Carolina Coastal Review

Isle of Palms dredgers bring up old cannonball

We thought we would head to Ocean Club at Wild Dunes this morning to check on  progress of the beach renourishment project. We jumped in our electric Gem Car (saving gas) and off we were. The beach looks great - big difference from the thousands of sandbags shoring up condo buildings just a few short weeks ago. The Isle of Palms beach is now wide with lots of fresh sand.

The project is moving along very quickly. Today the sand was being pumped onshore in just north of building one at Ocean Club. As we walked along, we looked for treasures that might be brought up by the dredging equipment working three miles offshore. We found a few nice shells, but nothing like the workers discovered during their nights work. Workers dredged up a 14-inch-wide cannonball around 3 a.m. this morning. Apparently, they  noticed loud noises coming from a 3-foot-wide pipe that was sucking sand from the ocean.  Representatives from the historical society are now investigating the 300 pound canonball.  I'm sure there will be a lot more we will learn about the significance of the find over the days and weeks to come. In the meantime, I'll continue to enjoy the new beach and have fun looking for those smaller treasures!

Charleston still America’s most mannerly city

As reported by: The Charleston Regional Business Journal Staff

The Charleston School of Protocol and Etiquette has announced that, once again, Charleston has been voted America's Most Mannerly City of 2007. The general public determined winners with votes cast online and by mail to the school over the past year. Savannah, Ga., and New York City placed second and third, respectively. The competition has been ongoing for more than 30 years.

After winning the America's Most Mannerly City designation for the 11th time, Charleston received the Lifetime Achievement Award last year. "Charleston is firmly established as a stronghold of manners," said Cindy Grosso, owner of Charleston School of Protocol and Etiquette.

The founder of the competition, etiquette expert and author Marjabelle Young Stewart, died in March at age 82. Grosso secured the endorsement of Stewart's family to carry on the contest. "It fits. It seems proper for (someone from) the Most Mannerly City for all these years to take it over," said Stewart's husband, William Stewart of Kewanee, Ill.

Charleston won by a landslide with 219 votes. Forty-four votes came from South Carolina residents, including 19 from Charleston. Votes for America's Most Mannerly City 2008 will be accepted by the Charleston School of Protocol and Etiquette from Feb. 1 through Dec. 31, 2008, on its Web site at http://www.charlestonschoolofprotocol.com or by mail at P.O. Box 41113, Charleston, SC 29423-1113. Voters are invited to submit mannerly cities and to convey stories in support of their chosen locales.

The Charleston School of Protocol and Etiquette was established in 2000 and specializes in corporate etiquette programs for groups and coaching for individuals.

Erosion Control Bags a Float

The newest concern over beach erosion at Wild Dunes Resort  is the hundreds of five-gallon sandbags used as emergency erosion fighters have been seen floating at sea and in estuaries. Property owners who used the bags are being fined, but they say regulators told them to use the bags.  Environmentalists worry the bags will be mistaken as food by turtles and other marine life, leading to deaths.

Property owners were cited Friday for violating an enforcement order to remove the smaller bags by the state agency that regulates their use. Homeowners say the state Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management is the agency that told them to use the bags in the first place.

Beach Renourishment on Hold

A permit is on hold indefinitely as loggerhead turtle nesting season began last week. Representatives from the state Department of Natural Resources and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service advised the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management in April not to issue the permit until nesting season for the threatened species is over. The nesting season is from May 1 to Oct. 31.

NY Times Highlights Isle of Palms & Sullivan's Island

Elsa Brenner, in a  NY Times article, had some great things to say about Isle of Palms and Sullivan's Island. The article, which was published in the paper on March 16, 2007, highlights the lure of the never-ending beaches and sense of being remote, yet so close to all that Charleston, SC has to offer.  The author went on to highlight the many amenities of Wild Dunes Resort on the north end of Isle of Palms.   [View the full article]

Public Hearing on Wild Dunes Beach Nourishment Project

The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control's Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management has scheduled a public hearing for 6 tonight at the Isle of Palms Exchange Club.  On the agenda is Wild Dunes Property owners proposed plan to harvest 180,000 cubic yards of sand from the Cedar Creek spit, also known as the Morgan Creek spit, and truck it along the shore to the affected beach.   Some Wild Dunes residents are concerned about the project, and thus the public meeting for discussion before any permits are issued.

Read the full Post & Courier article

Isle of Palms Residents Debate Growth Issues

A number of Isle of Palms residents gathered before the city council this week to let it be know that they are uncomfortable with the pace of growth on the island. For some, they like the small bungalows and would just as soon keep visitors (aka, rental guests) away. 

In my view, the 36 homes that have been moved or razed to make room for new ones this past year was positive progress.  Responsible growth is needed and I am not an advocate of building the huge monstrosities, but continued growth is healthy. New structures, of reasonable size, go a long way to upgrading our island. We have ordinances on the books that limit the size of these new structures and there are ordinances that deal with other liveability issues, like noise, parking, etc.  As long as enforcement of existing rules take place, this will continue to be a great place to live and vacation.

Read more…

IOP Residences voice growth worries  Post & Courier 1/24/07

Draft of IOP Planning Commission recommendations on short term rentals

Tear-downs a Growing Trend

The Charleston Post & Courier ran an interesting article this morning on the growing trend of tear downs. Last year, Isle of Palms had 36 homes taken down to make room for new ones, nearly one percent of the universe of 4,100 island homes. It’s a growing trend that’s likely to continue, as there are a limited number of vacant lots remaining, but an abundance of small, older homes sitting on some very valuable land.    Read the article.

Health of Wild Dunes Beach

I recently received the Wild Dunes Community Association’s 4^th quarter newsletter. Lots of good information, but the article on the Long Term Health of the Beach caught my eye.

The association last month voted to begin to collect and disseminate information about beach management options and hinted that it may need to collect money, via a special assessment, from property owners. In a letter to the Board of Directors last week, I urged them to take a proactive role in the current erosion situation, which is currently being spearheaded by a group of condo associations who have banned together.  In that email I also questioned the need for any assessments due to the significant sums of money that have been collected through the Wild Dunes Transfer Fee that deposits one-half percent of any real estate transaction into a reserve fund.

The article asked owners to please email thoughts or questions to thebeach@wilddunesowners.org. If you are a current property at Wild Dunes, please let your directors know your opinion.

Waves taking big toll on IOP

[The following article appeared in the December 4th edition of the Post & Courier Newspaper. Written by Jill Coley]

ISLE OF PALMS - John O'Hare bought a condominium at Seascape Villas in Wild Dunes for its tranquil ocean view. Now, the ocean keeps him awake at night as it laps ever closer to his building.

About 60 feet of public beach along the northern tip of the Isle of Palms was lost between May and October, engineers say. The erosion threatens six condominiums, several single-family homes and the 18th hole of The Links golf course.

Read the full article