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CHARLESTON COUNTY
GREENBELT PROJECT
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
March 30, 2012 Funding
Cycle
Q. Who is eligible to apply
for Greenbelt Funding?
A. In accordance with the Charleston County
Greenbelt Ordinance #1424 as amended, Eligible Greenbelt
Fund Recipient means: Charleston County or a municipality in
Charleston County; any agency, commission, or
instrumentality of the County or municipality within
Charleston County; a not-for-profit charitable corporation
or trust authorized to do business in this State and
organized and operated for natural resource conservation,
land conservation, or historic preservation purposes, and
having tax-exempt status as a public charity under the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986, and having the power to
acquire, hold, and maintain interests in land for these
purposes; an agency or instrumentality of the United States
Government; and any other entities as may be approved at
the discretion of County Council on a case-by-case basis.
Q. What can the funds be
used for?
A. Greenbelt funds can be used to acquire interest
in land for conservation, wetlands protection, historic and
cultural preservation, parks, greenways and trails, and
waterway access.
Greenbelt funds may also be used to support the
following minor improvements that provide public access and
use of conservation lands purchased with Greenbelt monies.
Boardwalks Unpaved
roadways
Foot
bridges Unpaved
small parking areas
Unpaved Trails
Other
improvements may be included in a particular project but
cannot be funded with Greenbelt proceeds.
Beach
municipalities (Folly Beach, Isle of Palms, Kiawah Island,
Seabrook Island and Sullivan’s Island) may submit
applications to use their urban greenbelt funds for
allowable minor improvements on land the towns currently
own. The improvements would be restricted to those allowed
in the Comprehensive Greenbelt Plan (see above). Also, the
beach towns would have to agree to place the land under the
same covenants and restrictions as all other lands protected
with greenbelt funds.
Q. How do you determine what
is a Rural Project versus an Urban Project?
A. Projects funded with Rural Program monies must
occur in the Rural Area of Charleston County defined by the
County’s Comprehensive Plan as the municipalities and
unincorporated areas that are located outside the Charleston
County Urban Suburban Growth Boundary. These areas include
the West St. Andrews area in West Ashley, Wadmalaw Island,
Edisto Island, the St. Pauls area, Hollywood, Meggett,
Ravenel, Rockville, Awendaw, McClellanville and portions of
Johns Island, West Ashley and East Cooper.
Projects funded with Urban Program monies must
occur in the Urban Area of Charleston County defined by the
County’s Comprehensive Plan as the municipalities and
unincorporated areas that are located within the Charleston
County Urban Suburban Growth boundary. The municipalities
and unincorporated lands within this boundary include: "osmall" style="margin-top: 0; margin-bottom: 0">
City of
Charleston Town of Mount
Pleasant
City of Folly
Beach City of North
Charleston
City of Isle of
Palms Town of Seabrook Island
Town of James Island Town of Sullivan’s Island
Town of Kiawah Island Town of Lincolnville
Unincorporated (portions of John’s Island, West
Ashley and East Cooper)
Q. How much money is available?
A. Currently $13.5 million is available for rural
projects.
The following
table outlines the funds available for urban projects:
|
Municipality |
Amount Available |
|
City of Folly Beach |
$13,990 |
|
Town of Lincolnville |
$93,557 |
|
City of North
Charleston |
$2,915,463 |
|
Town of Seabrook
Island |
$129,365 |
|
Urban Unincorporated*
|
$1,102,130 |
|
Total |
$4,254,505 |
*Urban
unincorporated funds may only be used for projects located
on James Island.
Q. How will the applications be reviewed and funds
awarded?
A. The Charleston County Greenbelt Bank Board will
review the Rural Program applications and score them based
on the Rural Criteria. Each rural project competes for
funding from the Rural Grants Program.
The Urban
Grants Review Committee and the Charleston County Park and
Recreation Commission will review the Urban Program
applications to ensure they address all items of the Urban
Criteria. Each urban municipality has an allocation of
urban greenbelt funds based on the population of each.
County
Council has final approval on all Greenbelt projects.
Reimbursement in the specified grant amount will be provided
to the applicant at the time of closing, when the property
is acquired and the deed is recorded.
Q. What are the application
submission requirements?
A. Applications for the Charleston County Greenbelt
Programs will be accepted through Friday, March 30, 2012.
Any applications received after the deadline will not be
considered in this round of funding. Postmarks will not be
considered.
Signed, completed applications and all required
attachments must be submitted via mail or in person to the
following address:
Charleston
County Government
Attn:
Greenbelt Programs
4045 Bridge
View Drive, Suite C204
North
Charleston, SC 29405
One original
and 10 copies of the application with all attachments must
be provided. The copies may be black and white. However,
if any maps or documents are illegible in black and white,
color copies must be provided.
Q. What is a pre-application
meeting and is it required for application submission?
A. A pre-application meeting is a time for potential
applicants to meet with staff to discuss their greenbelt
project and receive technical assistance on completion of
their applications. Pre-application meetings are
required and may be scheduled by contacting
Cathy L. Ruff at 843-202-7204.
Q. How do I get an application packet or view the
Comprehensive Greenbelt Plan?
A. To request an application packet, please visit
the Transportation Sales Tax Website
www.smallchangeforbigchange.org or contact Cathy Ruff at
cruff@charlestoncounty.org or 843-202-7204.
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