‘I don’t’: Hilton Head bars couple from using STR as 200-guest wedding venue
Hilton Head officials have quashed a North Carolina couple’s request for a zoning exception that would allow them to use their short-term rental properties as a 200-person event venue.
Charlotte-based Steven and Lisa Weston, owners of 125 and 140 Shark Key Way, hoped to rent out their charming beachfront property for weddings and family reunions.
The 2.13-acre property, situated along Mitchelville Rd, features two newly-developed single-family homes, a boardwalk with beach access and “majestic” live oak trees. The properties currently hold active short-term rental permits, according to the town’s online short-term rental dashboard.
The property does not have direct access to a minor arterial road — a requirement for such use in local zoning laws.
At a Monday meeting of the Board of Zoning Appeals, attorney Chester Williams and local caterer Roy Prescott spoke on behalf of the couple, asking the board to grant them a variance — a special exception to a zoning rule.
They argued that not granting the variance would place an “unnecessary hardship” on the property owners, and that the impact on the neighborhood would be far less than if the property was developed into a 23-lot subdivision.
Board members and town staff argued that the use of a property as an event venue could place “significant hardship” on local residents, with impacts to traffic, noise and public safety.
They were also not convinced that the applicants would face hardship if their request was not approved, arguing that there were still other ways the couple could use the property.
“The inability to operate a commercial event venue does not constitute an unreasonable restriction of property rights,” said Town of Hilton Head Senior Planner Michael Connolly.
Area has ties to Gullah-Geechee history
The property is located in a neighborhood with deep ties to Hilton Head’s Gullah-Geechee history.
The Gullah-Geechee people are descended from formerly enslaved people on the Sea Islands. Many Gullah-Geechee families have owned land in the area since the Civil War.
Located in the historic Baygall neighborhood (near Historic Mitchelville Freedom Park), the property itself is located right next to the Drayton Cemetery.
The Gullah cemetery is believed to pre-date the start of the Civil War. Several graves have markers of members of the United States Colored Infantry.
Nadine Chaplin, speaking on behalf of nearby landowners, pled the board to deny the variance.
“I have family members in that graveyard, including my mother. I would not want disturbed,” Chaplin said.
Legal uses could generate more traffic, attorney says
Williams pled the board to grant the property owners an exception to the rule, legally referred to as a zoning variance. He argued that existing zoning rules would allow the owners to build a 23-lot subdivision on the property which would generate “far more traffic.”
The proposed event venue would accommodate up to 200 guests and 80 cars. Williams estimated the venue would generate about 134 weekend trips, while 23 dwelling units would generate more than 200.
“If you’re looking to manage traffic, well, then you want this particular use,” Williams said. “You don’t want the residential use.”
Events held at property in the past
Prescott revealed that the property has already been used to host large events in the past.
In November 2024, Prescott said he hosted a 200-guest “welcome party” for his nephew at the property “before I realized there were any restrictions.” Since then, two weddings have been hosted at the property with around 50 people.
A few couples are already interested in the using the space in the future, Prescott said.
Wedding venue would be ‘detriment’
Board members remained concerned that the traffic and noise caused by the venue would disturb local residents.
“If it was residential, you’re looking at ad-hoc car here and there,” said board member Michael Sackheim. “A parking lot at an event, they’d all be coming and going at approximately the same time.
Zoning laws only permit the board to grant a variance if doing so would not be a “detriment” to the adjacent properties.
“People coming from an event where they’d presumably be drinking and partying and then all getting in their cars at the same time in a residential community, I think would be a substantial hardship for that community,” Sackheim said.
Caterer: Island lacks similar venues
Prescott argued that the location is a “very unique piece of property” that could offer future brides and grooms the opportunity to have their “dream wedding in the Lowcountry” with “limited residential impact.”
With waterfront views and live oaks, Prescott said the only similar venue on the island was the Coastal Discovery Museum, which is booked out for 2026.
The Island Packet searched online listings for similar wedding venues on Hilton Head. Most wedding venues we found on Hilton Head are country clubs, hotels and resorts, leaving few options for couples looking for a more “laid-back” wedding on a less developed site.
