Lighting Store Showroom Near Isle of Palms, SC

ISLE OF PALMS — A bumper crop of yard signs has sprouted across this barrier island as voters prepare for a referendum Nov. 7 that could limit short-term rental licenses.

It's the latest skirmish in a much broader fight over the future of these sorts of vacation usages that's been playing out across South Carolina.

“If nothing else, we are keeping the sign business afloat," said Mayor Phillip Pounds.

Isle of Palms is among the communities on the frontlines — all places where high demand from vacationers fuels the short-term rental business. Charleston, Mount Pleasant, Folly Beach and Beaufort limit such rentals; Sullivan's Island prohibits them; Myrtle Beach doesn't allow new ones in residential neighborhoods.

The Isle of Palms referendum calls for imposing a 1,600 cap on short-term rental licenses for investors and second-home owners. There would continue to be no cap for homes that are the owners' primary residence.

It's about preserving the island's quality of life, say supporters. More than 30 percent of the city's registered voters signed a petition to get the referendum on the ballot.

“We have a growing number of short-term rental licenses in residential communities," said Randy Bell, a former councilman working with pro-referendum group Preserve Isle of Palms Now. "We are trying to maintain the one-third, one-third, one-third split between full-time residents, second homes and rental properties."

Opponents say it's really about property rights and property values. An investment property or second home could be harder to sell, and worth less, if there's no certainty it could be used for short-term rentals.

“What are we trying to solve?" said Hugh Swingle, an island resident whose family business is Palm Blvd Vacation Rentals. "We just don’t see that there’s an actual problem.”

The city had issued 1,625 licenses to property owners who are not full-time residents as of early October, and if the referendum were to pass, no new ones would be available until the number drops below 1,600.

"Obviously, we don't think it's good," said Ryan Buckhannon, president of the Isle of Palms Chamber of Commerce. He's a former councilman who owns an investment property licensed for short-term rentals.

Supporters and detractors of the referendum have set up websites, put out yard signs and sent mailings.

Isle of Palms United opposes the cap and claims on its website, iopunited.com, that taxes "have to" go up and property values will go down if the referendum were to pass. That group and others claim property values plunged 25 to 30 percent on Folly Beach after a February voter referendum capped short-term licenses there at 800.

Charleston Trident Association of Realtors data gives reason to question such claims. According to CTAR data, the median price of a house sold on Folly Beach in 2023 through September was down 14.9 percent, but the median price of a condo or townhouse sold there was up 28.2 percent.

“There’s no basis for the claim that property values will plummet by 40 percent," said Bell.

Swingle, who is affiliated with Isle of Palms United, said a cap could be a big problem for people who want to sell a property in the years ahead.

“If there were a cap in place, and you own one of those tiny condos and you went to sell it, you could have a really hard time without a (short-term rental) license," he said.

Swingle expects the vote to be close.

Preserve Isle of Palms Now supports the referendum, which the group says on preserveiop.org is about keeping the island a great place to live and preserving its residential nature by not allowing unlimited short-term rentals.

"IOP residents are either already experiencing or can foresee future problems with water and sewer capacity, traffic & parking congestion, environmental impacts, and the availability of long-term rental housing," the group's website says.

The Palm Republic, an organization created by former Isle of Palms Mayor Jimmy Carroll and current Councilman Blair Hahn, has also created programming opposing the referendum. Hahn even alleged in a YouTube video that referendum supporters have talked about driving down property values in order to get deals on real estate.

News

The island has long been known as a place to rent a house or condo at the beach, or to have a second home that could be rented out for much of the year.

Full-time residents own about a third of the homes, and they can rent out those homes for up to 72 days each year if they have a short-term rental license. As of early October, 184 owner-occupied homes on Isle of Palms had short-term rental licenses.

“It’s a vacation spot, and has always been a rental community, to some extent," said Pounds, the mayor, who declined to say how he will vote. "We have 1,400 condos, give or take."

That's a lot on an island with about 4,400 residents. Most of those condos are in Wild Dunes or former hotels in the commercial area along the beachfront, and most are for rent. Many single-family homes across the island are also licensed for short-term renters.

While full-time residents are the minority of property owners on the island, they are the only people who can vote.

The referendum is on the ballot because of a petition signed by 1,173 of the city's 3,740 registered voters. That petition put a short-term rental ordinance before City Council, and after the council declined to pass that ordinance in July, it became a ballot referendum.

If the referendum were to pass, the ordinance would take effect.

The Isle of Palms yes/no referendum question is: "Shall the City of Isle of Palms limit the investment short term rental business licenses to a maximum of 1,600?"

