Hilton Head wants to make this beach park exclusive to residents, ditch metered parking
The parking lot at Islanders Beach Park may soon be exclusively limited to Hilton Head Island residents again.
And “residents” — as far as beach passes are concerned — could be redefined as those who live on Hilton Head most of the year, eliminating owners of timeshares as well as island property owners whose homes are not their primary residence.
The change would block annual timeshare guests who spend two or three weeks on Hilton Head, including those buying timeshares at a new 166-unit resort off Folly Field Road, from parking at Islanders.
The town is trying to remove 25 public parking meters at Islanders and hopes to convert those spots into more parking for people with beach passes, said Jeff Buckalew, interim director of infrastructure services. A Town Council committee endorsed the idea during a Monday meeting.
At the same time, a citizens group that formed this past summer wants Hilton Head to “tighten up” its definition of a resident “in order to control the number of beach passes sold,” said islander Edwina Dunlap.
The Town Council committee in a 4-0 vote recommended that the full council rededicate Islanders as “residents-only” and define “resident.”
Beach passes are currently available for people who live or own property in the town limits. The passes are $30 per vehicle.
Islanders has 135 parking spots for beach pass holders and 25 metered spots for anyone, including tourists, according to town staff.
Buckalew said in a Wednesday interview that staff members could recommend to the Town Council that beach passes be exclusive to primary residents who have the 4% property tax assessment ratio.
But that idea, he said, would first have to be vetted by the town’s legal department and Town Manager Marc Orlando.
What’s going on?
The town spent roughly $4 million to buy the land for Islanders in 1992. The park was built in 1999 for about $200,000, Buckalew said.
The Islanders parking lot was exclusive to beach pass holders then, but in 2010 the Town Council decided to install 25 public parking meters at the property so the town would qualify for a $1 million beach renourishment grant from the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, said Josh Gruber, deputy town manager. The metered spaces, Gruber said, had to be open to anyone.
That decision has since drawn the ire of residents.
“This opened Islanders parking to vacationers and day trippers,” Dunlap said. “When there are no meters available, many simply park in any available space. Low fines and little to no enforcement have encouraged people to ignore the rules and park in resident-only spaces.”
Gruber said Monday that the town has contacted DHEC to confirm whether it still has any obligations to maintain the public meters under a contract signed in 2010.
“We believe (the) language is favorable to our position,” he said.
The contract was set to terminate in late 2011, records show.
The citizens group, meanwhile, has grown frustrated with the number of beach passes sold to timeshare guests, Dunlap said.
“Apparently, timeshare groups have been directing their guests to Islanders,” Dunlap said.
The Town Council committee was sympathetic to Dunlap’s concerns Monday, voting to recommend that the full council examine the definition of a Hilton Head resident.
A developer hopes to break ground on a new 166-unit timeshare resort near Islanders in February 2022, according to previous reporting from The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette.
‘Ease the sting’
If the town decides to remove the 25 meters at Islanders, it could be smart to add 25 new public parking spots for beachgoers somewhere else on Hilton Head, Ward 5 representative Tom Lennox said in a Wednesday interview.
“I think it could ease the sting,” Lennox said. “If you take access away, I would understand why some would object.”
No net loss in public parking spots, he said, might be beneficial.
What’s next?
Buckalew said he plans to discuss Islanders with the full Town Council at a November meeting.
The agenda for the council’s Nov. 16 meeting has yet to be released.
The citizens group wants the council to take action before Memorial Day 2022, Dunlap said.
