Only a few minutes of a Sept. 16 special session called by Beaufort County Council happened in public view, but council chambers remained packed for the entire 2½-hour meeting as proponents and opponents of a development project waited for Council to answer a single question.

Would Council accept or reject an offer made during court-ordered mediation that could allow the development of a golf resort on Pine Island?

Last summer owners of the 502-acre Pine Island property, Pine Island Property Holdings LLC and Pine Island GC LLC, appealed the June 2023 decision by the Beaufort County Planning Commission to uphold county's denial of an application to build three six-hole golf courses on the property.