Beaufort to consider enforced ‘shelter-in-place’ order. Here’s what that means:
The city of Beaufort is holding an emergency council meeting Monday to consider a citywide shelter-in-place order as coronavirus cases grow in Beaufort County.
If passed, the directive would be among first since the state Attorney General issued an opinion stating only the governor has the authority to issue stay-at-home orders. Charleston and Columbia passed their own stay-at-home orders before the opinion was released.
The ordinance would require Beaufort residents to shelter in their place of residence and would codify enforcement of “social distancing,” which entails maintaining a six-foot distance between individuals.
“Enforcement” is the key word to “shelter-in-place” orders as the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office has said it will enforce only ordinances from the governor. Beaufort Mayor Billy Keyserling, who has faced pressure from constituents, said Beaufort police officers would issue “civil citations” should they see willful “lack of social distancing.”
“You’re not going to have police charging into people’s homes. You’re not going to see aggressive action,” said Keyserling. “You’re going to see surveilling of public places.”
The citations would act as warnings, and Keyserling says the police are not likely to write fines. But he would not rule out police taking more assertive action if the numbers of people flouting social distancing are high or they are repeat offenders.
On whose authority?
In preparation for Monday’s meeting, Keysering said his office ran the ordinance by a number of attorneys so as not to enact “anything that supersedes the authority of the governor.”
Keyserling said he has texted and emailed the governor to give him a heads up, though he has not heard back.
“We’re trying to help [McMaster], by no means undermine him,” said Keyserling.
But the mayor acknowledges that with the order, Beaufort will have “given more clarity than the governor has.”
Keyserling said his hopes for the order are to show other councils that they can issue “shelter-in-place” orders that are enforceable and to help collectively increase the efficacy of social distancing.
The ordinance may not pass unanimously, as Beaufort City Councilman Stephen Murray voiced some of his concerns with a “shelter-in-place” order on Facebook.
“I’m not opposed to a local Shelter in Place Order if we are seeing irresponsible behavior, but I also think we need to be honest about what the government can and cannot do,” wrote Murray in a post on Saturday.
The mayor says he expects the ordinance to pass.
Bluffton Mayor Lisa Sulka said on Sunday there are currently no plans to propose a “shelter-in-place” order. Hilton Head Mayor John McCann has suggested his hands are tied but has expressed his frustration with the governor for “moving very slowly.”
Monday’s Beaufort meeting will take place on a Zoom call and will be streamed live on the city’s Facebook page.
This story was originally published April 5, 2020 at 5:36 PM.
