Good planning will ready Hilton Head Island for a prosperous future, councilman says

A national travel magazine has named Hilton Head Island the best island in the continental U.S. for travelers.

That’s great – it recognizes our island’s great appeal to visitors, and the hard work of tourist-oriented businesses to bring people here.

As residents of this island and region, we need to keep asking ourselves three important questions: First, how do we keep Hilton Head’s reputation and brand fresh and vibrant for generations to come?

Second, how are we protecting the unique bedrock assets that brought modern-era visitors here in the first place – beautiful climate, pristine environment, and natural beauty?

Third, how strong is our quality of life for residents –workers, families, retirees, students, taxpayers, voters?

As one of the seven leaders elected to represent you on Hilton Head’s Town Council, I wake up every day thinking about these questions.

To answer them intelligently, we need to better understand the island’s carrying capacity.

To continue our high quality of life for both residents and visitors, we must address this hard reality: businesses, infrastructure, environment, beaches and rentals can handle only a finite number of people and impacts before our quality of life is degraded.

Once we understand carrying capacity, we will have important decisions about what we value – is it primarily about maximizing the quantity of people we can attract for a few days, or is it about improving quality of life for all segments of our population?

There are already obvious signs of stress on the “quality vs. quantity” front:

• Mini-hotel houses built on single-family lots

• Intolerable waits at restaurants and businesses

• Gridlock on roads as tourists and workers access the island

• Businesses closed due to lack of employees

• Trash on the beaches

• Lack of childcare options for employees

• Empty buildings as resident-oriented businesses move off island

What can we do?

We have the ability as a community to ensure our flourishing future. Here are five initiatives we can implement to the future for today and tomorrow:

FIRST – It’s our community - we need to clearly define what we want it to become. The vision in OUR PLAN is a great starting point for this effort. OUR PLAN can’t stay on the shelf – it needs to guide our governmental and community actions every day. Smart master planning of areas that need re-development is imperative.

SECOND – We need to more actively protect and promote our unique qualities as a community and a destination. Our compelling and omnipresent Gullah history, our sensitive sea turtle and other wildlife habitats, and our amazing trails through live oak forests are great examples.

THIRD – We need to enhance high quality business and re-development opportunities that will attract both visitors and residents. Our Town ATAX structure and development guidelines need to support those opportunities. We do not need large numbers of additional tourist accommodations to simply put “heads in beds.”

FOURTH – High quality, skilled employees are good for both residents and visitors – we need living wages, more training opportunities, better housing options, outstanding childcare and schools, and valuing the great contributions working families make to our island life.

FIFTH – We need to learn more about the carrying capacity limits of Hilton Head Island, and apply that knowledge to all our important decisions.

Don’t get me wrong. I still believe Hilton Head Island is a great place to live, work, and play.

Let’s keep that and strive to make it better.

It won’t happen by itself – it will take a lot of concerted effort and cooperation to truly make us “One Island, One Community.”

Alex Brown represents Ward 1 on the Hilton Head Island Town Council.