On November 6, 2018 Beaufort County voters will have the opportunity to continue their support of the Rural and Critical Land Program. Beaufort County Council unanimously approved placing the referendum on the ballot on May 29, 2018.
Since 1999, the Program has completed 113 land preservation projects which have preserved over 23,000 acres for conservation, parks, military buffers, scenic vistas and for preservation of natural resources. If approved by voters, the funds from this bond referendum will allow the program to continue.
Official ballot language:
“Shall Beaufort County, South Carolina, issue general obligation bonds, not to exceed $25 million, for the purpose of land preservation, by purchasing open land in Beaufort County in order to protect water quality, protect local waterways such as the Port Royal Sound, and local creeks and rivers such as the Okatie, Broad and May Rivers, wildlife areas, wetlands, natural lands, farmland, coastal areas, shellfish beds, and nursery areas for recreational and commercial fisheries, and beaches, and provide buffers for the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort. All expenditures shall be subject to an annual independent audit and an amount not to exceed twenty percent (20%) of the funds created by this referendum may be used to improve existing and newly acquired open space and natural areas protected under the program?