White Smith Cousino, Benchmark Planning, and Marstel-Day completed the Joint Land Use Studies for Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort and Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island in 2015. At the time, the Air Station was transitioning from the F-18 aircraft to the F-35B, which had a different footprint than the community was experienced with. And the Recruit Depot confronts the reality of climate and sea level rise issues.
We worked with the local governments, residents, and JLUS Policy and Technical Committees to develop a series of land use recommendations recognizing the importance of not only the military mission in the South Carolina Lowcountry, but also the special “quality of life” aspects that must be protected.
WSC was hired again in 2016 to implement key components of the Joint Land Use Studies for MCAS Beaufort and MCRD Parris Island. In completion of the JLUS Implementation effort, WSC prepared:
- Updated military zoning overlay districts to include new F-35 impact areas in three jurisdictions (Beaufort County, the City of Beaufort, and the Town of Port Royal);
- A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for continued coordination and public outreach efforts related to military planning in Beaufort County;
- Content for the Beaufort County Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) Program website;
- Updated TDR Program forms; and
- A Cooperative Agreement for Beaufort County & Beaufort County Open Land Trust related to the TDR Program.


