Credit: Lynn Pierotti
A full house of concerned residents attended the Isle of Palms Beach Ad-Hoc Committee’s presentation of more than 20 actionable recommendations at the Jan. 14 City Council workshop. Several residents spoke in support of the recommendations, emphasizing a sense of urgency.
The committee was formed in February 2024 to address ongoing erosion and challenges that have threatened the Isle of Palms beach, dunes, public access, and property since early 2023. The recommendations are the result of nearly a year of work by the committee, which includes four residents and three council members.
Goals of the Committee:
- Review Isle of Palms (IOP) beach restoration policies and practices
- Develop recommendations for proactive responses to beach erosion
- Create consistent and sustainable funding mechanisms for future needs and projects
Presenting on behalf of the committee, Isle of Palms resident Cindi Solomon summarized the collaboration and effort required to prepare the recommendations. To ensure all viable options were considered, the committee interviewed representatives from regional and out-of-state coastal communities with successful proactive programs, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, coastal consultants, regulators, legislators, engineers, financiers, and attorneys.
The committee reached unanimous consensus on all recommendations except for two topics. The first involves repealing legacy ordinance language prohibiting hard erosion structures within 250 feet of the mean high water mark. Four members recommend repealing the language, while three favor modifying it. The second area of disagreement concerns the city’s role in providing emergency assistance.
Credit: Lynn Pierotti
Summary of Major Recommendations:
Review Isle of Palms Beach Restoration Policies
- Define IOP’s healthy beach profile target: 600 cubic yards per foot at inlet zones and 380 cubic yards per foot elsewhere.
- Establish triggers for when the council should consider mid- to large-scale projects.
- Consider becoming a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-managed beach.
- Establish property owners’ responsibilities for maintaining dunes within private property, following the Folly Beach model.
- Prohibit construction of new pools seaward of the maximum build line.
- Seek a second opinion on emergency protective actions, future beach nourishment programs, and other protection options, including groins, sandbag installation, and actions taken over the past two years.
Proactive Response to Beach Erosion
- Reduce the frequency of large-scale projects from 10 to 8 years.
- Initiate the permitting process earlier to ensure permits are always on hand.
- Hire a full-time employee to oversee resilience efforts, including beach management.
- Establish a Beach Preservation Committee composed of five residents and two council members.
New and Consistent Funding Mechanisms for Future Needs and Projects
- Create separate accounts for emergency restoration, large-scale nourishment projects, and other beach-related initiatives.
- Raise revenue to support the proposed proactive beach nourishment schedule, using options ranging from local to federal sources.
- Engage state lobbyists and legislators to amend state law to allow beach renourishment to be added to the Municipal Improvements Act, enabling the city to establish a special-purpose tax district.
- Advocate for state law changes to give coastal communities flexibility to raise revenue for renourishment, such as real estate transfer fees or additional accommodations tax (ATAX) funding.
- Develop a cost-sharing plan with Wild Dunes for projects along areas that lack public access.
Included in the presentation packet is an inflation-adjusted cost estimate for the long-term proactive nourishment plan. The average annual cost projection is similar whether an 8-year or 10-year cycle is implemented. Over a 32-year period, the total estimated funding requirement for major nourishment projects is $191 million, which includes five major projects. The initial project, estimated at $22.6 million, aims to restore the Isle of Palms to a healthy beach. These cost estimates exclude annual emergency projects, monitoring, and other maintenance expenses for the beach and dunes.
Interim City Administrator Douglas Kerr will present the recommendations to the council at its next meeting on Jan. 28 for consideration or to determine the next steps.
You can view the meeting here:
