voted to allow the request, assuming it was in line with code.

All candidates voiced support for the forthcoming "penny tax" referendum that would increase sales tax from 6 to 7 percent and fund infrastructure improvements in the county, including to Hilton Head Island's deteriorating bridges .

All highlighted environmental concerns attached to continued growth and development.

At the end of the forum, candidates pitched their platforms and backgrounds.

McGinnis highlighted his Air Force and Air National Guard service and his "Christian service," adding that he and his wife had adopted two kids in addition to their biological children.

Boehme, a relative newcomer to the area, touted his business background in health care sales and work with local environmental initiatives.

Lawson, a longtime Bluffton resident and businessman, advocated for preserving quality of life in the area by "defending" it from "bad development."

Sterling, an accountant, touted her tax and business experience and said she — a Fairfax native and the only bona fide Lowcountry local — had the ability to work with neighboring counties and municipalities.

Raymond, chairman of the Bluffton Township Fire District board and a former Bluffton Town Council member, cited his working relationships with current county council members and previous experience revising development codes.

This story was originally published May 24, 2018 at 1:01 PM with the headline "In Beaufort County's hottest race, Bluffton, controversial golf course are hot topics."