Workers' immigration status at heart of county-Okatie Village developer talks
By MICHAEL WELLES SHAPIRO

Published Sunday, September 14, 2008

An agreement by the developers of Okatie Village to verify the immigration status of workers on the job site may set a precedent for similar developments throughout Beaufort County if the pact passes legal muster.

Okatie Village developers offered to verify the status of the employees building the community in exchange for being allowed to put more homes and commercial space on the proposed site of 1,252 homes on S.C. 170.

It appeared last week that it was the county's idea to include the language in the agreements with the developers, Winston-Salem-based La Casa Real Estate Development and Hilton Head Island's Jim Robinson.

But Tom Jans, a spokesman for the developers, said it was the developers who approached the county with the suggestion.

Jans said Beaufort County is among the most aggressive in the state when it comes to discouraging the hiring of illegal immigrants. So, "in recognition that the county is looking at tighter controls, for the building industry in particular," lawyers for the developers wrote a provision into the overall agreements requiring strict verification standards, he said.

The status provision requires "all contractors and subcontractors to sign sworn affidavits that all workers in their employ have been verified as to legal status ... "

The provision further states that "verification of status may be demanded on the (construction) site at any time by" the property owner, the developer or the county.

Because the county is having the provision -- and the overall agreements -- examined for legal concerns, there is no word yet on penalties, if any, that would be leveled should the provision be violated.

VETTING THE AGREEMENT

The provision was one of several concessions developers made in exchange for the higher density.

County Council members who hammered out the deal spent more than a month haggling over how much in additional impact fees developers would pay for school construction and other infrastructure needs created by Okatie Village. In addition to the original $8.3 million Okatie Village is expected to generate in impact fees, the developers agreed to pay $10.7 million.

Council members said they were pleased by the inclusion of the legal status provision.

"We got a little more than we asked for, so what the heck, we'll take it," said Councilman Jerry Stewart.

But local immigration lawyer Melissa Azallion of Nexsen Pruet called the immigration language legally questionable because usually only an employer or a federal immigration agent can check the status of an employee.

The part of the agreement that allows verification on the job site could violate workers' privacy or raise concerns about discrimination, Azallion said.

The county has hired the McNair Law Firm to review the agreements.

Councilman Paul Sommerville said if the status provision is found to be illegal, it will simply be removed.

If questions of legality are answered, it could set a precedent, one council member said.

"It seems reasonable to me that it would be in future agreements," said Councilman Skeet Von Harten, who chairs the council committee that makes land-use decisions.

McNair lawyers are scheduled to offer their opinion before the next full County Council meeting Sept. 22.

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