Cindi Solomon (Credit: Joshua Uys)
In January 2024, the Isle of Palms established the Beach Preservation Ad Hoc Committee to evaluate existing beach policies and propose strategic recommendations to the City Council. After a year of research, collaboration with coastal engineers, and analysis of neighboring communities’ practices, the committee presented its findings at a workshop on Tuesday, Jan. 14.
Cindi Solomon, a committee representative, highlighted the economic benefits of beach renourishment.
“For every dollar spent on beach renourishment, the state sees $1,200 in economic development generated by tourists,” she said. “Additionally, federal, state, and local governments collectively gain nearly $130 in tax revenue per dollar spent.”
The committee recommended a proactive, data-driven approach to managing beach conditions. It proposed biannual reviews of beach health and conditional triggers to prompt council action. For example, if 1,500 feet of beach is projected to reach critical thresholds for minimum healthy beach volume or dune width within the next 12 months, the council should consider midscale solutions such as shoal management or sand recycling. Large-scale interventions, such as offshore dredging and renourishment, should be implemented if a full mile of beach is projected to reach these thresholds.
Councilman Scott Pierce supported the structured plan, citing its efficiency.
“We’ve got triggers; the objective here is to allow our administration to act without needing council approval every time a threshold is met,” he said. “We need to codify this into our plans, ensure they’re actionable, and secure funding.”
Councilman Jimmy Ward also emphasized the need to leverage external funding sources.
“We need to tap into county funding,” he said. “We send so much money every year; we need to start getting some in return. This is a beach for everyone—it affects the economy of the entire county and state.”
The workshop included a key discussion about the role of local government in protecting private property. The council is considering allowing homeowners to construct hard structures to safeguard their properties. This potential policy shift could reduce reliance on public sand scraping and sandbagging efforts, freeing up resources for broader renourishment projects.
Mayor Philip Pounds suggested consulting additional experts before implementing any policy changes. He proposed seeking input from Dr. Nicole Elko, a coastal consultant for Sullivan’s Island.
“If we’re heading toward a policy shift, I’d want another set of eyes on that,” he said.
Councilman Blair Hahn, however, expressed concerns about hard structures.
“You can build a hard structure if an engineer certifies it won’t impact your neighbor,” he said. “But no one has ever built one because no engineer will make that guarantee. We know hard structures negatively affect adjacent properties.”
In response to Councilman Hahn, Councilman John Bogosian said, “There's been different case studies and evidence that suggests that's not the case and I'm not sure you've seen those or not, but there's a lot of evidence to suggest that it not only helps anyone that builds these structures, but also helps the neighbors and up and down the beach.”
During the citizen comment period, Kerry Solomon expressed support for subsurface erosion control structures.
”There's good data to suggest that when installed properly these can be very effective not only protecting property during extreme situations, but can also be helpful to the beach,” he said.
The committee also outlined recommendations to enhance beach resilience, including scheduling beach renourishment projects every eight years instead of 10 and hiring a full-time employee to oversee resilience initiatives and manage beach preservation efforts.