Across the marsh in neighboring Mount Pleasant, which has more than 94,000 residents, just 400 short-term rental permits are allowed.

Supporters of short-term rentals hope state lawmakers will act to prohibit and invalidate any local restrictions in 2024. A measure aimed at limiting local governments' ability to restrain short-term rentals failed earlier this year.

Palmetto Politics

Folly Beach earlier this year imposed a short-term rental cap following a referendum. Folly Beach has fewer than half as many residences as Isle of Palms, and the town now has an 800-license limit on short-term rentals.

Isle of Palms would have 1,600, plus as many licenses as full-time residents want for their homes, if the referendum were to pass. Residents will also choose four City Council members in the election, from eight candidates.

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Reach David Slade at 843-937-5552. Follow him on Twitter @DSladeNews.

ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCSC) - The Isle of Palms City Council in 2020 voted to make additions to the marina area of the island and that project is officially slated to be completed this year.

The project included the addition of a public dock, a boardwalk and a waterfront park and greenspace. The boardwalk and public dock have been completed, and, as of Jan. 11, the construction contract for the waterfront park and greenspace was officially confirmed.

The waterfront park will cover the 300 by 25 foot wide area along the marina facing the Intracoastal Waterway. There will be a 6-foot wide concrete walkway. The park will include a large lawn area with lush planting.

They plan to include a series of benches along the waterfront walkway so residents can enjoy views of the water and boating activities. There are plans for a circular seat wall near the public dock that would create an entrance to the dock area.

They plan to include a kayak storage area and a kayak launch area. There will be golf cart parking available as well as bicycle parking areas.

All of these plans did require collaboration and participation from the marina manager and restaurant tenants. Scott Toole, the general manager of the Outpost, a nearby restaurant, says he is very excited for this addition to the area.

“I think that it’s an added benefit to the island, to the residents, everybody, to have a space and to use the dock. Kayak launching is a big thing that I think people will take advantage of.” he says. “It’s really going to help make this area kind of a place of interest for people, sort of a destination so to speak, for people to be able to get some food, get some drink, watch the water and use the dock that’s right there.”

Toole says they very recently renovated the Outpost and he’s excited to see this new project bring more people to the area. He says he feels like this area of Isle of Palms is often overlooked as it is a little ways away from the main beach.

“We’ve kind of joked that it’s a small corner of the island and so, anything that’s bringing people down this direction is good for everybody. We’re excited to see this project take place,” he says.

The project is currently slated to be completed by May of this year. To provide City Council your input on this project you can click here.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include additional information from the city, including the fact that IOP city does not set prices for the new park area.

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ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCBD) – Construction is underway on a new Isle of Palms waterfront space that will include a pier and other amenities.

Chaundra Yudchenko, who serves as the city’s public relations and tourism coordinator, said the Isle of Palms Public Dock Renovation Project will include a new 16-foot-wide pier with swings and benches.

The project also includes a floating dock with American Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant kayak and stand-up paddleboard launching.

Yudchenko said the public dock is not intended to be used for boat mooring; it will be available to the public for recreational use and passive water activities.

Construction of the public dock is set to begin in March with completion in May.

It’s all part of a 2020 vote by Isle of Palms City Council to improve the island’s marina area.

And while some are excited to have a new area to spend time with their family, others are concerned about potential costs.

“It’ll be nice to have something to bring the grandchildren over to and stuff like that- so, it’ll be nice,” said part-time resident, Dale Johns.

The project is an investment city council member Blair Hahn said was expensive but well worth it.

“The city has gone to great expense to redo the dock and we’re going to have a little green space,” Hahn said.

However, a visit to the park could cost more for non-residents. The plan is to charge visitors for parking and to launch a boat from the public dock. The cost to park is $3.50 per foot of the trailer plus a utility fee per day.

The private marina operators set fees for the new park area – they are not set by the city.

One non-resident who wanted to stay anonymous said many people are upset about this part of the plan. “The city is granting its residents special parking privileges and charging nonresidents exorbitant fees, all while calling this a “public dock.”

Hahn says fees for accessing public parks are nothing new in Charleston.

“It’s no different than Charleston County Park. They charge $20 a car to park on the island so unfortunately, that’s just a reality,” Hahn said.

The nonresident went on to say not everyone will be able to pay the fees.

“The city of Isle of Palms needs to treat residents and nonresidents the same at its “Public park” and charge everyone a fair amount, or allow free parking for everyone,” they said.

