Clarendon

In 2006, the city of Beaufort proposed annexing two large parcels into the city under the urging of Mayor Bill Rauch. Under the Northern Regional Plan, the city of Beaufort planned to expand as far north as the Whale Branch River. The proposed annexations of the 4,151 acre Clarendon Farms and the 1,051 acre McLeod Farm were part of that plan.

McLeod family pulls out

After an unruly, four-and-a-half hour Beaufort City Council meeting Dec. 6, 2006, the board voted 3-2 to approve the Clarendon annexation. In favor: Bill Rauch, Donnie Beer and Frank Glover, who was serving his last council meeting before being replaced by Mike Sutton. Opposed: Gary Fordham and George O'Kelley.

Representatives from the County Planning Department and the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort spoke out against the annexation. The air station was concerned that the development would lead to later friction between those residents and the air station. The city outlined a plan in which a significant portion of the parcel would be off limits or open to only limited development and put a two-year deadline on negotiations.

The McLeod parcel annexation was tabled and the family later withdrew its annexation request.

262 acres put in easement

Clarendon Farms, LLC, working with the Beaufort County Open Land Trust and the Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort, put about 262 acres near the air station into a conservation easement June 4, 2009.

The annexation includes a development agreement that allows up to 4,500 houses and up to 1 million square feet of commercial development on the 4,200-acre parcel.

The City Council’s approval and the air station’s support of the annexation was contingent upon conservation easements limiting development on about 1,200 acres of the property. The announcement Wednesday is the first part of that contingency. The air station, using money from a Department of Defense program, paid $3.7 million and swapped 127 acres near Laurel Bay for the 262 acres in areas deemed high accident potential and loud noise zones. It follows "AICUZ" zoning.

After two years of negotiations, the air station now has land-use rights and can prevent unwanted buildings — like tall structures or high-density developments — on the 262-acre portion, said Alice Howard, air station community plans and liaison director.

“Incompatible development limits our mission,” Howard said. “We want to be able to train like we train today.” Clarendon Farms is located off of U.S. 21 just north of Laurel Bay and is owned by the Cox family of Cox Enterprises, a communications, media and automotive services company.

The deal merges air station protections with conservation efforts by the Beaufort County Open Land Trust, which also holds a separate but similar easement on the property that restricts development, said Beaufort County Open Land Trust Executive Director Ann Bluntzer.

“They really saw the bigger picture,” Bluntzer said. “This is such a positive thing for conservation efforts and everyone in Beaufort County.”

The easement represents “a long process where everyone had a lot to bring to the table,” said Ken Driggers, a lawyer representing the city.

“It started out as such a controversial issue, and I think it has ended in such a positive way,” he said.

Beaufort City Councilman Gary Fordham, who opposed the farm’s annexation, said he is happy with the easement deal.

“This shows that the Clarendon people are very conscious of the fact that the air station is a viable part of our economy and our community,” he said.

Tax revenue dispute

Whereas the city claimed that revenue from both tracts would garner $80,000 in 2008, $321,00 by 2013 and $4.2 million in 2037. However, a Clemson study says the city will spend $300 million more on infrastructure than it will receive in tax revenues.