‘It’s a mini-hotel’: Homeowners fear connected properties could turn neighborhood into resort

Twin gray houses with orange garage doors stand side-by-side on Heron Street on Hilton Head Island, just a few streets back from Coligny Plaza.

The only apparent difference between the two homes are their addresses. They are connected by a common deck, which Larry LaBanc, a South Forest Beach homeowner and board member of the Forest Beach Owners Association said means the owner is operating the structures as one unit.

“It’s a compound. It’s a mini-hotel,” said Jack Daly, the president of the Forest Beach Owners Association. “If the town allows this, you could see more houses doing this. It turns it into more of a resort development.”

The houses on Heron Street are zoned as “residential single-family,” according to Nicole Dixon, the development review administrator for the Hilton Head Development Review and Zoning Division.

The regulations, available online, are intended to discourage development that would be “detrimental to the quiet residential nature of single-family neighborhoods.”

The problem, neighbors say, is not necessarily the houses but the deck that connects them that is not in line with buffer requirements established by the town’s land management ordinance.

However, Dixon said the LMO allows for setback and buffer requirements to be waived on two properties that function together. This is done a lot with commercial buildings, she said. By connecting two houses with a common deck, the properties on Heron Street are allowed to stray from LMO requirements.

“It’s never been used in residential before,” she said, referencing the Heron Street developments. “But there’s nothing in the LMO code that says it can only be used for commercial.”

A May 25 letter from town LMO official Teri Lewis explains that the properties could be connected because they function as one unit. The letter says the deck cannot be used without a proper building permit.

The common deck was not included in the application submitted to the architectural review board of the Forest Beach Owners Association. The association knew two identical homes would be constructed but didn’t know they’d be connected, said association executive director John Snodgrass.

“The plans clearly show a 10-foot setback from the property line,” he said. “They had no fencing and no decking shown on that plan.”

Jake Gartner, of Hammerhead Custom Builders and the chairman of the Hilton Head Design Review Board, built the homes for property owner Shane Gould.

Gartner said the deck was a later addition to provide a sun area; both pools are shaded by the houses. “It was not in the original scope of work,” he said.

He said the deck is awaiting final inspection from the town.

“That people are going back and building things and asking for forgiveness, versus permission, in putting up what they want is not taking the island in the direction that was planned by Charles Fraser,” LaBanc said.

“We’re trying to build a nice, classy place,” Gould said. “It upsets me tremendously because of the time invested and the passion invested in building something.”

Renea Hushour, who lives across from the properties, said she is concerned about the noise that could come with renting such large homes.

“At the price we’re renting it for, this is not a party palace,” said Gould. “At the end of the day, we’re trying to build and better the place. And Hilton Head needs that.”

Gould said the two houses will be separate weekly rentals but could be rented together. He said he received a certificate of occupancy from the town on Jan. 26.

The Vacation Company of Hilton Head lists both properties as available for rent. Rates range from $2,495 per week to $6,595 per week for different time frames through June 2018.

The website states the houses are “custom built five-bedroom, five full bath, two half-bath homes” and “are mirror images of each other and are perfect for large family reunions or large groups looking to get away together.”

“After living here for 27 years, the neighborhood has changed dramatically,” said neighbor Betty Hushour. “It’s still a nice neighborhood, but we don’t need a large place for parties or anything in our neighborhood. This is a quiet neighborhood.”

This story was originally published May 31, 2017 at 6:56 PM with the headline "‘It’s a mini-hotel’: Homeowners fear connected properties could turn neighborhood into resort."