Buckingham Landing locals argue Beaufort Co. has been illegally operating Daufuskie Ferry
Residents of Buckingham Landing in Bluffton say Beaufort County has been operating the Daufuskie Ferry there for nearly six years in violation of its own zoning laws.
The previous ferry embarkment location at Palmetto Bay Marina was destroyed in 2016 by Hurricane Matthew. The ferry — the only transport to Daufuskie for residents and tourists — operated temporarily out of Oyster Factory Park Landing in Bluffton before relocating to Buckingham Landing in February 2017.
But what was billed as a temporary solution is nearing its sixth year of operation, and neighbors near Buckingham Landing say the ferry has long overstayed its welcome — and violated the county’s own zoning laws during its operation in the process.
The neighborhood is part of the Buckingham Landing Preservation District, a zoning area intended to prevent commercial development nearby by limiting land to residential uses with exceptions for small, in-home businesses. The ferry is a commercial business, and with that comes traffic, parking problems and other headaches, residents say.
“Our view is that the county is violating its own ordinance,” Buckingham Landing resident Fran Bollin said. “It’s become a commercial operation rather than a temporary solution to the county’s obligation to help people on Daufuskie.”
The county says it’s moving as quickly as possible to find a permanent location. On Aug. 8, the Beaufort County Council voted to condemn a parcel on Helmsman Way on Hilton Head to give the ferry a place from which to operate on Hilton Head Island.
And on Monday, the council voted to move ahead with condemnation of Melrose Landing as an embarkation point for the ferry on Daufuskie Island. Haig Point, which operates the ferry for Beaufort County, currently leases the Melrose Landing’s dock as a disembarkation point for the Daufuskie Ferry.
County spokesman Chris Ophardt said the timeline for when the new land could be acquired and set up for ferry operation is uncertain, adding the process is “at the mercy” of when court cases are scheduled to rule on county government’s need for both pieces of land and make the condemnations official, or whether a settlement is reached with the current owners.
The county has set aside $4.3 million to acquire the Melrose Landing and Helmsman Way spots.
Buckingham Landing residents filed a lawsuit in July 2021 to force the ferry’s relocation. Mediation on the suit failed last Friday, and a trial is expected in the coming months.
The zoning question
The primary issue leading to residents’ lawsuit is the county’s apparent loose application of zoning laws, Buckingham Landing resident Jason DuBose said.
“I don’t think any residents had an issue with it (at first),” DuBose said. “We had just been hit by a major hurricane, there was a lot of destruction, so at that point locals wanted to make sure that locals were taken care of.”
A few exceptions to the zoning restrictions were grandfathered into the preservation district, including the gas station near the U.S. 278 entrance from the neighborhood and the produce and Carolina Seafood stand that previously operated nearby. The county recently evicted the stand owners in August following a breach of contract. The stand had not paid rent to operate on the county-owned property.
While Deputy County Attorney Brittany Ward said the stand was evicted to ensure zoning regulations are followed, DuBose said the county isn’t holding itself to the same standard with the ferry operation on improperly zoned land.
“The funny thing about that is that the fruit stand is actually allowed in the Buckingham preservation code,” DuBose said. “But yet, the ferry that is not a conforming business, that one continues to drag on.”
The land and structure that the ferry operates out of currently was also a non-conforming business grandfathered into the district — a waterfront restaurant formerly called the Sea Trawler and Sunset Bay. According to a court affadavit, the restaurant closed in September 2013.
Since the restaurant was closed for more than 120 days by the time the county purchased the property in 2018, under the preservation district code, the non-conforming status should have been lost and the land automatically restricted to conforming uses like residential structures.
Parking for the ferry has also been an issue, Buckingham Landing resident Bollin said. While the county has been responsive to removing vehicles illegally parked in residents’ grass or along the road — which is prohibited in the preservation district code — the noise and traffic have remained a nuisance.
Ophardt said the ongoing lawsuit prevents county comment on whether the zoning should have been changed after the 120-day period as stated in the preservation district code.
With condemnation of the Helmsman’s Way plot and Melrose Landing underway, Ophardt said a permanent location for the ferry is in sight. But with the court schedule and potential construction timelines up in the air, he said it’s difficult to predict when exactly the Buckingham Landing site could be vacated.
As the days carry on, Buckingham Landing’s residents feel it can’t be soon enough.
“It’s been there now close to six years, so we’re ready for it to be moved,” Bollin said. “And we’re not mad at Daufuskie people, we prefer not being mad with anybody ... but county ordinance says this is a residential neighborhood and the restaurant was converted into a ferry depot, so we’re annoyed by it.”
TOMORROW: Melrose Landing condemnation
This story was originally published September 17, 2022 at 5:30 AM.
