Beaufort County voters approve Green Space sales tax. It will take effect starting in May
Beaufort County voters went to the polls Tuesday, deciding to implement a Green Space penny sales tax to be used to purchase land and save it from development. The sales tax increase will start in May and run for two years or until $100 million has been collected.
The tax will be exempt from purchases on food, gas and medicine. Because the tax will be in place from May 2023 to May 2025, encompassing two summers, officials estimate that 40% of the $100 million will be paid for by tourist and other visitors to the county.
With 100% of precincts reported, according to scvotes.gov, here are the results:
Question 1A: Should Beaufort County’s sales tax be increased by 1% for two years, or until $100 million is raised, to fund the procurement and protect of green space in and around the county?
Yes — 53.04%, 36,238 votes
No — 46.96%, 32,090 votes
Question 1B: Should bonds be issued to raise the $100 million, with the tax money used to repay the bonds?
Yes — 52.34%, 35,783 votes
No — 47.66%, 32,586 votes
The money will go toward buying land to protect it from development.
“The voters have spoken, and the county will fully support and carry out the decision. The County Council and staff will ensure that every penny collected goes to preserving our environment, protecting our waterways, and slowing growth creeping toward our rural and critical lands,” said county spokesman Chris Ophardt said. “Following the outline passed by the County Council, meetings will start next week to develop timelines, create the oversight committee, and work with Columbia to establish the program and prepare to collect the tax.”
The Green Space penny sales tax originates from a state bill championed by Sen. Tom Davis (R-Beaufort). Beaufort County is the first county in the state to adopt the tax aimed at procuring and protecting green space
“I’m really proud of the voters of Beaufort County for realizing just how important our environment and our quality of life is to us down here,” said Davis.
While the Green Space program has a similar goal as the Rural and Critical Land Preservation program — a land preservation program that has passed in the county five times since 2000 — it is much larger in scope and the money comes from a different source, as rural and critical is a property tax.
“It’s difficult, in this particular economic climate, to make that case to people. Their finances are being pinched,” said Davis. “A tax increase is a last resort to me, but there’s really no other way that I saw tackling this problem here in Beaufort.”
Another notable difference will be Beaufort County’s ability to purchase development rights outside of the county.
The county has said the Beaufort County Greenprint Plan and the 2040 Beaufort County Comprehensive Plan will be used as “critical documents.” The former maps out areas of the county that are critical for preservation and the latter seeks to create a plan to “balance economic development, resource protection, and growth in a form that creates quality places.”
“Beaufort County’s land, water, and quality of life was on the ballot this election cycle. Once again, the community turned out in broad support by voting in favor of the Green space program, securing up to $100 million for conservation. This is a monumental victory for this part of the Lowcountry, which is facing unprecedented threats from coastal suburban sprawl and the loss and degradation of our natural resources that often follow. Beaufort is once again a trailblazer in the state,” said Faith Rivers James, the Coastal Conversation League’s executive director.
This story was originally published November 8, 2022 at 9:29 PM.
