Is the gate fee in Sea Pines going up? Here’s the latest

For now, a proposal to hike the Sea Pines gate fee from $6 to $10 during the summer months is less likely to move forward, but an increase is still possible, a Sea Pines official said Thursday.

“We would accept the $10 gate fee,” said Charlie Miner, president of the Association of Sea Pines Plantation Property Owners. “But I frankly don’t think that will work.”

The Sea Pines Gate Entry Committee is asking residents for feedback on the proposed changes to the gate entry policy. The latest revised policy leaves out the proposal to increase the gate fee from $6 to $10 between Memorial Day and Labor Day, leaving it at the current $6 per vehicle. The proposed policy includes, among other things, changes to decals for property owners and procedures for delivery vehicles.

Miner said there is concern that a $4 fee increase during summer months might “confuse” visitors.

In order for the fee to go up, Sea Pines must receive written approval from the Sea Pines Resort and The Shops at Sea Pines Center. Steve Birdwell, president of Sea Pines Resort, said previously the resort would support an increase. The Sea Pines Center, which represents commercial interests, has objected to the proposed $4 hike, officials said previously.

Miner said Thursday that commercial representatives, mainly from the Sea Pines Center, are trying to determine what gate fee would work for them. That includes, Miner said, either an alternative to the proposed $4 increase, or attaching conditions to the $4 seasonal hike.

Miner said the goal is to have a new gate fee by the end of the year.

The change will likely be something more “transitional,” rather than the increase to $10, and not a seasonal change, Miner said.

The proposed $4 increase was approved in June by ASPPPO, a voluntary organization that represents some property owners, and Community Services Associates, which represents all property owners.

In July, CSA president Mark Griffith said he expected the Sea Pines Center to object to the increase, and at the time was meeting with the center’s manager to see if a compromise could be reached.

Griffith did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.

Sea Pines Resort included supporting a gate fee increase in the benefit terms for residents as part of a proposed referendum on whether to expand The Inn & Club at Harbour Town. The referendum has since been postponed.

The last gate fee increase was in 2013 when it was raised from $5 to the current $6.

This story was originally published August 31, 2017 at 11:04 AM with the headline "Is the gate fee in Sea Pines going up? Here’s the latest."