Beaufort County Green Space Program

The Beaufort County Council recognizes the need to preserve land that has scenic, natural, recreational, rural, and open space character which is deemed essential to the County's quality of life; and in recognition of the negative consequences which are often associated with environmentally unsustainable levels of development.

Green Space Program

On November 8, 2022, Beaufort County voters approved a referendum which authorized the establishment of the Beaufort County Green Space Program in accordance with Section 4-10-1010 et seq. of the Code of Laws of South Carolina. The purpose of the Green Space Program is set forth in detail in Beaufort County’s Ordinance No. 2022/39 and applicants are encouraged to review the ordinance in its entirety. The overall purpose of the program is to preserve open space, to protect critical and natural resources, and/or to provide land for recreation. It allows for the purchase of development rights and fee simple interest in lands that are threatened by development, which, if it occurs, will have detrimental effects on land use patterns, traffic, public safety, stormwater runoff, water quality or other conservation objectives.

Beaufort County Council officially adopted South Carolina’s first ever Green Space Program Criteria and Application Process at the September 25, 2023 meeting of County Council. This action officially made the program law and established the guidelines in which the program must operate. The Green Space Program Criteria and Application Process can be found in Beaufort County’s Ordinance No. 2023/34.

Green Space Advisory Committee

The recently appointed Green Space Advisory Committee (GSAC) is comprised of individuals who have extensive knowledge of land preservation and together make up a great working group.

Now that the program is adopted, the duties and responsibilities of the Advisory Committee are:

to review and recommend to Council, lands to be acquired based on the adopted program criteria; and
to perform such other duties as may be assigned by County Council.

For Program Information, Application Deadlines or to Schedule a Pre-application Meeting

If you have any questions about the program please send an email to mark.davis@bcgov.net with the following subject line: Request for Green Space Program Information.

To schedule a pre-application meeting with staff, fill out the pre-application form found here, and email to mark.davis@bcgov.net with the subject line: Request for Green Space Program Pre-application Meeting.