Remaining Folly

06/08/2024

Its been a while since I have posted and its been an interesting year politically.

As you will remember, Folly passed a cap on Short Term Rentals (STRs) on February 7 of 2023. It was fairly close but enough of a margin to be called decisive. Lots of activity at the state level to pass a law that would punish municipalities that did that sort of thing but the Municipal Association and a lot of citizens showed up at hearings in Columbia and those bills never got enough traction to pass even thou they were sponsored by a national real estate PAC and had the support of some powqerful legislators. These lawsfailed in three legislative sessions. Lots of trips to Columbia. The Isle of Palms tried to pass a cap and failed.

Two property owners sued Folly Beach claiming that the referendum was essentially a zoning law which by presidence is not alloweed in SC, but it was a weak case on several fronts and the city attorney and council for Save Folly's Future (who had won standing in the case) were victorious. There may still be a chance for appeal but I have not heard about that. This is an important case inj that the judge found that the wording of the Home Rule Act which gives electors the righto pass any law meant any and the use of referenda by citizens to control aspects of city government was strengthened in SC.

The Folly Administration set about implementinmg the STR cap and City Council began addressing the issues that a referendum, by its nature, could not address. Despite some early attemptsby City Council to substantially alter the cap ordinance, citizens stayed involved and the cap remained intact.

There was an election in November, following the referendum in February, and a pro resident councilwoman, Katherine Houghton was re-elected and a pro resident cantidate Chris Bizzell were elected. The lead up to the election was proof that keeping the cap was the first order of contention as there were several cantidates that openly wanted to kill the legislation or modify it into meaninglessness. With the addition of a pro resident city council member and strong civil engagement, the energy was there to keep city council from gutting the law. In the end, if City Council had simply worked with the administration on the Mayor's original bill, I believe the outcome would have been about the same.

Then City Councilperson Ellis (one of the strongest opponents of the cap) resigned and opend up another seat on City Council. The Campaign again centered around the cap with one cantidate wanting to allow non residents to vote in elections that affected their financial interests. Fortunately, the pro resident side was blessed by the fact that Col. Skip Fink ran. Skip is an excellent person and strongly pro quality of life and his entry energised both the Folly Beach Residents Assoc. and Save Folly's Future. They worked very hard and Skip won a seat to serve out the remainder of Eddie's term by a mandate level number of votes.

So far, the residents of Folly have faced down a powerful real estate PAC and have kept control of the quality of life on Folly. Its a wonderful story. I wish I could have included the conclusion in the book.

I'll post again as issues that affect Folly's quality of life arise. Thank you for caring about Folly and it Folliness.

07/13/2023

There was a lot of talk at last night's City Council meeting (7-11-23) about how distressed people were that we are a divided community and indicated that the importance of the outcome of the February 7 pro ISTR cap vote was diminished by the closeness of the vote. If those speakers knew anything about the last fifty years of history on Folly, the fact that the community is divided over this city council's stand on a quality of life issue would not come as a surprise. A divided Folly and the use of referenda to determine the fate of the conmmunity is nothing new. It is our heritage.This community has used referenda to determine the will of the community at least six times since its incorporation in 1973. Sometimes the votes have been close. The margin of victory favoring a community boat landing over a dry stack boat storage fascility at the foot of the bridge was almost exactly the same as the margion of victory in the recent vote on the ISTR cap. Some have been lopsided. The vote on limiting the sewer to the commercial district only was won by a two to one margin. Each of those six referenda were the method that the permanent community used to over ride a misdirected City Council. Past City Councils have always honored the sanctity of a citizen referendum. When the community was asked to speak, City Council listened. Now -- not so much.

The crucial thing to remember is that there are always two competing forces on Folly. There are citizens who see their property primarily as an investment to be used in any way they see fit to maximize profit, and there are those who see Folly Island as a place to build and improve a community, a place of respite. These two forces are always in competition with each other -- hense the everpresent division and controversy.

In the 48 years that I have lived on the island, the winners in referenda have always been those who want to retain the residential integrity and quality of life of the community. Everytime. So a small win is a win especially considering that, this time, the community was up against a national real estate PAC.What we are seeing is simply a continuation of 50 years of evidence that this community wants to be, first and foremost, a place to call home. Folly is what it is today because quality of life has always won and commercialization of our residential districts has always lost.

City Council should honor the sanctity of the recent referendum. Balance is essential to the health of the community.

Richard L. Beck

City Council 1978-1982
Mayor 1982-1989
Author: Remaining Folly, A Sea Island's Journey

07/12/2023

Here is an update on the status of the move by certain members of City Council to amend and dilute the ISTR cap.

Update on City Council Meeting (7/11/23)
Work Session: Council discussed the walking paths project in the first few blocks around the commercial district. 3 areas were identified for study and next steps. Specifics are available on the city's website.
Meeting: The City provided an STR license update and reported current numbers for 2023 as:
Total Short-Term Rentals: 1109
Investment Short-Term Rentals: 956
Owner-Occupied Short-Term Rentals: 153
Long-Term Rentals: 69
*ISTRs are about 50 less since Feb 7th
The two STR amendments proposed by Council Members DJ Rich, Adam Barker, and Billy Grooms failed the first reading (3-3-1). There was an enormous turn-out from residents and interested parties. Speakers were passionate across the board.
Municipal judge appointments were made:
Chief Municipal Judge: Christopher Skipper (re-appointed)
Associate Judge: Burns Wetmore

06/27/2023

B IG NEWS!! Here is the latest on H 3253 that would take state funding away from cities that control Investor owned Short Term rentals.

