2009-12-23
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 22, 2009
Beaufort County Conserves Land on Hilton Head Island and Accepts Conservation Easement to Protect May River
Beaufort County Council, at its regular meeting December 14, approved the purchase of four tracts of land totaling 4.65 acres on Jarvis Creek on Hilton Head Island and a conservation easement on approximately 50 acres of land fronting the May River.
The $2,519,000 purchase for the Jarvis Creek property was split evenly between the County and the Town of Hilton Head Island through the Beaufort County Rural & Critical Land Preservation Program. The parcels join two others purchased by the County and the Town in 2005 and result in protection of more than 8 acres on Jarvis Creek.
“This purchase will help protect the Jarvis Creek watershed,” said Weston Newton, Chairman of Beaufort County Council.
“These purchases show the cooperation between the County and the Town of Hilton Head Island, as conservation partners, in achieving our conservation goals.”
County council also accepted the donation by Einar & Carolyn Trosdal of development rights on two of the major portions of Linden Plantation. The property could have been developed into as many as 100 homes, or at a multifamily density of 5.25 units to the acre. There are two homes on the property and under the terms of the easement, no more than 8 additional homes can be built.
The easement provides extensive protections for the May River, including enhanced setbacks from the river and a limited amount of impervious surfaces. The easement will be held and monitored by the Beaufort County Open Land Trust.
“This donation reflects the high level of concern our citizens hold for the May River and for conservation and we are grateful to the Trosdal family for their extraordinary generosity in this regard,” Newton said.
The purchase and the donation were negotiated by Conservation Consulting Company, the successor to the Trust for Public Land in Beaufort County. These acquisitions bring the total number of acres protected through the Beaufort County Rural and Critical Land Preservation Program to more than 17,000 with an investment of $69,000,000 in 57 transactions having a fair market value of more than $121,000,000.