Beaufort County property owners outraged by restrictions have been heard — for now
Outraged by the fact that the state could stop you from building on your own property? If so, you’ve just been granted more time to tell the state how you feel.
On Friday, the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control announced that coastal property owners will have until April 6, 2018 to submit comments on the proposed jurisdictional lines— a six month extension from the initial deadline.
Due to the extension, the department will adopt final revised beachfront jurisdictional lines in May 2018 with all lines published by Dec. 31, 2018, according to a press release from DHEC.
In the meantime, existing jurisdictional lines will remain in place until final revised lines are adopted.
“Based on feedback received during the original 30-day comment period, DHEC feels it is appropriate to give property owners and other interested parties more time to meet with department staff, understand the methodology used to set the jurisdictional lines and bring the department any additional information for consideration,” the press release from the department said.
Every seven to 10 years the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control calculates erosion rates on various parts of the shoreline. Then, based on the rate, new jurisdictions lines are drawn — farther seaward, farther landward or they stay the same.
This time, due to legislation passed in 2016, the baseline can never be moved farther seaward, which is something that surprised a number of Beaufort County beachfront homeowners who did not know about the change.
After opening a public comment period and holding three public meetings along the South Carolina coast, where the department heard from hundreds of angry home owners, the extension was announced four days before the end of the 30-day comment period.
Maggie Angst: 843-706-8137, @maggieangst
DHEC is asking affected property owners to contact the department prior to December 4, 2017 by email at ocrm-comments@dhec.sc.gov or phone at 843-953-0200 to receive information on requesting a board review. DHEC will also attempt to proactively reach out to these property owners.
This story was originally published November 3, 2017 at 3:34 PM with the headline "Beaufort County property owners outraged by restrictions have been heard — for now."