Hilton Head seeks second opinions from fire marshal, attorneys in split-unit condos debate
Hilton Head Island leaders will ask the state fire marshal to review whether split-unit condos on the island's south end are allowed under state code.
But that is unlikely to settle the debate raging among some South Forest Beach residents about whether those units -- almost exclusively in Oceanwalk Villas just south of the Coligny area -- contribute to crime.
More than a dozen of those residents bitterly argued their cases before the town's Public Safety Committee on Wednesday morning.
Opponents of the split units -- in which a three-bedroom condo is divided into two individual rentals -- say they attract crime to the area.
But crime statistics for the area show Oceanwalk accounts for only a tiny fraction of Beaufort County Sheriff's Office calls for service in the area, and there's no direct link between crime and the split units, said law enforcement leaders.
"Right now we have a lot of disparity of thought in this room," said Mayor Pro Tem Bill Harkins, a member of the committee. " It's unfortunate, but it's not unusual."
In addition to the request for a fire marshal review, Harkins suggested the town seek an outside legal review of its rules on split units and form a new community group of residents from complexes throughout the North and South Forest Beach areas to address crime.
"You'll leave your swords outside the room and you try to plan with a clean sheet of paper," Harkins told residents of Oceanwalk and Xanadu villas after their heated public comments.
"This is an intervention," Harkins continued. "We'll be here to bring you together and bring different levels of expertise together, but you cannot sit on your buns and let us do it."
The fight over split condos -- often referred to as "lockout units" -- began about two years ago when a small group of owners at Oceanwalk and Xanadu challenged whether town codes allowed them.
They have asked the town to prohibit splitting condos in the buildings into two individual rentals -- in most cases by separating the "mother-in-law suite" bedroom by a door, sometimes with a lock.
Led by Forest Beach Owners Association President Jack Daly and former Oceanwalk chairman Bruce Bartow, opponents of the split units argue their separation breaks fire codes by hindering access to the apartment's electrical panel and attract unsavory tenants who wish to remain "off the grid" without passing a background check or giving a legal name for utilities.
The town investigated the matter and concluded last year that the split units did not violate the National Electric Code, town zoning or the town's land management ordinance. A letter from Shawn Stickle, chief deputy of the S.C. Fire Marshal Office, and the town's Construction Board of Adjustment and Appeals confirmed those conclusions.
But members of the Public Safety Committee say those reviews are not enough, given the consistent and boisterous backlash from some area residents.
Councilmen Marc Grant and Lee Edwards agreed the town should contact outside attorneys to review whether the town has any legal authority to address the concerns about split units. They must also study how any changes that could affect similar types of condos across the island, including several buildings in Palmetto Dunes Oceanfront Resort.
"I don't want (any new rules) to be based on who can afford it, profiling, anything of that nature," Grant said. "I want it to focus on, what is a way we can solve this issue but does not affect the wide variety (of split units) on the island?"
But theoretical limitations of town laws should not deter the town from trying to fix the reality of how split units are rented, Edwards and Grant agreed.
"It sounds like quite a few of (the split unit tenants) are undesirable," Edwards said. "We've clearly got a problem here. This is a management problem, an Oceanwalk problem, but they don't seem to have the ability to do anything about it."
"There is a problem there and that is in the heart of our tourist district, he continued. "We need to do something."
Opponents of the lockout units lauded the decision as a step forward.
"There's some pain involved in this process, that's how it goes," Bartow said. "Is Oceanwalk headed in the right direction? Absolutely. One of the reasons is because we're having this conversation."
Follow reporter Zach Murdock at twitter.com/IPBG_Zach and at facebook.com/IPBGZach.
Related content:
- Combating crime in South Forest Beach tops Hilton Head leaders' to-do list in New Year, Jan. 4, 2016
- New Best Western signals new life for old South Forest Beach area, Dec. 17, 2015
- Hilton Head Mayor Bennett: Fix dangerous subdivided condos, Aug. 26, 2015
- Insurer might drop Hilton Head condos for electrical-panel problems, May 1, 2015
- Xanadu, Oceanwalk condo owners told to fix electrical-panel problem, July 9, 2014
This story was originally published January 20, 2016 at 5:33 PM with the headline "Hilton Head seeks second opinions from fire marshal, attorneys in split-unit condos debate."