UPDATE: As governor allows beaches to reopen, Hilton Head and others plan to push back
Hilton Head Island officials will likely fall in line with several other coastal municipalities planning to oppose lifting restrictions on town beaches this week, Town Manager Steve Riley said.
The plan comes as S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster has rescinded restrictions on state beach access points starting at noon Tuesday. McMaster said local governments will have the power to decide when they will open their beaches.
Riley said the Hilton Head Island Town Council will discuss the issue at its virtual meeting at 2 p.m. Tuesday. The agenda for the meeting says the council will consider a “Resolution Affirming Beach Access and Town Parks Closure.”
“Right now our current restrictions on beaches and parks is through April 30,” he said Monday. “At this point, the mayor will recommend sticking with April 30.”
The resolution, if passed, would limit beach activities after April 30 to running, walking, dog-walking, biking, surfing, fishing (where authorized) and other recreational activities that are consistent with proper social distancing practices.
It would discourage sunbathing (to include use of towels or chairs), loitering without moving, setting up tents or other structures, use of coolers, and any other activities that are inconsistent with social distancing, the resolution draft says.
Hilton Head Mayor John McCann closed town beach parks and public access points on March 21 for 60 days. The emergency ordinance was then amended to expire April 30, Riley said.
McCann’s move was followed by McMaster’s statewide closure of public beach access points on March 30 due to social distancing issues during the coronavirus pandemic.
When coastal municipalities heard over the weekend that the governor planned to reopen beaches, they responded immediately.
Officials from Isle of Palms, Sullivan’s Island, Folly Beach and Edisto Beach released a joint statement on Sunday that they will continue restricting beach access despite McMaster’s order.
On Hilton Head, Riley said the town would likely do something similar.
He said the governor’s order would not require municipalities to open beaches. His action simply lifts restrictions on public beach access.
“He can lift the restriction, which then makes it a local decision,” Riley said.
Lifting beach restrictions would be similar to McMaster’s order reopening boat ramps for boat launches starting April 17.
Are Hilton Head’s beaches open?
As of Monday evening, McMaster has lifted restrictions on public beach access points, which means the public beaches can be reopened.
However, the Town of Hilton Head Island confirmed Monday night that the beach accesses would remain closed until at least the 2 p.m. council meeting.
The governor’s original order closing public beach access did not affect private beach access points such as beachfront homes or resorts.
Opponents of that order said it showed how limiting access hurts the people who don’t live on the beach but regularly visit it.
For many on Hilton Head, it also indicated that the few hundred people still visiting the island and staying in rentals or hotel rooms appear to have priority over residents who are sheltering in place.
This story was originally published April 20, 2020 at 11:45 AM.
