Residential or resort? Let your voice be heard on Hilton Head’s future

Hilton Head Island is a wonderful place to live, uniquely made up of retirees, locals, part-timers, and tourists. But the town is approaching a crossroads that demands attention from all of us.

Currently the town is pursuing an initiative called “Hilton Head Island — Our Future.”

In June, I attended the “Think Tank” workshop that kicked off this initiative.

In August, I attended six of the eight engagement workshops held around the island.

The company handling these workshops, Future IQ, has come up with a fairly complicated scale. It is difficult to explain in just an hour.

I am dismayed by the number of islanders who are focusing on the process. I witnessed anger at some meetings and saw people leave without filling out the questionnaire. I urge you to stick with it. Forget the process and whether it was convoluted or biased. I can tell you that it is. But, the town will be using the numbers from those questionnaires when making future decisions about our island. Let your voice be heard!

To quote Town Council member John McCann: Do we want to remain a residential community with tourism, or do we want to become a resort community?

If you grew up here or moved here to retire and want to keep this island a residential community, please fill out the questionnaire and show this. If you don’t voice your opinion, the developers and business people who are currently driving the direction of this island will win.

This story was originally published October 12, 2017 at 7:41 AM with the headline "Residential or resort? Let your voice be heard on Hilton Head’s future."