The city, according to Yudchenko, has not discussed implementing any feeds for the use of the public dock.

“Marina docks, boat launch fees, and The Outpost marina store are managed by Coastal Marinas, which is a tenant of the city. Fees for boat launching, dockage, and storage are determined by the marina tenant,” said Yudchenko.

Despite the concern, Hahn believes the park will still serve as a popular meeting spot for locals and visitors.

“We are doing everything we can to be resident-friendly and visitor-friendly and to bring people to Isle of Palms, but there’s always a cost to everything you do,” Hahn said.

Additionally, Yudchenko said the city is working with the marina restaurant, Islander 71, on a new parking layout to “increase the number and efficiency of parking spaces available to residents, visitors, and restaurant customers.”

The project is expected to be completed by May of this year.

ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCSC) - Big changes could be coming to the noise ordinance on Isle of Palms as city leaders hope to make the rules more clear.

The city’s noise ordinance currently doesn’t list specific limits. A proposal would establish set decibel levels based on the time and day of the week as well as the area:

Isle of Palms business owners got the chance to see the numbers and ask questions on Friday.

“We want them to understand that they have a voice, we want to hear from them,” Police Chief Kevin Cornett said. “Anything that is going to impact businesses we want them to be able to come to us and say what they think about it.”

One area resident, who only identified himself as Paul, says the noise ordinance needs to have a balance.

“Obviously, late at night you don’t want people making a lot of noise walking up and down the streets while residents are trying to go to bed, but at the same time this is a vacation spot, so you have to have a little bit on leeway for people to enjoy themselves but also be respectful,” he said.

Cornett says they’re working to find a solution that will work for businesses and residents and increase livability for everyone.

Cornette says noise is a hot topic on the island and he values feedback on this from both residents and business owners.

“Everybody is very much invested in this conversation,” Cornett said. “The city council is taking it very seriously and they are going around and talking to people to get their input. So, I think they are doing a great job on making sure voices are heard so that when we get the final project it’s fair and something that will work for everybody.”

Officers use a calibrated decibel reader when called out to a noise complaint.

“That’s how we determine if it’s a violation and then we would take other factors into account like background noise to keep the realistic approach to is as well,” Cornett said.

The public safety committee has to create a final draft before it will head to the city council for two separate readings.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCSC) - The Charleston Beach Foundation is asking the city of Isle of Palms and South Carolina Department of Transportation to revoke current parking plans along beach access points.

The group disclosed its concerns in a letter on November 27, claiming the “general public is being denied their constitutional guaranty of equality and privilege.”

Isle of Palms City Council put the regulations into place in 2015 with the goal of making the beaches functional and safe.

The 2015 parking plan, amended in 2017, cost $250,000 in taxpayer dollars and is modeled off similar plans in both Charleston and Columbia.

The city claims the plan was made to manage “unbridled growth” in the region, both nearby in Charleston and further out in the Lowcountry.

Activists say it does not match up with the increase in commercial use of the island or overall population growth.

“Revoke the 2015 parking plan on Isle of Palms, return all residential-only parking spaces on both Sullivans Island and Isle of Palms back to the general public,” Michael Barnett says.

Barnett says the plan eliminated a number of free spots and instead gave them to short-term rentals in nearby neighborhoods.

The Charleston Beach Foundation also claims the area has since become a hot spot for commercial use, with the city voting in a referendum on Nov. 7 to not limit short-term rental licenses.

“They were really the first to do it. They started to do it piece by piece, which really got my attention because I was a surfer,” Barnett says. “Businesses are operating in these areas. Not basically, they are. They’re not residential neighborhoods anymore.”

City officials weighed in on the matter.

“We are very much a residential community. Certainly, in season, we have a lot more visitors than we do residents. But we provide eight times the among of parking required by the state,” Isle of Palms Mayor Phillip Pounds says.

Pounds says the island offers an abundance of free parking with the current plan, scattered around 56 beach access points.

“It’s not about increasing revenues, being punitive. It’s about making sure every spaces available can be used properly.”

The foundation mentioned encroachment and “excessive fines” as to why the plan should be reworked.

“Why would a parking ticket for parking in a residential area, or having your tires on the road, be 3x the state average on Isle of Palms?” Barnett says.

Pounds says the plan is set in place for now.

“We can’t do anything without approval and oversight, and we have a really good relationship with SCDOT. If there were any changes we were looking to make, we’d certainly have to work in conjunction with them,” Pounds says.

The SCDOT and Isle of Palms City Council both say they are starting the initial review process for the Charleston Beach Foundation’s request.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.