CONSERVATION
Green space that slows growth and stops overdevelopment.
The Charleston County Greenbelt Program has been permanently protecting the Lowcountry's marshes, farms, and forests from
development since 2004. [1][2]
Greenbelt 101.
When voters approved the half cent in 2004, part of every penny was set aside to buy land and conservation easements so that growth would not consume the places that make the Lowcountry the Lowcountry. Since then, the program has helped preserve more than 28,000 acres for parks, green space, and conservation. [2]
Here is why that matters for growth: protected land is permanent. A conservation easement retires the development rights on a property forever. Once a marsh, a farm, or a forest enters the Greenbelt Program, no subdivision, no strip mall, and no apartment complex can ever be built on it. Every protected acre is an acre that overdevelopment cannot touch.
Historic Greenbelt Wins that Improve Your Way of Life
We need to continue funding Greenbelt to fund the increased impacts that inevitable growth will bring. Eric Davis, Charleston County Greenbelt Director. [4]
Boone Hall – Mount Pleasant
600-acre family farm protected forever with conservation easement
When: 2019
Why: Everyone in Charleston County knows Boone Hall - for the history, the beauty, the spring strawberries, the fall pumpkin patch and corn maze and more! This irreplaceable family farm could have been over 1600 homes, adding 16,000 trips to Long Point Road and US Highway 17 but instead is protected forever. We simply can’t afford to lose places like this.
How: Greenbelt dollars matched state and private dollars to make this possible.
Without the greenbelt program, the Town of Mount Pleasant, and the landowner and his
family, this property would have been lost to development.
Ingleside Weber Park – North Charleston
445 acre public park, protected forever with City of North Charleston.
When: 2022
Why: This property contains critical forested wetlands, provides trail and boardwalk access through Blue House Swamp, and provides connectivity to the adjacent Wannamaker Park and in the future, the Charleston Southern campus.
How: The Greenbelt Program funded an opportunity to protect water quality and provide public access to trails and open space in the center of the I-26 corridor.
Angel Oak Preserve– Johns Island
44-acre public park and future expanded nature preserve protected forever on Johns
Island with the City of Charleston
When: 2013, 2014
Why: The Angel Oak tree is estimated to be 400-500 years old, and is an historic, cultural gathering place in Charleston County. It is on the National Register of Historic Places and was the only integrated site during the height of segregation on Johns Island. The tree itself was protected but the land around it was threated by incompatible development including 500+ apt units in 2009-2012. Thanks to community opposition and public funding, the property will now become an expanded nature preserve with a lasting legacy for all.
How: The community came together to protect an irreplaceable resource; Greenbelt dollars were the catalyst for private, local, and state funds.
Oakville-Burden Creek – Johns Island
90-acre natural area protected forever with a conservation easement
When: 2022
Why: This is protected land in the floodplain. By protecting low-lying land on Johns Island, Greenbelt funds prevented development that would be at risk in future storms and prevented congestion on rural River Road.
How: A coalition of partners recognized how our coastal lands have changed with
storms and sea level rise and sought to prevent future flooding events.
The largest conservation investment in county history.
The 2026 plan dedicates $690 million, 16.24% of the program, to the Greenbelt Program, split evenly between urban and rural projects. [6] Compare that with what came before: the 2004 referendum set aside about $221 million and the 2016 referendum about $210 million. [7] This ballot triples down on the one tool that has permanently protected land here for twenty years. Growth is coming either way. A yes vote decides whether the green places come with it.
SOURCES:
[1] Coastal Conservation League, Support Charleston County's Greenbelt Program. https://coastalconservationleague.org/projects/support-greenbelt-program/
[2] Charleston County Greenbelt Program (more than 28,000 acres preserved since 2004; funded through the Transportation Sales Tax). https://greenbelt.charlestoncounty.org/
[3] Charleston County Transportation Development, program impact page (26,170 acres directly protected; roughly 284,000 acres, nearly half the county, protected overall). https://charlestontransportation.com/impact/
[4] Live 5 News, Charleston County sales tax draft sets aside $690M for greenbelt projects, March 27, 2026 (second highest protected share in South Carolina; Eric Davis quote). https://www.live5news.com/2026/03/27/charleston-county-sales-tax-draft-sets-aside-690m-greenbelt-projects/
[5] Lowcountry Land Trust, Celebrating the Charleston County Greenbelt Program, January 28, 2026. https://lowcountrylandtrust.org/land-conservation/celebrating-the-charleston-county-greenbelt-program/
[6] Charleston County news release, third and final reading, July 21, 2026 ($690 million, 16.24%), and the county news release on the April 28, 2026 program update (urban and rural split). https://www.charlestoncounty.org/news/2026/charleston-county-council-approves-third-and-final-reading-of-2026-transportation-sales-tax-ordinance.pdf
[7] Charleston County Transportation Development, program impact page (2004 and 2016 greenbelt allocations). https://charlestontransportation.com/impact/
[8] Lowcountry Land Trust, Angel Oak Preserve. https://lowcountrylandtrust.org/home/connecting-the-community-to-conservation/angel-oak-preserve/
[9] Live 5 News, Charleston County advances 10 new greenbelt conservation projects, November 14, 2025. https://www.live5news.com/2025/11/14/charleston-county-advances-10-new-greenbelt-conservation-projects/
[10] Live 5 News, Charleston County Council approves $11.5M for greenbelt projects, April 30, 2026. https://www.live5news.com/2026/04/30/charleston-county-council-approves-115m-greenbelt-projects/