At the June 25 Isle of Palms City Council meeting, Councilman Jimmy Ward proposed a motion for the council to formally oppose the latest South Carolina budget proviso, specifically Section 55.26.
This provision allows homeowners to appeal to the Administrative Law Court for areas designated as beaches by the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services. If the judge overturns the agency's beach designation, they will award attorney’s fees and costs to the homeowner. This could hold the environmental agency and any third-party litigants responsible for these fees.
“We are handcuffing these state agencies,” Councilman Ward said. “They may be hesitant to take action in the future, knowing that they could be impacted by having to pay attorney’s fees and other court costs.”
Councilman John Bogosian responded to Councilman Ward’s concerns by saying the provision should not stop agencies like the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control’s Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) from doing their job.
“I understand Councilman Ward is concerned that this could inhibit OCRM from filing anything, but that’s their job,” Councilman Bogosian said. “This is state law, and at the end of the day, a judge has to rule that OCRM’s jurisdiction is not what they claimed it is for this to be valid. So I think it’s way premature for the city of Isle of Palms to get involved in something that is a state law at this point, and it’s a one-year issue.”
Councilwoman Elizabeth Campsen said input from the community is necessary.
“I think we would get involved in order to support the beach advocacy; you know, we’re members of that; we have a beach, and I think that you don’t want something like this to go through without public comment or hearing from the communities that will be impacted by it,” she said.
With a majority in favor, the council voted 7-2 to pass the motion opposing the South Carolina budget proviso.
