As co-chairs of the Greenville Coalition for Greenspace — a united coalition of businesses, corporations, nonprofit organizations, economic development interests and citizens who support the Greenville County Historic and Natural Resources Trust — we thank and commend County Council for voting to fund the trust during its July 20 meeting.
We also thank the many citizens who reached out with overwhelming support asking elected officials to fund the trust. Your voices were heard and they made a difference. It’s clear that Greenvillians are willing to go to bat for our green space and historic places in a big way.
The trust is a county program overseen by a 12-member, council-appointed, volunteer board and serves as a funding resource to protect land and historic resources in Greenville County.
Green infrastructure funded by the trust is a critical way to meet the growing needs we face in the county. With more than 220,000 new residents projected to move here by 2040, the time has never been more urgent to invest in quality of life for current and future generations. And the benefits to this investment are huge.
The outcome of this vote is wonderful news for current and future Greenville residents. The funded trust will help preserve more iconic places, green space, recreation areas, historic sites and mountain views — characteristics that make Greenville County such a special place to live and do business.
Protecting natural lands also helps keep our water clean and that leads to an overall savings in water treatment costs — a solid investment for Greenville residents as well as tourism, recreation and business interests.
Speaking of business, the county’s investment in the trust helps ensure that we retain the quality of life that helps our businesses attract and retain employees necessary for a thriving economy. By increasing acreage and access to nature and parks, we will also capture more tourism and recreation dollars.
The protection of green space and historic assets is desperately needed across the county, especially in areas experiencing rapid gentrification and voracious development. As we all know, there are many underserved neighborhoods in Greenville whose children are in desperate need of accessible green spaces to unplug and play. The trust can now help provide more equitable access to nature and historic sites for all county residents.
Finally, funding the trust was a great fiscal decision. Council’s wise investment will help leverage state, federal and private funding sources to achieve many of the conservation and historic preservation goals set forth in the county’s comprehensive plan, opening doors to accomplish projects that might otherwise be unfeasible with county funds alone. This program really is an all-around win.
Once again, we thank Greenville County Council for their vision and leadership in voting to fund this program and we look forward to the transformational projects the trust will make possible in our beautiful county.
– Dick Riley, Minor Shaw and David Wilkins, honorary co-chairs of the Greenville Coalition for Greenspace
