Bay Point resort plans moving forward after Beaufort County reversal
In a reversal that has baffled environmentalists, plans to build a high-end resort on a barrier island in Beaufort County are moving ahead again after an about-face by county planning officials.
After initially rejecting plans to build on Bay Point Island, county planners say a proposal with more detail now meets standards for special zoning approval. That means developers were able to drop a standing appeal and would enjoy a stronger position when they eventually go before the county’s zoning board seeking a permit.
But a local environmental group closely tracking the project says little has changed and plans still leave too heavy a footprint on the erosional barrier island to be considered for special approval as ecotourism.
“We still feel like what is being proposed is a resort, even if they are prefacing it with ‘eco,’” said Juliana Smith of the Coastal Conservation League’s Beaufort office.
Bay Point Island sits at the northern mouth of the Port Royal Sound just off St. Helena Island and is accessible only by water or air.
The island’s owners plan to lease about 50 acres of the property to Six Senses Resorts Hotels Spas to operate as a remote getaway that developers say will immerse visitors in the coastal environment under careful stewardship and provide an economic boost to the area.
Environmental groups and local residents have opposed the plans over concerns of building in a critical wildlife habitat and questioned the wisdom of developing an island susceptible to the effects of higher seas and stronger storms driven by climate change.
Dozens of villas, two restaurants, bars, a spa and fitness center, pool, cooking school and education building are shown in the plans. Guests would likely fly to Hilton Head Island and be ferried to Bay Point from Skull Creek, project representatives have said.
A solar farm, rainwater harvesting system and composting system would also be part of the development, plans show.
The public will have a chance to share thoughts at a hearing before a zoning board vote. The county isn’t currently holding in-person meetings because of coronavirus, and the Bay Point plans don’t constitute an emergency requiring a virtual meeting, said Eric Greenway, county community development director.
The county Staff Review Team went over plans with developers during a virtual meeting Tuesday.
County planners previously said Bay Point plans didn’t meet the guidelines for an acceptable special use in county code called ecotourism, finding that the buildings and utilities would have a significant adverse effect on the island’s environment.
An updated submission from Josh Tiller of Bluffton planning firm J.K. Tiller Associates, included more detailed plans for environmental education that would include day trips for school groups and conserving about 100 acres of the island as an open space for a bird habitat.
The proposal also came with an endorsement from the International Ecotourism Society, an organization founded in 1990 that is cited in the county’s code defining ecotourism.
The “more detailed narrative” met all the requirements under county code, Greenway said Wednesday.
“We are opening this island to the world,” a member of the development group, Art Krebs, said during the meeting Tuesday. “Not only as an ecotourism destination, but also as a learning point.”
Greenway wrote developers in March to say the new submission was compliant and that the group could drop its pending appeal.
Officials are now prepared to issue conceptual approval to the plans as soon they receive updated documents from developers.
A recommendation from county staff to the Zoning Board of Appeals won’t come until about a week before the board takes up the plans when meetings are cleared to resume, Greenway said.
This story was originally published May 6, 2020 at 3:46 PM.
