South Carolina Senate tightens beach development rules
South Carolina is moving to stop developers from building close to the ocean at a time of rising sea levels — but not before taking steps that could help a controversial Kiawah Island resort project.
The state Senate voted 39-0 Thursday for a bill that’s intended to block new hotels, condominiums and other development from being constructed farther out on the beach.
But the new law would not take full effect until 2018, meaning developers across the coast could still seek state permission to build farther toward the ocean before then.
The most obvious beneficiary is Kiawah Development Partners. The delay could help the partnership build an upscale project on a narrow, sandy spit south of Charleston. The company’s project, on the drawing board for more than a decade, has sparked multiple legal challenges from environmentalists who say developing a sand spit is unwise.
Development close to the ocean often is more vulnerable to destruction from hurricanes, which can lead to taxpayer bailouts, and it can eventually contribute to beach erosion, scientists say. Project officials have said the Kiawah development will consist of a relatively small number of homes and it will be environmentally sensitive.
Environmental groups and some lawmakers aren’t happy the Senate agreed to the delay, but they said Thursday the Senate bill would eventually stop encroaching development. After more than a year of disagreements, a compromise was struck earlier this week on the date the rules would take effect. The House could take up the Senate-approved bill as early as next week.
“It’s better than nothing,’’ Sen. Chip Campsen, R-Charleston, said.
Sen. Paul Campbell, R-Berkeley, led the charge to help Kiawah Island Partners, arguing the state could be subject to lawsuits if it does not work with the business group.
Specifically, the bill approved Thursday freezes a building restriction line from ever being moved seaward after Dec. 31, 2017. By law, state regulators reset the building line every 8 to 10 years. In the past, they have agreed to move the line seaward, in some places, after taxpayer funded beach renourishment projects widened beaches or beaches built up naturally.
Kiawah Development Partners wants the state to set the line once more before the freeze. The group says the oceanfront at Captain Sam’s spit is building up naturally, which could allow the line to move seaward.
This story was originally published April 22, 2016 at 8:48 AM with the headline "South Carolina Senate tightens beach development rules."