The Executive Committee forwarded Map option 3A to County Council in a unanimous vote.  The map was created based on public comments and suggestions provided during the three public hearings, submitted online, or feedback to individual Council Members.

Major changes include reconfiguring the Hilton Head Island Historic Gullah Neighborhood. Currently, 12.5 of the 14 neighborhoods are included in District 10 and represented by an island resident.  Chaplin and the other half of Spanish Well will be included in District 11 and represented by an island resident.  

“I think you (Dan Morgan) did a very nice job on this,” said District 10 Council Member Larry McElynn. It was hard work in a very condensed period of time, so I thank you and Ian for working these changes through the weekend.”

Other changes include:

• Buck Island/Simmonsville corridor in Bluffton that is home to many of the town’s oldest Gullah families is in District 9.
• Old Miller Road/Stony Creek community has been placed in District 9.
• Rugrack Rd and Morrall Dr is placed into District 1.
• Small portion of Baynard Rd is placed in District 5.

“The feedback was tremendous and helped the County staff to focus on neighborhoods street by street and make sure we get this right,” said Dan Morgan, Beaufort County Director of Mapping and Applications. “We feel we were able to preserve the one person, one vote yet improve the grouping of communities of interests with the help of the public.”

Beaufort County received the Census data from South Carolina on October 26 and then released the redistricting timeline on November 8.  Since then, County staff has been working hard with the data, community leaders, and reviewing public comments to create the best and most equitable map for Beaufort County. 

The County held three public hearings and has taken online comments from the redistricting webpage over the last ten days. 

The map will now move to Full County Council.  Members of the community are welcome to attend the County Council meetings to provide further comments. 

To sign up for public comment, go to

https://bcgov-536008.workflowcloud.com/forms/4e67709c-fd72-4fe5-b3c0-19f870187e3c

After Monday, any further suggested changes to the map should be sent to Council Members.  Council Members will be able to introduce amendments to tweak the map if they choose.

Council will have three readings of the Redistricting Map Ordinance:

December 13 - 6 pm - 1st Reading at County Council meeting

January 10 - 6 pm - 2nd Reading at County Council meeting

January 24 - 6 pm -3rd and Final Reading at County Council meeting

• For more information, go to https://www.beaufortcountysc.gov/topics/redistricting/index.html
• To review the meetings, go to https://www.beaufortcountysc.gov/council/council-committee-meetings/index.html
• To watch The County Channel (TCC)
  • https://www.youtube.com/user/TheCountyChannel
  • Comcast - channel 2
  • Hargray - channel 9 and 113
  • Spectrum - channel 1304