Parking, traffic, a potential lawsuit: What’s the future of the Daufuskie Island ferry?
Almost a year after Beaufort County officials revealed three options for a permanent embarkation location, the future of the ferry that shuttles residents and visitors to Daufuskie Island is still unsettled.
The ferry’s current location at Buckingham Landing has served as a temporary facility since 2017, and county staff were tasked last year with finding a better, more permanent place.
But residents, and county officials, are still split about where it needs to go.
Since 2017, Buckingham Landing residents have complained about the parking and traffic problems caused by Daufuskie Island ferry operations near their Bluffton neighborhood.
The location is dangerous, they say, and it hasn’t gotten any better in almost four years. They want the ferry to find a new home as soon as possible.
However, some Daufuskie Island residents argue that moving ferry operations to a temporary location while a permanent place is built will create the same problems in a different place.
“I would like to see us stay [at Buckingham Landing] until we have a permanent location at Pinckney Island, hopefully in the deep-water Intracoastal Waterway,” said Leanne Coulter, chair of the Daufuskie Island Council.
The choice of a new ferry location has been delayed over the past year as Beaufort County and Hilton Head Island officials deal with the planning for the U.S. 278 reconfiguration, which will likely affect the construction of a new ferry facility. A large turnover in county staff and the COVID-19 pandemic also were factors in the delay.
Now, Beaufort County officials are looking for a temporary spot to house the ferry until a more permanent place — most likely Pinckney Island — can be built. While officials consider moving operations across the bridge temporarily, the county’s public facilities committee agreed last week to seek proposals from ferry companies that could operate out of a new, short-term location.
If no one submits a proposal, the county will have to move forward with a temporary facility on Pinckney Island, said Brian Flewelling, chair of the public facilities committee.
“We’ve got to get off Buckingham Landing,” he said. “It’s just not fair to have this in their neighborhood.”
Potential lawsuit?
After Hurricane Matthew damaged its location at Palmetto Bay Marina in 2016, the ferry to Daufuskie Island was moved to Buckingham Landing on Mackay Creek.
The ferry leaves from the area four times daily.
There are 85 parking spots on site. The county also offers full-time Daufuskie Island residents shuttle services to 60 remote parking spaces at the county’s government center in Bluffton.
Overnight parking is offered on site for $10 per night or $100 a month.
In 2018, Beaufort County purchased the waterfront property, which includes the old Sea Trawler restaurant, for $2.2 million. However, neighbors say the increased traffic from ferry customers has made the area dangerous.
Alisa Ware has lived in the Buckingham Landing neighborhood for three years.
Since then, parking problems, increased traffic and noise have been a way of life. Hundreds of cars zoom past the area daily, making it a dangerous place to live, she said Friday.
“It’s so incredibly disruptive,” she said.
About a year ago, Beaufort County promised Buckingham Landing residents that the ferry would be moved by this November, she said. It’s now the end of November, and Ware says those talks have stalled.
“In January, it seemed like a cut-and-dry ‘we’re moving it,’” she said. “And then I don’t know what has changed, maybe the movement of [former County Administrator] Ashley Jacobs, but there definitely was a shift in their position.”
The biggest issue, Ware said, is that the ferry shouldn’t be allowed to operate even temporarily out of Buckingham Landing.
Beaufort County’s code of ordinances states that the Buckingham Landing location should be preserved only for residential uses and some home-based businesses. Though it says that public boat landings are allowed, structures are not permitted.
Ware said she and her neighbors are considering a lawsuit against the county for what she called an “illegal” zoning use.
An email chain obtained by The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette shows that county officials discussed ways of mitigating a potential lawsuit by the Buckingham Landing residents.
In a Sept. 30 email to County Attorney Kurt Taylor, Special Projects Director Dave Wilhelm and Council member Chris Hervochon, then-County Administrator Ashley Jacobs described the problems with the Buckingham Landing location and asked whether the residents had grounds for a lawsuit.
“The residents at Buckingham want the ferry landing moved because they feel that the traffic and illegal parking are a nuisance and that the presence of the ferry landing is an illegal zoning use,” the email said. “The question for you is whether the residents of Buckingham Landing have a basis for a lawsuit against the County.”
An hour later, Taylor responded that he’s been to Buckingham Landing and “seen the parking issues.”
“Yes, they could possibly have a cause of action for a public nuisance, and for violation of the zoning ordinance,” he wrote. “However, it would be difficult for them to describe what damages they have suffered (maybe diminution in value of their property, etc.). And, if the county can show the plans for the new landing are about to be worked on, that should placate the neighborhood, and would minimize damages and also show a judge that the county is working in good faith.”
Ware said she understands that the ferry is essential to Daufuskie Island residents. She said she has no problem with full-time Daufuskie residents using the parking lot.
The problem is the tourists who pack the lot.
“It’s the short-term and long-term tourists that use it,” she said. “Our position is that the county does not owe the tourists anything. We feel like we’re just not being listened to, and it’s mind-boggling to me that our main issue is that [the ferry] shouldn’t even be there.”
Called Thursday, Council member Chris Hervochon, who represents residents of Buckingham Landing, agreed that the ferry needs to be moved.
“I support the residents of Buckingham Landing and their effort to move the ferry because it has been a burden on them,” he said. “I also support the residents of Daufuskie Island because they need a safe place to travel from.”
Council member Flewelling said the county needs to “get [the ferry] out of there.”
“It’s dangerous where it is,” he said.
‘Where do we move?’
With no bridge to the island, the only way to visit the remote spot known for its Gullah and Civil War history is by boat or ferry.
Richard Inglis with Daufuskie Island Ferry Services, which contracts with the county on a month-to-month basis to operate the ferry, told The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette in December 2019 that Buckingham Landing has been a “fantastic solution” after the storm destroyed the previous location at Palmetto Bay.
Inglis did not return a call for comment Friday.
The difficulty that faces the county, Coulter said, is finding a location that has deep-water access and has a parking lot large enough to handle 150 to 300 cars.
“Daufuskie Island’s economy is based on tourism, and so what we need is parking,” she said. “Now we are looking at the southern end of Pinckney Island” for a new, permanent location.
Daufuskie’s historic district is growing at a “nice sustainable pace,” and visitors and residents need a parking lot to handle that growth, she said.
In an Oct. 1 email to county officials, Council member Mark Lawson, who represents Daufuskie Island, argued that a temporary ferry structure on Pinckney Island would be “dangerous and deadly.”
“I am concerned that the rush to provide the Buckingham Landing residents quiet enjoyment is being put ahead and above the safety of the Daufuskie Island Residents and the other ferry users at this time,” he wrote.
Lawson did not return a call for comment Friday.
Coulter said she hopes the county can move quickly with building a permanent facility, but she knows it’ll take years.
“I understand the difficulties of people living in the Buckingham neighborhood. I understand completely,” she said. “The alternative is what do we do? Where do we move?”
She said the Daufuskie Island Council will be working with Beaufort County to plan for the permanent ferry spot.
“It’s going to take time to make sure that once a facility is built, that it’s a safe spot for people due to the increased amount of traffic that’s going to happen,” she said. “I’d love for the problem to be solved. I think we’ve got a vision, and I’d love to see how we can take the vision and put it on a timetable.”
This story was originally published November 23, 2020 at 4:35 AM.
