Aug. 2, 2022 • Volume 25, Issue 15 • Complimentary • BlufftonSun.com
INSIDE • Bluffton principal retires after 40-year education career 14A • Neighbors rally for loyal friend after his spinal stroke 20A • New barber joins dad, granddad in family business 28A • Signe’s celebrates 50 years in bakery, lunch business 32A • Just what the doctor ordered 55A
Availability of affordable housing reaches critical deficit By Gwyneth J. Saunders CONTRIBUTOR
The local housing market is on a collision course with local workers’ paychecks, and that’s a problem for Southern Beaufort County’s tourist industry. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, “affordable housing is … housing on which the occupant is paying no more than 30% of gross income for housing costs, including utilities.” According to the inventory on Apartments.com recently, there were 113 places to rent in zip code 29910. They ranged from studios to a four-bedroom house. Out of those listed, only one unit was available for less than $1,700 per month. Another
37 were priced at $2,100 or less. “I make decent money and cannot afford the current rent increases. I have to move before my rent goes up,” said Jessica Snider, a chef. “I’m short-staffed where I work because nobody can afford to live here. It’s really sad. Everyone comes here to be waited on hand and foot, but when we are all priced out of homes and places to live, we will go elsewhere. I don’t want to leave but the way growth has been handled in this area means people like me who want to stay, cannot, because people who have the means are pricing us out. It’s really disheartening.” The Bureau of Labor Statistics gathers data annually from employers in every
Please see HOUSING on page 8A
GWYNETH J. SAUNDERS
In a community where rental properties are hard to find, fewer moving trucks have been seen on local roads.
More workshops planned for discussion of Blueprint Bluffton The Town of Bluffton has scheduled additional workshops to discuss and refine its Comprehensive Plan 10-year update called “Blueprint Bluffton.” The plan will guide Bluffton’s next decade of growth and help the Town to prioritize projects and allocate resources. The public is encouraged to attend and provide comment, as applicable.
Workshops and meetings are: • Aug. 2: Planning Commission Workshop (4:30 p.m.). Discussion of Land Use & Housing elements. • Aug. 4: Planning Commission Workshop (4:30 p.m.). Discussion of Natural Resources & Resiliency elements. • Aug. 10: Planning Commission Work-
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shop (4:30 p.m.). Discussion of Economics & Priority Investment elements. • Aug. 24: Planning Commission Public Hearing (6 p.m.) • Sept. 13: Town Council First Reading (5 p.m.). No public comment will take place. • Oct. 11: Town Council Public Hearing and Second/Final Reading (5 p.m.).
All meetings will be held at Town Hall, 20 Bridge St., Bluffton. Meetings, not including workshops, will be streamed live on the Beaufort County Channel, at beaufort countysc.gov/the-county-channel. For more information, contact Charlotte Moore acmooret @townofbluffton.com or visit townofbluffton.sc.gov.