Beaufort County says it doesn’t own Port Royal boat ramp. What that means for the public
The popular public boat landing at Sands Beach in Port Royal isn’t owned by the public after all, Beaufort County says, which has notified town officials that it plans to give up maintenance responsibilities July 1.
Port Royal officials say they are frustrated they have less than two months to figure out how to keep the busy public access properly maintained and open, but they are promising to keep it publicly accessible.
“Our goal,” Port Royal Mayor Joe DeVito said, “is to not let that landing close on July 1.”
Officials with the county, which currently maintains the boat ramp, say they want the ramp to remain public, too. But, while research was being conducted on the ownership of its 25 boat landings and 17 additional public accesses, it discovered it doesn’t own the Sands landing, said Chris Ophardt, a spokesman for the county.
“The County Council wants to assure the public that its tax dollars are being spent appropriately,” Ophardt said.
Port Royal officials learned of the county’s conclusion regarding the boat landing ownership in an April 26 letter from Beaufort County Administrator Eric Greenway.
“In April 2021, the Beaufort County Public Works Department and Legal Department conducted an ownership and title research on several of the boat landings maintained by Beaufort County including The Sands,” Greenway says. “Based on this research, it was determined that The Sands is owned by the SHM Port Royal, LLC (Safe Harbor).”
Safe Harbor Marinas, the global marina operator, purchased over 300 acres of property at the Port of Port Royal from Grey Ghost Properties LLC in December and is now in the planning stages of a major waterfront development that includes constructing a marina and improvements to a dry stack storage facility.
“It is the county’s desire to have The Sands remain open and accessible to the citizens and visitors of the community to continue to be able to use the boat landing,” Greenway’s letter says. “Although, being Safe Harbor is the property owner and there is no agreement with Beaufort County for the maintenance of The Sands, Beaufort County is requesting that Safe Harbor take over all maintenance of The Sands effective July 1, 2022.
That news came just after Port Royal had authorized $80,000 for repairs, resurfacing and restriping of the landing parking lot. The Town owns Sands Beach and the parking lot that abuts the boat landing. The parking lot work will go on, DeVito said, despite the change.
“There’s no reason to stop it,” DeVito said of the parking lot improvement project, “because we’re going to keep that boat landing open.”
Sands Beach boat landing will be closed Monday through Friday while those parking lot improvements are completed.
Safe Harbor Marinas did not immediately respond to an email request for comment.
Town, county and Safe Harbor officials plan to meet next week, DeVito said, about the ownership and maintenance issues.
Another option, Greenway told Town Manger Van Willis in the letter, is for Safe Harbor to convey the boat landing property to Beaufort County.
The Sands is one of the county’s most-used ramps, Willis said, with residents from across the county using it to put their boats in the water. As a regional facility, he adds, it makes sense that Beaufort County continues to maintain it.
“So we’ve committed to keeping this a functional boat ramp,” Willis said, “and we just want to make sure the ownership and maintenance issues are resolved.”
The July 1 deadline for transferring maintenance duties to Safe Harbor falls just before the July 4 holiday, adding an urgency to the situation.
Beaufort Mayor Stephen Murray raised the issue during a recent joint meeting between members of the Town of Port Royal and Beaufort councils, noting if the Sands boat ramp was closed during July 4 it would impact landings elsewhere in the region.
Kevin Phillips, a member of the Port Royal Town Council, said he’s frustrated by the deadline Port Royal officials are working under.
For over 30 years, Phillips said, Beaufort County has claimed ownership of the landing, “Then last Friday, we get a letter saying, ‘You have two months to figure it out.’” The situation, he added, highlights the need for improved communications between the county and town.
There is a legal argument to be made, Phillips says, that the county has acquired the right to use the property because it has been maintaining it for so long. It’s called a “prescriptive easement.”
The county, Ophardt said, looks forward to discussions with the Town and Safe Harbor Marinas to resolve the ownership and maintenance concerns.
“The county is working with Port Royal and Safe Harbor to preserve public access and use of the Sands Beach Boat Landing,” Ophardt said.
During the process of researching ownership of the county’s boat landings and docks and piers, Ophardt said, the county intends to keep public access perform maintenance while working through any issues.
