Daufuskie Island passes controversial codes for short-term rentals, but not everyone is happy
Residents of tiny Daufuskie Island have been at odds over how to regulate short-term rentals on the island.
After months of debate and meetings often resulting in shouting and near chaos, the Daufuskie Island Council on Tuesday night voted to submit a proposal to Beaufort County to regulate short-term rental operations that many island residents feel does not represent their wishes.
The main point of contention is over the kind of permitting that should be used on the island — the stricter special-use permit system or the less-restrictive conditional-use process. The proposal passed by the Island Council sets out that short-term rentals will need a special-use permit in residential areas, in the Historic District, and conditional everywhere else.
That means special-use property owners would need approval by the county zoning board, while conditional use means approval is granted with a simple request.
Opponents of the special-use permitting — the Daufuskie Alliance for Responsible Renters — accused the Island Council of using the proposal to further their own bias against short-term rentals.
The alliance has a membership of over 100 people, not insignificant when you consider that about 550 people live on Daufuskie, according to the 2020 census.
DARR representatives cited three surveys the island took to gauge opinions on STRs on the island as evidence of the council pushing its own agenda. The results provided to the Island Packet showed over three-fifths of surveyed residents prefer the conditional use process. Members of the Island Council do not and drafted a proposal favoring special-use anyways.
Even the creation of the proposal itself was called into question by one of the council members, John Schartner, who said he was not asked to participate in the drafting of the proposal.
“This proposal is strictly the wants of a few select committee members of council,” he wrote on Nextdoor. “I am disappointed in the behavior of the council and its judgment in this issue.”
The council’s chair, Roger Pinckney, has said he and other council members wanted to avoid Daufuskie becoming the next Tybee Island by having too many rentals.
“That would change the face of the community,” he said. “In my neighborhood there are 12 houses and seven of them are in the rental pool, so I don’t have a neighborhood anymore.”
Pinckney said it’s important to remember that without these codes, conditional or special, STRs wouldn’t be allowed on the island at all, so by passing the ordinance Tuesday night, the council “went to bat” for STRs.
While Pinckney admitted he doesn’t personally like STRs, he does acknowledge their importance to Daufuksie’s economy.
The code changes will mainly only affect the Historic District of Daufuskie because private communities like Haig Point have their own rental rules. The historic district is a term largely used to describe the parts of the island not within gated communities.
“We’re the least-affluent people on the island, yet when corporations here have failed, all these people outside the gates, they held up the island,” said Stewart Yarborough, speaking for DARR. “Everybody knows that tourism is the lifeblood economy of Daufuskie, so why would you deny those in the Historic District that prosperity?
What’s the issue with special use?
The special-use permit process requires owners to attend and get approval of the county Zoning Board of Appeals meeting in Beaufort. For the people of Daufuskie Island, that’s easier said than done.
The 5x3-mile island South of Bluffton is only accessible by ferry, and unless residents have access to the privately run Haig Point Ferry service, only four trips on and off the island are offered a day on the public ferry. The private ferry is only available to people who live in Haig Point or outsiders who obtain a pass.
Zoning Board of Appeals meetings are held on Thursday at 5 p.m., meaning anyone who uses the public ferry would not be able to return to the island until the next morning.
But the council remained firm that attending the meetings wouldn’t be an issue as the county would allow applicants to attend via zoom. County Spokesman Chris Ophardt said that applicants have used zoom in the past but was unsure if it would be an option in the future.
Daufuskie island is unique compared to other unincorporated areas of Beaufort County because it has a governing body — the Daufuskie Island Council. The council is an advisory body with no real political weight beyond what the County Council extends to it, County Administrator Eric Greenway said.
As an unincorporated area, the county has the ultimate say in matters such as these, but the Island Council provides recommendations to the County Council of what people on the island want.
The proposal will now go to the Beaufort County Planning Committee and subsequently be voted on by the County Council after three readings.
This story was originally published December 21, 2022 at 1:55 PM.
