Imagine that you are invited to talk about the future of our community 20 years from now. That is exactly what 14 *civic leaders set out to do on a May afternoon at the Marriott. For your benefit, I’m providing a synopsis of the outcome and invite you to send me your own reflections:

It won’t surprise you that we concluded that the population shift to the Southeast will continue; life expectancy will increase significantly; geographic boundaries will blur; that everybody will be in the know; and that technological advances (such as bio-, nano-, genetics, robotics, Internet, renewable energy and sustainability) will be the big economic drivers of the future.

But what might be less obvious are some of the consequences and balancing points to the afore-mentioned trends. For example, our desire to constantly interact with the rest of the world will lead to a complete loss of privacy; the current retirement model will be replaced; local and regional economies might see a resurgence as a counterpoint to globalization; the desire for physical encounters and experiences will grow in order to balance the fact that people spend so much time in the digital world. We anticipate that conscious consumption will replace conspicuous consumption; that having time and having space are going to become scarce commodities; and that family and community values will become more important than they are today.

With this information as a backdrop, we created a wish list of attributes and qualities that we would like to see for the island.

From a business perspective, they included great educational choices; affordable housing; start-up business assistance; great transportation; and beneficial fees and tax structures, to name a few.

From a resident’s perspective the list contained great multi-use village centers; continuing educational opportunities; island-wide Internet access; great recreational facilities and programs; public transportation; cultural diversity; easy interaction with unspoiled natural habitat, and many more. From a visitor’s perspective, we wished for first-class resort experiences; interesting and unique things to do, see and learn that will allow multi-generational get- togethers; and several more detailed ideas.

Once we had a picture of the perfect place in our minds, we proceeded to talk about how to get there. Here’s where things became interesting:
Recognizing that HHI has a product crisis. Developers planned large communities like Sea Pines, Palmetto Dunes, Port Royal, Hilton Head Plantation and Indigo Run, but never planned for what holds them together — a town corridor. That as never truly been part of a master plan. In order to keep and increase our competitiveness, we need to do that.

Recognizing that HHI has an identity crisis. The island can’t decide if it wants to grow into “the best it can be” or if it wants to continue to stagnate and therefore, over time, deteriorate.

Recognizing that we have a communications challenge. Community leaders and the community at large need to recognize that they need to communicate and get together and agree on the urgent need for solutions.

Forward-looking leadership. The developers used to play that role, but since they left HHI hasn’t had forward-planning and visionary leadership.
A policy that starts with: “We want to be…” And everything else follows that and makes that happen.

Changing the restrictive building code while maintaining the nature- based look. New LMO needs to allow for mixed use, density transfers, flexibility on how to achieve an overall balance, and not be as restrictive in the details, etc.

Revitalization. Including village centers, activity centers, public parks, historic sites, water access, etc.

Going green. HHI has a chance to match its image with “truth” and become a leading sustainable community. This will enhance its image and attract like-minded people on all levels (visitors, entrepreneurs, workforce, retirees).

An HHI Learning Institute. Many interpretations of these theme were discussed, but they all centered around creating an intellectual experience both for visitors and residents alike.

Make Hilton Head Island a healthcare destination.
Create an interpretative nature center.
Create public private partnerships.

Many more suggestions were put forward, such as the future of the airport; clean public transportation; 5-star hotels; tax incentives; regional development plan, an urban planning institute, urban agriculture, etc.

Now it’s your turn to put your thinking hat on and send me your solutions. Your input is important and will be read and discussed by members of the Mayor’s Vision Task Force and the Town Council.

Please take a moment to send me your thoughts, ideas or concerns.
Thank you.

Marc Frey
mfrey@freymedia.com
Solution-Finder at work

* Jack Alderman, David Ames, Mark Baker, Terry Brubaker, Kevin Cerevati, Jim Chafin, Jim Coleman, Lee Edwards, Marc Frey, Elizabeth Lamkin, Ed Pickney, John Reed, Don Ryan, Kim Statler