All of us have been closely following the progress of Senate Bill 1051 during the last weeks. There were tense times as the legislative session was nearing its end but the bill was approved just under the wire, and is now law. Today, Governor Sanford has filed the unsigned bill with the Secretary of State where it now has the full faith and backing of the state of South Carolina.
This bill was critical to all Fripp owners for several reasons not the least of which was the potential significant drop of property values island wide, and other unintended consequences such as difficulty for buyers to obtain home loans. When the Office of Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) changed our setback lines last November and refused to address our concerns in a hearing, our only recourse to prevent the decision from becoming permanent was to delay the action by appealing to the Administrative Law Court. Your Board voted unanimously to appeal and start the process of getting the OCRM decision reversed on Fripp allowing time for our legislative representatives to start the process of the exemption bill.
What this bill means for Fripp going forward is that Fripp Island will be allowed to maintain its rock revetments. It also means that the baseline will be fixed at the top of the revetment and the setback lines will be permanently fixed at 20-feet landward of the revetment. OCRM will not come to Fripp every 10 years as they do elsewhere along the coast to re-examine the erosion rates, Fripp will be exempt from that section of the Beachfront Management Act. As long as the rock revetments are maintained, and it will remain each owner's responsibility to maintain them, Fripp's beachfront lots will continue to have the same jurisdictional lines within which to build that they have had for the past thirty years. The threat to all Fripp owners from OCRM's landward movement of setback lines by use of unreliable data is no longer an issue.
We have many people to thank for making S. 1051 a reality. First and foremost is our General Manager, Kate Hines. She has worked tirelessly on this effort. The Board deserves credit for taking the initiative to move quickly when short timelines were imposed by OCRM. Mary Shahid of McNair Law Firm worked with Kate and the Board and also helped Senator Tom Davis who deserves our deepest gratitude for giving us not only his time but for having the forethought to draft this bill. Representative Shannon Erickson lent 100% of her support for the bill in the House of Representatives. Last but not least our members stepped to the table, called their Senators and Representatives, not just once but many times as this bill went from one legislative body to another and into Conference.
Congratulations Fripp Island it's a great day for all of us!
Micki McCormick
FIPOA President
"A BILL TO AMEND SECTION 48 39 290, CODE OF LAWS OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 1976, RELATING TO RESTRICTIONS, EXCEPTIONS, AND SPECIAL PERMITS CONCERNING CONSTRUCTION AND RECONSTRUCTION SEAWARD OF THE BASELINE OR BETWEEN THE BASELINE AND THE SET BACK LINE, SO AS TO REVISE THE DESCRIPTION OF A PRIVATE ISLAND WITH AN ATLANTIC SHORELINE THAT IS EXEMPT FROM THE PROVISIONS OF THIS SECTION AND THE FORTY YEAR RETREAT POLICY.
"Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of South Carolina:
SECTION 1. Section 48 39 290(B)(2)(e) of the 1976 Code is amended to read:
"(e) Subitem (a) does not apply to a private island with an Atlantic Ocean shoreline of twenty thousand, two hundred ten feet of which twenty thousand, ninety feet of shoreline is revetted with existing erosion control devices and one hundred twenty feet of shoreline is not revetted with existing erosion control devices is entirely revetted with existing erosion control devices. Nothing contained in this subitem makes this island eligible for beach renourishment funds. For a private island with an Atlantic Ocean shoreline of twenty thousand, two hundred ten feet which is entirely revetted with existing erosion control devices, the baseline is established for this private island at the landward edge of the erosion control device and the setback line is established twenty feet landward of the baseline."
SECTION 2. Chapter 39, Title 48 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 48 39 45. (A)(1) On July 1, 2010, there is created the Coastal Zone Management Advisory Council that consists of fourteen members, which shall act as an advisory council to the department's Office of Ocean and Coastal Resources Management.
(2) The members of the council must be constituted as follows:
(a) eight members, one from each coastal zone county, to be elected by a majority vote of the members of the House of Representatives and a majority vote of the Senate members representing the county from three nominees submitted by the governing body of each coastal zone county, each House or Senate member to have one vote; and
(b) six members, one from each of the congressional districts of the State, to be elected by a majority vote of the members of the House of Representatives and the Senate representing the counties in that district, each House or Senate member to have one vote.
(3) The council shall elect a chairman, vice chairman, and other officers it considers necessary.
(B) Terms of all members are for four years and until successors are appointed and qualified. A vacancy must be filled in the original manner of selection for the remainder of the unexpired term.
(C) Members of the council may not be compensated for their services and are not entitled to mileage, subsistence, or per diem as provided by law for members of state boards, committees, and commissions and are not entitled to reimbursement for actual and necessary expenses incurred in connection with and as a result of their service on the council.
(D)(1) The council shall provide advice and counsel to the staff of the Office of Ocean and Coastal Resources Management in implementing the provisions of the South Carolina Coastal Zone Management Act. The department and the public may bring a matter concerning implementation of the provisions of this act by operation of its permitting and certification process, including the promulgation of regulations, to the council's attention.
(2) The council shall meet at the call of the chairman.
(3) Advice and counsel of the council is not binding on the department."
SECTION 3. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor.
The PowerPoint slide show presented at the Town Hall meeting at the Fripp Community Centre May 29th
is available to view or download.
Figures in the slide show are as of June 9, 2010.
You may need to download the free PowerPoint viewer.
Effective March 15, 2010 Personal property may not be left on the beach past sunset. Articles found on the beach will be confiscated.
If a warning ticket is placed on your property, you will have 24 hours to remove it or it will be confiscated and thrown away.
Leaving holes in the sand or any obstructions are prohibited.
Failure to comply could result in fines up to $100 per day.
Kate Hines, PCAM, LSM, MCM
General Manager
You will have to click on your part of the island.
Late fees are added at a rate of 18% per annum.
At the January 10, 2009, FIPOA Board Meeting, Mrs. McCormick and the Parking Committee submitted an in-depth report. Discussion and revisions were approved and Resolution #496R was passed at the May 9th meeting.
PDF files available for download below (large files, please be patient).