Hilton Head Monthly Magazine

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QUESTION: The recently-released master plan for the Hilton Head Island Airport outlined several options for runway lengthening. In your view, is it necessary to expand the facilities in order for the airport to be viable? If so, what should the limits of such expansion be?

ANSWER: I believe that our local airport is a valuable and important community asset that currently serves us in many areas of commercial air service, general aviation for both private and corporate users, as well as local, state and federal government uses. I have followed our airport history and development with great interest over the years from many perspectives, including my interest and knowledge as a pilot. I believe that we are in great need for this asset to be improved for service and safety reasons.

The consultant’s recommendation for the expansion of our airport to provide a runway length of 5,400 feet as presented in Alternate #2 with the associated taxiway extensions, approach slopes and safety improvements is, I believe, a very good design recommendation for a site and service specific balance of all elements. As with most community issues, there are needs and impacts that must be measured to determine the gain and pain, and decisions should fall to the positive for the community as a whole. I believe that this proposal will achieve great long-term benefits for our community.

Q: There’s been a lot of talk about how to encourage property owners to redevelop or spruce up old buildings. What should the town’s role in that process be?
A: In a word, leadership. This has been a discussion and ongoing process for far more than a decade, and I have been a part of it for a significant part of my time of service in this community. I believe that the town should take the lead in developing and understanding what we want, where we want it and how we want it achieved. The path should be guided by an understanding of our economic sustainability and with that knowledge that we will be able to create a committed stance of cooperation and incentive.

The Land Management Ordinance is a guiding regulation that is in need of rewriting for much of the zoning and development standards. It was created at a different time to accomplish more of a restrictive position rather than a position of avocation and accommodation for a master plan of community developments. There are considerable rewards that we as a community will gain with the vision and commitment to partner in a path of revitalization.

I believe that the private sector's investment decisions will be far more favorable if we provide committed, economic-based leadership driven by the voice of community values and knowledge-based strategies for developing a sense of place, community gathering centers and a fabric of walkable districts.

With an improved airport, enhanced telecommunications, a commitment to parallel path of revitalization in the public sector, and a clear path for business friendly regulation, I believe that the private investment will be more readily accomplished.

Q: How will you react if the S.C. Attorney General’s Office issues the opinion that Hilton Head Island’s dog leash laws are trumped by a state law that would require dogs to be leashed if on public property, even the beach?
A: Based in part on some recent legal opinions, we may well have an acceptable ordinance established in Hilton Head Island relative to later state legislation. For the most part, I believe that this community has held to a pet-friendly posture in regard to our rules on the beach. Unless the community has a desire to change it, I support the current rules.

Q: Do you support off-shore drilling along the South Carolina coast?
A: None wants the potential for the kind of disaster that is occurring in the Gulf today, but to assume that all drilling operations have that level of potential oversimplifies the question. I do not know enough about the true risks of shallow water drilling vs. the deep water drilling that is occurring in the Gulf and will reserve my opinion until we have specifics to discuss.

Q: Some beachfront property owners have complained that trees block their views, causing vacationers to complain about paying a premium for ocean views that are partially obscured. Would you support a process that would allow them to selectively cut trees?
A: We have done a terrific job of preserving our forest, trees and natural vegetation, and I think that action has helped create a lot of what we love about this island.  It is the spectacular beauty that surrounds us that adds soul. However, I also believe that the island’s protection of some trees and vegetation has come to a point that we may need to develop some forest management practices, allowing for a balanced ability of trimming and replacement of trees beyond our current LMO guidelines.

Q: Are you in favor of instituting a 1-percent sales tax to be used by the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce for tourism marketing?
A: I am not generally in favor of any new taxes and it appears that the issue has failed at the state level for now. I do understand the need for marketing our island, but I believe that we should streamline and target our efforts with the current resources, and perhaps explore more creative methods.

Q: In the past several years, the South Island Dredging Association has asked the town to help with the dredging of Harbour Town and other Sea Pines-area waterways, a request that could involve financial expenditures. How involved should the town be in dredging efforts?
A: First, I view the harbors and water-orientated developments as part of the attraction and intrigue of the island for both visitors and many of our residents in a similar way that I view our beaches and connections to the ocean. It is part of what we are and I cannot think of many icons greater than the Harbour Town Lighthouse. So we have some great community assets that provide value and positive action on our economy in general, and they are largely private and behind the gates, much like the Heritage golf tournament.

Yes, I believe that it is appropriate for the town to be involved in preserving many of the assets that are a part of our economic sustainability. Investment in our beach renourishment clearly has a positive impact for the visitor accommodations on the beach, but the positive economic benefit goes well beyond those immediate private business locations. We need to look at the economic health of the island from a higher altitude at times.

Q: Hilton Head has resisted calls to create a lawful employment ordinance that would require all companies to verify that their employees are eligible to work in the United States. Would you support such a law?
A: Yes I would. We are a nation of legal immigration and assimilation that has grown great in its diversity; however, we are a nation of laws. I strongly support our national heritage of openness to legal immigration and for those that choose to become a citizen of our country, it their duty and it must be through their effort to learn the ways, laws and language of their new home. If you want the benefits of being an American citizen, be an American.

Q: What should the town’s role be in encouraging people to recycle?
A: We have struggled with that for a long time with very little gain. In some ways, we had better success with the older, smaller and more convenient neighborhood centers. The town should partner with the many willing community groups to develop many levels of recycling opportunities, incite and reward those businesses and new developments that make provisions for recycling. Again, the LMO can and should play a role in this effort. Develop a point system modeled after the LEED certification process, as an example.

Q: How can the town make itself friendlier to business and economic development?
A: I believe that this a leadership-down process and supported by reasonable regulations and ordinances. Let’s greet our citizens and business owners at the front door with an attitude of advocacy. We need a process for requests and applications that is clear, direct and streamlined. Let’s answer each question with an attitude of how we can achieve quick and reasonable results. I believe that civil respect can and will work on both sides when considerate attitudes are the basis of our encounters from both our citizens and town employees.