Three properties purchased for protection by county land preservation program
Three properties purchased for protection by county land preservation program
Beaufort County Council at its regular meeting on Monday, June 28, approved funds for the purchase of a conservation easement for the preservation of 284-acres of farmland and for buying two parcels of land for future parks.
The three acquisitions were funded through the Beaufort County Rural & Critical Land Preservation Program. They include development rights to the Henry Dairy Farm on US 21 on St. Helena Island. The purchase was made in partnership with the Federal Farms & Ranchland Protection Program for $3 million. The County agreed to pay half the cost. Use of the land will be permanently restricted to agriculture.
The County also approved the purchase of the 63-acre Ihly farm for future development as a passive park and boat landing and as a possible site for temporary storage following a natural disaster. The farm is located on McCauley Creek in northern Beaufort County. The transaction will be made in partnership with Beaufort’s Marine Corps Air Station and will help protect MCAS from encroachment. The $2 million purchase price will be equally shared by the County and the Marine Corps.
In addition, County Council approved the purchase of a 13-acre parcel with marsh views on Broad River Drive in the Shell Point area for $350,000. It will be preserved as a passive park.
Weston Newton, Chairman of the Beaufort County Council said the purchases reflect the continuing success of the Rural & Critical Land Preservation Program. “These properties meet the true purposes of the program to manage growth through limiting development, preserving the historic character of our communities, protecting our assets and providing public parks and water access. We are particularly pleased that we have been able to protect these properties with the wise use of County funds in partnership with conservation programs and bargain sales. It will benefit our citizens for generations to come.”
Sales of these three properties were negotiated by the non-profit group, Conservation Consulting Company. They will bring the total number of vulnerable acres protected through the County land preservation program to more than 17,600 through an investment of $77 million in 65 transactions with a total fair market value of more than $137 million.
Related posts:
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- Pat Conroy joins Beaufort County Open Land Trust to celebrate literature & the Lowcountry
- Annual Historic Preservation Awards given by Historic Beaufort Foundation
- Evan Thompson leaves Historic Beaufort Foundation to head prestigious Charleston preservation organization
Comments
One Response to “Three properties purchased for protection by county land preservation program”
If the Sembler Mall is being built by the company run by Jeff Fuqua out of Florida – keep an eye on him that awful Sembler company. They destroyed over 50 acres in Brookhaven – a nice community in Atlanta – to build “Town Brookhaven”. They also encroached into the neighborhood behind the development claiming OOPS – our bad when caught. They also received a huge tax incentive from the get go and when the real estate market boom went bust – they wanted more incentives which the taxpayers were going to absorb. Sembler is bad news and they leave destruction in their wake – not one blade of grass is left – they scrape the landscape clean and dig out the rest. I’m not antidevelopment – I’m for smart development.