One of Hunting Island’s last cabins will remain ... for now

One of the last remaining cabins on Hunting Island will remain standing.

At least for now.

After Hurricane Matthew devastated the island in October, many of the state park’s cabins were washed away or — as in the case of the iconic “Little Blue” cottage — torn down.

But the structure at 28 Cabin Road, despite suffering some exterior damage, stood tall.

The owners, who rent the lot the cabin sits on from the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, are fighting the state to allow them to keep the building intact. They recently won an opening skirmish.

The agency, which oversees the island, has determined the owners’ long-term lease is no longer valid and that the cabin must be removed due to erosion and damage caused by Matthew.

Russell Patterson, an attorney and a co-owner of the cabin, is part of a group suing the department to keep the cottage in place.

The first part of the process is rebuilding the protective sand dunes around the cabin — a process known as “sand scraping.”

Last week, Beaufort County Master in Equity Judge Marvin Dukes granted a temporary restraining order directing the state to allow the owners to seek a permit to sand scrape and “clean up the property and surrounding areas.”

“It’s very good news,” Patterson said Friday of the judge’s order. “We hope to get our sand scraping permit any day now and start working right away.”

“I’m glad we were able to get through that hurdle,” he said.

But another remains.

Dukes’ order does not address whether the state can legally terminate the cabin owners’ lot lease.

Patterson said he would like to continue using the cabin for family recreation purposes for the remaining four years of the 25-year lease that expires in October 2021.

A pair of affidavits written by state parks department officials and included in court documents filed earlier this month make the argument as to why the lease should be terminated and the cabin removed.

State parks director Phil Gaines wrote that the island “sustained massive damage in Hurricane Matthew” and “will continue to be closed to the general public for an indeterminate period of time.”

The park is “unsafe (and has) a wide debris field, unsafe buildings, exposed septic systems, and demolition, construction and logging underway,” according to Gaines’ affidavit.

“Leaving the cabin as it stands is an environmental and safety risk,” he wrote.

David Simms, the department’s chief of engineering and construction, concurred.

He wrote in an affidavit that the cabin “is permanently in a location that is unsafe.”

Despite those concerns, Gaines wrote that the agency “will agree with the (cabin owners) making necessary repairs to stabilize the structure until the court determines the issues regarding the termination of the lease.”

Patterson said that, despite the fact “we still have a lawsuit pending,” he hopes the parties can come to an agreement without resorting to a court hearing.

“Certainly, we think (the state parks department) has many more important issues to deal with than battling us,” he said.

The state is working to reopen Hunting Island by this summer and has plans to build new cabins, add picnic sites and start a shuttle service.

This story was originally published March 24, 2017 at 12:38 PM with the headline "One of Hunting Island’s last cabins will remain ... for now."