Sea Pines gate fee could increase

A gate fee increase is possible for Sea Pines.

The Association of Sea Pines Plantation Property Owners and Sea Pines Resort support increasing the gate fee from $6 to $10 during the heavy tourist season, according to an online list of benefits that would come with approving a referendum to add 90 rooms to The Inn & Club at Harbour Town.

The website Enhancing Sea Pines does not have an “about” page but is listed on the back of an informational pamphlet supporting the referendum that was distributed at a community meeting on Tuesday. At the meeting, residents voiced concerns about the proposed hotel expansion, which, if approved, would more than double its current number of rooms.

The proposed gate fee increase would run from April through September and would return to $6 during the rest of the year. The last gate fee increase was in 2013 when it was raised $1, bringing it to the current $6.

Members of ASPPPO and Community Services Associates, which represents all property owners, have worked with Sea Pines Resort officials to “get them to grant a number of very favorable concessions” if the referendum passes, according to the Enhancing Sea Pines website.

An increase in the gate fee is one of 11 listed benefit terms. Amanda Jones, director of communications for CSA, confirmed Thursday that the gate fee increase is part of the current terms of the proposed referendum.

Dana Advocaat, a Sea Pines resident, said Thursday that, for two years, residents have supported increasing the gate fee but have been consistently blocked by “commercial interests.”

“We desperately need the funds,” Advocaat said. “But here we are again, almost at the Fourth of July, and we still don’t have a gate fee increase.”

CSA manages gate fees, and the proposed increase would have to be approved by the resort, eligible residents and “commercial interests,” according to the informational pamphlet provided at Tuesday’s meeting. A portion of the revenue from the increase would be used to fund traffic and parking improvements in Harbour Town, the Enhancing Sea Pines website said.

Steve Birdwell, president of Sea Pines Resort; an ASPPPO representative; and The Club Group Ltd., a property management company that oversees the Shops at Sea Pines Center, did not immediately respond Thursday to requests for comment.

More resident meetings about the proposed expansion of The Inn & Club will be held throughout the summer, and a referendum is planned for early fall, Sea Pines officials said earlier.

This story was originally published June 1, 2017 at 4:27 PM with the headline "Sea Pines gate fee could increase."