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Beaufort County Council believes issues with stormwater runoff in a developer's plan to build a large shopping center in greater Bluffton have been resolved and the plan should move forward.

The council voted Monday night to approve a development agreement with Atlanta-based Jaz Development LLC to put two large retailers on 66 acres at the corner of U.S. 278 and S.C. 46.

The densely wooded, contaminated site of a former printing company has sat vacant for years. Jaz has agreed to remove contaminated soil from the site in accordance with state environmental rules, in exchange for tax credits from Beaufort County.

The developer has not named the potential tenants.

The project has been scrutinized for more than two months because of concerns raised by Councilman Tabor Vaux and some local environmental leaders about the percentage of hard surfaces -- such as rooftops, sidewalks and parking -- planned for the project.

Those surfaces increase stormwater runoff, which can carry pollutants that reach local waterways -- in this case, the Colleton River.

Under its development agreement, the county will allow more than the recommended 10 percent of these surfaces. Plans show 14.5 percent, county stormwater manager Eric Larson has said.

However, the plan still meets the county's stormwater requirements because the developer will use devices to minimize runoff, such as rain gardens, retention and detention ponds, and pavement that traps runoff for re-use, he has said.

With that engineering in place, the developer argues all runoff after construction will be contained on the site regardless of the percentage, according to Walter Nester, an attorney for Jaz.

Those techniques satisfy questions posed by Reed Armstrong, a former oceanographer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration who works for the Beaufort-based Coastal Conservation League.

"I'm pleased to say that I think they are a very positive response to the comments and concerns I've raised earlier," Armstrong said Monday. "We have probably the strongest stormwater requirements in the nation, and we have to trust that they will work until proven otherwise."

Most council members approved the project because of the engineering devices and because the developer has agreed to clean up the site, they said. Councilmembers Bill McBride and Vaux voted against the agreement. Councilman Steve Fobes was absent.

"As far as I know, there's no line of people out there to remediate this property," Council Chairman Paul Sommerville said.

"It is going to be a net win for the county -- not only taking care of the toxic chemicals that are on the property and getting worse every time it rains, but also the fact that I could see the runoff is being contained 100 percent," Councilman Brian Flewelling said.

However, Vaux wanted to see the county continue to fight for its recommended 10 percent rule, he said.

"When we started raising hell about this, it was at 19 percent and then they went down to 14 percent," Vaux said. "I just think it was a little premature to throw in the towel.

"But at the end of the day, even if I don't agree with it, you can't say it wasn't vetted," he said.

With council's approval Monday, Jaz can begin to secure building permits and continue work to clean up the site, according to Jaz owner David Oliver.

"It's a polarizing and sensitive issue, but now we're hoping to move forward in a positive way and get this thing off the ground," Oliver said.

Mortgage rates for 30-year fixed mortgages fell this week, with the current rate borrowers were quoted on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace at 4.16 percent, down from 4.19 percent at this same time last week.

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate peaked at 4.22 percent last Tuesday before plummeting Wednesday afternoon to 4.14 percent, where rates continued to hover for the remainder of the week.

“Last week, rates dipped to the lowest level in seven weeks as weaker-than-expected home sales and continued concerns over geo-political stability in Ukraine kept downward pressure on rates,” said Erin Lantz, vice president of mortgages at Zillow. “This week, we expect more volatility as both the mid-week Federal Open Market Committee announcement and Friday’s jobs report have the potential to move markets.”

Additionally, the 15-year fixed mortgage rate this morning was 3.15 percent, and for 5/1 ARMs, the rate was 2.81 percent.

What are the interest rates right now? Check Zillow Mortgage Marketplace for mortgage rate trends and up-to-the-minute mortgage rates for your state.

*The weekly mortgage rate chart illustrates the average 30-year fixed interest rate in six-hour intervals.

A flood insurance relief bill that sailed through the House of Representatives Tuesday would keep government-subsidized rates in place when homeowners sell their primary residence, removing a major impediment to home sales in flood-prone areas.

