Should Hilton Head residents have their own beach parking lot?

Hilton Head Island residents will be asked in upcoming months if they would like their own parking lot from which to go to the beach.

Islanders already pay for an annual $30 pass to use 135 at Islanders Beach Park and 30 spaces at Driessen Beach Park. Others, however, are allowed to use spots in each of these lots.

“When we get into the season, it is difficult to find a spot to park for islanders,” John McCann, a Town Council member who brought the discussion forward. “If we start redirecting traffic away from Coligny Beach it could get worse.”

Public forums will be held to ask the public their thoughts in upcoming months, town officials said.

McCann sent out a newsletter to his constituents earlier this week mentioning a “private beach” for islanders.

“It went out Tuesday and I received about 100 responses in two days,” McCann said. He said a majority were in favor of a proposal.

It is impossible to make a beach truly private, Steve Riley, town manager said. He said beaches are public according to federal law. However, access is not.

“You can’t walk across someone’s private property to get to the beach,” Riley said. “Once on the beach, it is public.”

Islanders beach access was created as an amenity specifically for those living on the island, Riley said. He said parking spots at the access point were only for islanders.

That changed in 2012 when the town received a grant from the state to re-nourish a portion of the beach there, Riley said. He said the state required that additional parking spots that would be open to the public be added, Riley said.

Riley said he is unsure how long the 25 spots need to remain to fill the obligation of the grant.

“We have more research to do on this issue,” Riley said.

McCann said hotels have also started busing tourist to the access point.

“I have received calls from residents concerned about the congestion,” McCann said.

The town’s Public Facilities Committee will be holding the meetings on the issue.

Marc Grant, a town council member and chairman of the committee, said it will likely be a couple months before the meetings take place.

“This is a tough one,” Grant said Friday. “We really have to do our due diligence.”

Grant had concerns about refusing people access to town amenities.

“I just think sometimes we over do things,” Grant said. “I don’t want to over police people and I believe citizens should have a right to access any of our beaches. I don’t believe anyone should have a private gate keeping people off the beach.”

While beaches are public, there are some beaches on the island such as one behind the gates at Hilton Head Island Plantation that are not easily accessible to the public. The beach sits on the Port Royal Sound and is not connected to the rest of the Island’s beaches making access impossible via walking. The only way for the public to access the beach is via boat.

This story was originally published February 24, 2017 at 1:36 PM with the headline "Should Hilton Head residents have their own beach parking lot?."