On Jun 8, 2023, at 6:28 PM, Beverly Miller wrote:

An update from Scott:

Good evening

The budget conference committee unanimously passed a budget conference report that does NOT include the STR proviso

The House & Senate will meet next week to take up the budget conference report

Those will be straight up or down votes with no amendments allowed

Theyll come back the week after that to take up Henry’s budget vetoes

After that we’re going to take breath and holiday

Our next battle against Hewitt’s bill will begin after Labor Day

So, enjoy your summer, collect anecdotes and we’ll talk later

06/07/2023

I am having a book signing at Jack of Cups on Center Street on Folly June 14 from 4-6. Please come. If you haven't visited the restaurant, its excellent. I hope to see many of you there to sign copies. copies will also be available for sale

06/07/2023

Not so fast Richard. The proviso incorporating most of the elements of the H-3253 has gotten back into the budget negotiations (a place with no public scrutiny) . Its been in and out and now is back in. No way to comment and all of the input against the bill was just an exercise in sham representation if the effects of 3253 become law in this fashion. We really won't know what happens until the budget is passed. So much for public input.

05/05/2023

Bill Limiting Short-Term Rental Rules in SC is Dead for the Year...
According to the 3M Chairman (Joe Bustos), it appears that H.3253 which would ban local municipalities from restricting short term rentals locally, has been shot down for the 2023 season.
FRA and our partner resident organizations across the state have provided in-person, virtual, and written testimony at the committee meetings both last week and yesterday.
The movement to protect Home Rule and limit the over-development of short-term rentals continues to strengthen across South Carolina.
We will continue to update our page with any new developments.
https://www.postandcourier.com/.../article_74f6e844-e9c5...
Ann Peets

04/27/2023

Here's an update on HS 3253 which would limit state funding to any municipality that limited short term rentals.

Bill H.3253 Update:
We wanted to give you a status update regarding Bill H. 3253 SC Legislature Municipal and Public Affairs Subcommittees meeting held today. (Wed, 4/26 9:00AM).
Many Low Country mayors spoke against H. 3253 and in favor of Home Rule - i.e. allowing local elected officials to manage local issues such as short-term rental regulation - The Mayors that spoke and opposed the bill were from:
Mount Pleasant
N. Charleston
Edisto Island
Isle of Palms
Beaufort
Aiken
Sullivan's Island
Goose Creek.
Other Speakers:
Spencer Wetmore: Who represents Charleston County, spoke against the bill (opposed)
Mr. Stanton: Representative from the Municipal Association of South Carolina spoke against the bill (opposed)
Bev Miller: Isle of Palms resident delivered a SC Communities Joint Letter, which lists community groups that oppose the bill. (opposed)
Barrier Island Preservation Alliance
Folly Residents Association
Preserve Isle of Palms Now
Save James Island
Save Folly's Future
Hilton Head Community First
Jonesville Preservation Society
Kelley LeBlanc: Hilton Head Community First / HHI Residents (opposed)
Lindsay Jackson: SC Assoc. of Realtors (in favor)
Tommy Power: Folly United spoke (in favor)
Julia Colon: Bert’s Market (Folly) and STR investor of 5 STRs (in favor)
AirBnB representative: Did not sign up to speak, was offered a chance to speak anyway, but refused, saying he was just there to represent his "client" and motioned to a previous speaker in the crowd.
Hewitt announced he was proposing an amendment to the bill this morning. Because time ran out, there was no debate or vote, only citizen comments in the meeting. We will update our page when we find out next steps.
Thank you to those who submitted written comments and spoke (or planned to speak today) to oppose the bill. Additionally, we thank the united collective of mayors and Rep. Wetmore for opposing the bill.

04/20/2023

In the case brought by Folly East Indian Co. LLC v. City of Folly Beach (2023-CP-10-00264), Save Folly's Future gained standing in the case. Subsequent to that determination, The plaintiff fled a motion for summary judgement which asks the judge to find in their favor without further debate. Save Folly's Future and the City of Folly Beach in separate submissions asked the court to dismiss the plaintiff's amended case for lack of grounds.

04/07/2023

Good news tonight 4/6/23
1. I had mentioned that there were four City Council persons. They did not find four city council people willing tio sign their names in time for the proposed ordinance to make it to the agenda of the April 11 City Council meeting. So, there's a reprieve.
2. Judge Kristi Curtis today, granted Save Folly's Future the right to intervene in Case Number 2023-CP-10-00264 Folly East Indian Co. LLC vs. City of Folly Beach , and Save Folly's Future, which defends the right of Folly's citizens to pass an ordinance to limit ISTRs to 800 as per the February 7, 2023 binding referendum. This order means that if City Council decides not to appeal an adverse decision, that FSS can defend the citizen's rights. congratulations John Mc Farland and Robert Turkewitz and thank you.

03/30/2023

If four members of City Council members are set to dismantle the hard fought results of the referendum on April 11,2023, there is very little that can be done to stop them. The lesson is that Dark Money (RPAC) plays rough and cares nothing about community integrity. Beware if you love a city in South Carolina. I'll keep you posted.

03/30/2023

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFKXJ091Ed4

This was wonderful and I thought you might want to close your eyes and listen to it again.

Chris Stapleton Sings the National Anthem at Super Bowl LVIICheck out our other channels:NFL Mundo https://www.youtube.com/mundonflNFL Brasil https://www.you...