BLUFFTON -- A proposed waterfront park soon could become larger as the town of Bluffton and Beaufort County consider purchasing two more acres along the May River.

The land, which county records indicate is owned by Stanley Minor, is immediately east of the future site of Bluffton Oyster Factory Park. The joint venture between Bluffton and the county someday will include a garden, a terrace, picnic tables, oyster-roast areas, and walkways stretching along both sides of Wharf Street leading down to the Bluffton Oyster Co.

Plans also call for a community dock and an improved boat ramp.

Bluffton Town Council authorized town manager Bill Workman to negotiate for the land earlier this month. The total asking price for the Minor property is $1.5 million, which would be split evenly between Bluffton and The Trust for Public Land, a national nonprofit organization hired to manage county land deals.

In the hopes of getting more public comment about the purchase, Town Council delayed taking a vote Tuesday and will wait until Nov. 7.

"If the town chooses not to participate, then the opportunity is lost," said Workman, noting that the deal is contingent on both the town and county approving it.

The land -- zoned for single-family homes -- could be developed into as many as six houses, said assistant development director Wendy Powers. Buying it would allow more amenities to be added to the park, site of South Carolina's only full-time oyster-shucking plant.

But a couple who live next to the property oppose expanding the park, saying the five acres bought by Beaufort County for $2.5 million in 2001 are poorly maintained and a haven for litterbugs and unsavory characters.

"What I'm looking at today is an open sore on the water in downtown Bluffton," said Bill Roe. "It's kind of like the Wild West down there -- people backing boats into each other and people drinking on the beach."

Workman said the town has received a few letters and phone calls about the undeveloped park's cleanliness and security. He pledged that those issues will be addressed, probably by increased police patrols and the planned park improvements.

"We'll solve those issues regardless of what happens with this (new) property," Workman said. "The issue of a park being overused is both classic and by no means exclusive to Bluffton."

Bluffton's Old Town Master Plan -- a vision for development in the historic district -- calls for increased access to the May River. The town has $1.5 million set aside to buy land in this year's capital improvement budget.

Contact Daniel Brownstein at 706-8125 or dbrownstein@islandpacket.com. To comment on this story, please go to islandpacket.com.