Senate tightens beach development rules; delay could aid Kiawah project

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 one more time before the freeze takes effect. The group says the oceanfront at Captain Sam’s spit is building up naturally, which could allow the line to move seaward. Kiawah development officials were not available Thursday after the Senate vote.

The delay also could allow the state to move the building restriction line seaward on any other part of the coast where the beach is getting wider. Generally, most of the state’s coast is eroding as the climate changes and sea levels rise. Eroding beaches would need to be renourished to be eligible to move the line before the 2018 freeze takes effect. Campsen said every beach will erode eventually, regardless of whether it is building up now.

Dana Beach, director of the S.C. Coastal Conservation League, said it is important to freeze the building restriction line, even though the freeze won’t take effect this year.

“The approval of the beachfront amendment today adds a critical safeguard to South Carolina’s beach protection policy,” Beach said. “ It eliminates seaward movement of the construction line, thus reducing the chance of development in hazardous areas while simultaneously preserving the dry sand beach for all South Carolinians to enjoy.”

This story was originally published April 21, 2016 at 7:11 PM with the headline "Senate tightens beach development rules; delay could aid Kiawah project."