Beaufort County tweaks redistricting maps for council, school board districts south of Broad
After members of Hilton Head Island’s Gullah community expressed concerns that the proposed maps for Beaufort County’s political districts split their neighborhoods, a committee of the County Council has approved a new map that solves most of that problem.
But the map, which is slated to go before the County Council for the first time on Monday, still changes boundaries north of the Broad River enough that two council members and two school board members are in different districts from the ones they currently represent.
The Beaufort County Executive Committee — made up of five members of the council — unanimously approved alternative 3A, forwarding it to the full 11-member County Council Monday evening. The map was one of two alternatives to the original maps that Dan Morgan, the county’s mapping and applications director, presented to the committee.
Every 10 years, political district lines are redrawn to reflect the most recent U.S. Census, an often controversial process known as redistricting that local and state lawmakers undertake. Because of the pandemic, the process of conducting the 2020 Census was shortened to four months from the usual nine, and people complained that not everyone was counted.
Under map 3A in districts north of the Broad, District 1 would mostly stay the same but would reach further south into Laurel Bay. District 3 would expand into what was formerly District 2, taking almost all of the islands east of the Harbor River and keeping Parris Island. County Council member Paul Sommerville would keep the southernmost point of Harbor Island.
On Monday, just before the Executive Committee saw the new maps, County Administrator Eric Greenway asked members to do everything in their power to decide which map to forward to full council so it could have its first reading on the maps by Dec. 13.
“That’s not my timeline,” Greenway said. ”That’s the timeline we’re underneath by the state.”
If the county approves the map, it goes to the state for final approval and adoption ahead of the November 2022 elections. If the county rejects it, it would go back to county staff, who would have to redraw the maps with new recommendations.
Maps are drawn with multiple criteria in mind, chief among them that each district must have as little as possible deviation from its ideal population of 17,011. Districts in map 3A had populations closest to that target.
The new maps presented Monday take into account community feedback from three public meetings, online submissions and individual comments to council members. They were tweaked from alternative map 2, which had districts with populations close to the target number of 17,011.
The new maps also had significant changes on Hilton Head Island from the original proposed redistricting maps, an effort to keep all of the 14 Historic Gullah neighborhoods together.
In map 3A, 12 1/2 of Hilton Head’s Gullah neighborhoods are in District 10. The Chaplin neighborhood and half of Spanish Wells will be in District 11.
Chaplin runs from Christopher Drive to the edge of Palmetto Dunes’ Trent Jones Golf Course and from U.S. 278 to the beach, said Morgan, the county’s mapping and applications director. He said Chaplin is not in District 10 because that would violate the requirement that districts be contiguous and compact.
“[Chaplin] falls into the middle of District 11,” Morgan said. If it were added to District 10, that splits District 11. “District 11 would be some on the north and some on the south, and that’s what we’re trying to alleviate.”
Spanish Wells was split between two districts to keep the population difference minimal and to ensure that whoever represents the district lives on Hilton Head Island.
“One of the criticisms with the original map was that it allowed for someone living in Bluffton to be able to represent Hilton Head Island,” said county spokesperson Christopher Ophardt. Hilton Head Island residents “wanted someone who also lived on their island.”
Three readings of the redistricting map ordinance are planned, beginning on Monday. Members of the community are invited to attend the meetings to comment. Any further suggested changes to the map should be sent to council members.
The latest changes
- The Buck Island/Simmonsville corridor in Bluffton, home to many of the town’s oldest Gullah families, is in District 9.
- The Old Miller Road/Stony Creek community is in District 9.
- Rugrack Road and Morrall Drive are in District 1.
- A small portion of Baynard Road is in District 5.
Under map 3A, two school board members would be shifted to new districts. Richard Geier would move from District 5 to District 4, held by incumbent Tricia Fidrych; Angela Middleton would move from District 6 to District 5. That’s less of an impact than previous versions of the map, which also displaced David Striebinger and Cathy Robine.
Brian Flewelling would still be moved out of his district under the proposed maps and would have to decide whether to run against another member to stay on council.
County Chairman Joe Passiment would be moved from District 6 to District 5, where he would have to seek reelection in 2022.
This story was originally published December 8, 2021 at 4:10 PM with the headline "Beaufort County tweaks redistricting maps for council, school board districts south of Broad."