The fate of five Isle of Palms ordinances that limited future development in Wild Dunes might be determined in a court of law. Wild Dunes, LLC, filed a suit against the city of IOP in the Court of Common Pleas, Ninth Judicial Circuit, Jan. 12, petitioning the court to rule that the ordinances, passed by the IOP Council last year are “unconstitutional, invalid and ineffective.” The suit asks that Wild Dunes be permitted to continue developing the gated community at the northeastern end of IOP based on the planned residential development established in 1975 and amended in 1977 and 2016. Its attorneys also are seeking unspecified financial damages caused by the ordinances, which the Council passed by a 7-1 margin at a Nov. 15, 2022, meeting. Kevin Popson voted against all five measures, while Jan Anderson recused herself from voting because her husband serves on the board of the Wild Dunes Community Association. The Council was scheduled to discuss the case in executive session with City Attorney Mac McQuillin at a Jan. 24 meeting. IOP Mayor Phillip Pounds said the lawsuit “wasn’t an unexpected turn of events,” adding that “mediation or negotiation would certainly be a piece of the next step.” Terri Haack, senior vice president of Lowe, the company that manages Wild Dunes Resort, appeared to agree that it’s possible for Lowe and Isle of Palms to settle out of court. “While we are committed to seeing this litigation through to its conclusion, we remain hopeful that the city will change course and attempt to reach an understanding about our mutual responsibilities and how everyone can contribute to serving the best interests of the Isle of Palms community,” she said. She added, however, that the Council “did not even attempt to have an open and honest dialogue with Wild Dunes Resort about its goals and intentions. No citizen of the island would want to be treated in this manner. Though some claim the ordinances were devised to reduce traffic on the island and to prevent Wild Dunes Resort from building on the existing golf courses, Wild Dunes Resort has never had any plans to develop on its two golf courses or change their use.”
Haack said Wild Dunes was left with only once choice – to seek protection of its rights through a court of law. “The city was fully aware that enacting these ordinances would prompt litigation, and the process will certainly be costly and time-consuming for everyone involved. If the city had simply facilitated a discussion with the Resort, the Resort would have gladly engaged in a constructive dialogue to help achieve the goal of reducing traffic.” The IOP Council considered establishing a task force to serve as a liaison to Wild Dunes at an Oct. 18 meeting held directly after a public hearing on the ordinances that drew a crowd of local residents so large that some of them had to watch the proceedings on a television in a cramped room on the second floor of City Hall.
Virtually everyone who spoke during the citizens’ comments portion of the hearing and of the ensuing Council meeting opposed further development in Wild Dunes. The Council eventually chose to take no action on the proposed task force. The ordinances rezoned 12 parcels that make up the Wild Dunes Harbor Golf Course, as well as the tennis facilities, as a conservation/recreation district. The measures reduced the total number of dwelling units and hotel rooms from 2,449 and 350, numbers agreed upon when the PRD was amended in 2016, to their current level of 2,119 and 297. “The City Council’s choice to hastily enact these ordinances and not follow the required and usual process was both unfortunate and regrettable,” Haack said.
“The owners and operators of Wild Dunes Resort have enjoyed a productive and collaborative relationship with the city of Isle of Palms and its citizens spanning decades,” she added. “This partnership has been stable and beneficial to both the Resort and the city. The five city ordinances that were introduced and quickly passed in November disrupted this cooperative relationship and wrongfully took away all of Wild Dunes LLC’s remaining development rights under the PRD contract.”
