SC might make beaches provide free parking. Isle of Palms begs McMaster to veto bill
In a move that puts a South Carolina beach community at odds with both its neighbors and the state legislature, Isle of Palms voted Friday to oppose a state bill that would require free and unrestricted beach parking along state highways.
The city’s resolution, which passed 7-0 during a special City Council meeting, carries no weight of law, but it does express the city’s disapproval of a bill introduced by state Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Berkeley.
The legislation would require South Carolina’s beach communities to provide at least some free parking on state roads.
It also would give towns the authority to include paid public beach parking and to use those funds to maintain, operate and preserve things like beach parking facilities; beach access, maintenance, and renourishment; traffic and parking enforcement; first responders; sanitation; and litter control and removal.
The Isle of Palms council meeting Friday morning took all of 3 minutes and 12 seconds. Two council members, Ryan Buchannon and Phillip Pounds, did not attend.
Mayor Jimmy Carroll, reading from the resolution, said the goal was to express the city’s opposition to the implementation of the legislation “by all lawful means necessary.”
It also urges S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster to veto the bill when it gets to his desk.
The resolution also claims the legislation “clearly discloses that barrier island communities, including the Isle of Palms, are being singled out and treated differently from other municipal entities in this state in a politically motivated, unconstitutional response to the City’s actions taken in the interest of public health and safety.”
It continues, alleging the bill “violates The Home Rule Act, which explicitly gives municipalities the sole power to control roads and streets within the municipality for the public health.”
“Home rule has always been a fundamental part of why South Carolina is so wonderful,” Councilman John Moye said in an emailed statement following the vote. “When home rule is threatened at this scale, issues that local leaders and communities know how to best address are suddenly being managed by politicians in Columbia.”
Isle of Palms, which is located across the Intracoastal Waterway from Mount Pleasant, has become the nexus of South Carolina’s beach parking drama. The back-and-forth over free versus paid parking has sparked debates over who deserves access to state’s public sands.
The debate intensified last year when South Carolina closed public access to its beaches, all of which the state owns, at the start of the pandemic in an attempt to slow the spread of COVID-19. After McMaster reopened the beaches in late April, Isle of Palms, Sullivan’s Island and Folly Beach took a more gradual approach, issuing their own emergency orders to restrict public beach access and reduce the number of nonresidents coming in at the time.
Isle of Palms is facing a lawsuit over its 2020 decision to temporarily block nonresidents from using more than 750 parking spots near the beach, leaving just 10 free spaces for visitors.
All beaches are now open to the public.
Recently, ahead of the busy summer tourist season, the S.C. Department of Transportation installed approximately 240 angled spaces on the land side of the state-owned Palm Boulevard, stretching from 22nd to 40th Ave.
State Rep. Joe Bustos, R-Charleston, argued on the House floor last week that the bill was not ready for a vote and urged further debate.
“This is not a beach access bill. This is a beach parking bill, and we need to understand that,” Bustos said.
His attempts to table the bill were unsuccessful.
The local resolution that passed Friday now puts Isle of Palms at odds with Mount Pleasant, a neighboring town that in January passed a resolution to show public support for Grooms’ bill.
The bill, S. 40, passed its final reading May 13 in a 102-10 vote in the state House. It now heads to McMaster’s desk.
It is still unclear whether McMaster will sign the bill into law.
“Governor McMaster is still in the process of reviewing the bill and greatly appreciates all input,” said Brandon Charochak, a spokesman for the governor. “He will make a final decision in the coming days.”
Memorial Day weekend, considered the unofficial start of the summer tourist season, is next week.
A group calling themselves the Barrier Island Preservation Alliance welcomed the move by Isle of Palms on Friday.
The group’s stated mission is to foster dialogue and community engagement to address the unique challenges of barrier island beaches.
Morgan Harris, an Isle of Palms resident and member of the alliance, said council members share their goals.
“They, like we, want Isle of Palms to continue to be an open and welcoming community that is safe for families, businesses and visitors alike. And they believe, as so many of us do, that we, rather than Columbia bureaucrats and politicians, are best equipped to make decisions about parking in Isle of Palms,” Harris said.
This story was originally published May 21, 2021 at 2:12 PM.
