Carolina Coastal Review

Wild Dunes community might evolve into public beach access

The following article appeared in the Post & Courier this Morning.  Reported by By Bo Petersen (Contact), The Post and Courier - Friday, December 14, 2007

ISLE OF PALMS — The gated Wild Dunes community might evolve into public beach access.

The state would consider the resort community's beach to have complete access under a bill prefiled by Sen. Chip Campsen, R-Isle of Palms, for the January 2008 session. Rep. Ben Hagood, R-Sullivan's Island, plans to file a parallel bill in the House by January.

The community is private; the beach is public but no open access is provided inside the gates. What should be allowed on public beach to protect private property is an ongoing dispute in coastal management.

The bill would rework the state's beachfront management act to designate all the beach public in municipalities that have more than half of the beach outside of communities that restrict access. The municipalities also must offer twice as much access as the state requires. That would include Wild Dunes but exclude largely private islands such as Kiawah.

It would clear one of the first hurdles Isle of Palms has to winning federal money for a $9 million or more beach renourishment plan to save six condominium complexes and other properties from storm tides washing under the buildings. Army Corps of Engineers rules require a consensus among local governments about public need.

A bigger hurdle is the $9 million itself. Even if federal money could be won in time, it would pay for only two-thirds. Campsen and Hagood also will push bills to allow future accommodations tax revenue to pay for bonds for renourishment and let the worst-off beaches keep all their accommodations tax revenue to do it.

The city has more than 50 public walkways and accesses, Isle of Palms Mayor Mike Sottile said. Access at least every half-mile is another Corps requirement.

"I feel Isle of Palms has more than enough beach access and public parking than we need to meet the letter of the law. We're a seven-mile beach and we have enough parking for a 20-mile beach," he said.

The legislators plan to fast-track the bills to help Isle of Palms meet a June deadline for completing the work that OCRM wants.

Legislative approval isn't a given, Hagood said. "There certainly will be some issues to discuss."

Own Your Own Charleston Airport Parking Spot

The Post & Courier reported today that a  Colorado-based company plans to build a 210-unit garage complex near the airport and plans to sell parking spaces to frequent Charleston visitors so they never need to pay for parking again.  The purchase comes with access to a clubhouse that will offer updated flight schedules and beverage service, as well as the ground transportation.

The concept is aimed partly at second-home owners who have property in places such as Kiawah Island, downtown Charleston and Isle of Palms, said Scott Rotermund, one of the partners in Airport Garages.

Prices range from $39,900 for a single stall to $109,900 for an 18-by-50-foot space that can hold about six sport utility vehicles. Owners also would pay a monthly maintenance fee of about $40.  The company compares its airport parking concept to the "dockominium" trend at places like Wild Dunes in which marina owners have sold off boat slips instead of renting them.

Wild Dunes Executive on the Move

Terri Haack, the person in charge for Destination Wild Dunes, is taking a job in California after five years at the helm of the Wild Dunes Resort.  She will leave at year-end to head up Terranea, a property being built by the company that owns Wild Dunes, Destination Hotels & Resorts, a 6,500-employee branch of Lowe Enterprises.

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]

Sullivan's Island to get New Bridge

Hurricane Hugo tore the Ben Sawyer Bridge apart in 1989. For weeks, there was no way to drive to Sullivan’s Island. Since then, the Isle of Palms Connector has been built which can also shuttle visitors and residents to and from the mainland. But when the Ben Sawyer was put back into use right after Hugo, it has gotten no major upgrade.

But the Department of Transportation has announced a plan to change that. The bridge will be dismantled down to the piers and a new steel superstructure will be placed on top. The cost of this project is estimated 35 Million dollars. Funding will be provided by both the federal and state government, with 80% coming from the federal level.

During construction, the bridge will be closed for at least one week. No time has been set for the start of construction, but it is unlikely to begin for at least one year, possibly in the Fall of 2008.

Source: WCBD-TV(NBC 2)

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

Village Update

On Friday, officials at Wild Dunes Resort celebrated the pouring of the final concrete slab atop one of the company's new condominium buildings.

Lowe Destination Development, a subsidiary of the property's owner and operator, broke ground for five buildings of luxury condos in December 2005. The $183 million project is named The Village at Wild Dunes.

About 40 percent of the project's 256 condos have already been sold, Senior Vice President of Development John Steele said.

The building's first residents will likely move in by the end of the year.

The complex also includes about 30,000 square feet of space for office, retail stores, restaurants and a fitness center. LS3P Associates Ltd. designed the project. R.J. Griffin and Co., the Atlanta-based general contractor for the project, partly sponsored the event.

As reported in the Post & Courier - January 29, 2007

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