Real estate industry groups cheered Tuesday’s 306-91 House vote on the Homeowner Flood Insurance Affordability Act (HR 3370), which also keeps in place protections for properties grandfathered in to subsidized rates.

The bill has bright prospects in the Senate, with sponsors of a competing bill agreeing to take up the House legislation, the Tampa Bay Times reports.

The National Association of Realtors said homeowners who are experiencing financial hardship from premium increases instituted last year will “feel immediate relief from this bill, which ensures a slow and steady phase in of risk-based increases.”

The bill is an attempt to address impacts of the Biggert-Waters Flood Insurance Reform Act of 2012, which was aimed at restoring the National Flood Insurance Program to solvency. The program is more than $24 billion in the red because flood insurance premiums have not been sufficient to cover claims by owners of flood-damaged homes.

NAR says that since passage of the Biggert-Waters reforms, about 40,000 home sales were either delayed or canceled because of flood insurance rate increases and confusion over rates.

Supporters of the House’s flood insurance relief bill say FEMA will still be able to raise rates to address actual flood risks, but increases will be phased in more gradually. Rate increases will range between 5 and 15 percent per year on average, with a hard cap of 18 percent per year, the Times reports. Source: tampabay.com.

Six more businesses have been confirmed for the Shelter Cove Towne Centre as the new Hilton Head Island shopping plaza continues to take shape.

The tenants announced Wednesday were:

• GNC, a nutritional supplements store
• Island Couture, a women's clothing boutique
• Orange Leaf, a frozen yogurt shop
• Palmetto Running Company, a shoe store
• The French Bakery and Courtyard Cafe, a restaurant, will relocate from its Pineland Station location.
• Woody's Sunglass Shop, a sunglasses retailer

Committed tenants include a SERG Group restaurant, Heritage Fine Jewelry and Jake's Wayback Burgers. Jos. A Bank, Belk and Kroger have already opened.

The latest additions will begin opening in April, spokesperson Lauren Glenn said.

With the new stores, the center is 70 percent full, according to mall manager Roni Allbritton.

She said the center is negotiating with a dozen other tenants to fill the rest of the space.

The 42-acre center at the site of the former Mall at Shelter Cove is expected to create more than 450 jobs and generate $5.1 million in sales tax revenue, she said.

Plans for a new shopping center in greater Bluffton received preliminary approval Monday from a Beaufort County committee, but its members said more must be done to reduce stormwater runoff before construction can begin.

An Atlanta-based developer plans to build two or more big-box stores on nearly 66 acres at the corner of U.S. 278 and S.C. 46. Developer David Oliver declined to say what retailers might locate there.

The plans now head to County Council.

The proposed development agreement between the county and the site's developers, Jaz Development LLC, calls for the site to have impervious surfaces on no more than 20 percent of the property. Committee members said they want the developer to try to reduce that to 10 percent, the amount called for in county code.

Reducing impervious surfaces -- areas that water cannot penetrate -- helps prevent rainwater from running off the property and carrying pollutants into local waterways.

Councilman Brian Flewelling, chairman of the Natural Resources Committee, said Oliver needs to submit a drainage plan before the development is approved by the full council.

County stormwater manager Eric Larson said he'll look at the drainage plan to see if there are any impervious surfaces, such as asphalt and pavement, that could be eliminated.

Oliver also seeks state permission to clean five acres of contaminated soil on the site. Earlier this year, he signed a "non-responsible party" cleanup contract with the state to remove the chemicals left from a print shop that closed in the late 1980s.

The cleanup would remove the contaminated soil, a chemical storage tank and a septic system believed to be a contributor to polluted groundwater.

Oliver said Monday he sent a cleanup plan to the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control. The plan would cost about $500,000, Oliver estimated.

Beaufort County would match the cost of the cleanup with a tax credit after DHEC deems the area free of contaminants, according to county attorney Josh Gruber.

Beaufort County is scheduled to give the development agreement a second reading March 24, with a final vote April 14.