City agrees to extend Airport Junction zoning plan

The Beaufort City Council on Tuesday swiftly extended for five more years the development agreement for roughly 41 acres at Airport Junction on Lady's Island -- the proposed site of a Wal-Mart Supercenter that has roiled city residents and conservationists.

The council voted 5-0 to renew the agreement, which allows up to 600,000 square feet of commercial or industrial development on the land. The city and property owner Fred Trask signed the agreement in 2003 when the land was annexed into the city. It expired Feb. 25.

The council gave initial approval last month to extend the agreement before a large group of residents protesting the renewal. Councilman Mike Sutton was the sole member to vote against it. Although the extension still allows the same amount of development, the city was able to force developers to meet current standards, such as completing traffic analyses before anything is built, he said. The agreement's wording also said the city "shall" extend the agreement two times, essentially, locking it into a 15-year agreement, Sutton said. The council changed the wording to "may."

"To develop that property, they're going to have to jump through the hoops just like anybody," he said. "But it'd be very difficult and inappropriate for us to deny that property owner the right to use his property."

After the meeting, Trask said he was glad the issue was cleared up. Residents wrongly assumed the extension of his development agreement with the city meant a Wal-Mart was inevitably headed for Lady's Island, he said.

"I'm pleased, and I appreciate the City Council giving me the extension," Trask said.

The city's Zoning Board of Appeals upheld Monday the city's February decision blocking Wal-Mart from a 195,000-square-foot store on the island, asserting that the plans didn't comply with the development agreement. Trask said he had no problem with the decision. City officials expect Wal-Mart to appeal the issue in Circuit Court, however.