Roofing in Isle of Palms, SC

ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCSC) - The Isle of Palms could be saying goodbye to hundreds of namesake palmetto trees because of their proximity to overhead powerlines.

Unlike an oak tree, where crews can cleave or cut branches, palmetto trees cannot be trimmed for height in the same way. They eventually could grow to create hazards for power lines, linemen and arborists.

537 of them are now marked with red dots, facing removal from city properties, businesses and homes.

“The palmetto is really part of our identity and our namesake. It really is a loss for us at a time when we need to be adding back in more trees and living things, among other things, to help with drainage resiliency and quality of life,” Susan Hill Smith said.

Smith is a former city representative and a long-time homeowner. Two of her neighbors have palmettos that will eventually be gone.

“It’s not just trees in the public right of way that will be impacted,” Smith said. “Landscapers, property owners. Take time to consider when you’re planting new trees or palmettos, that you’re not planting them where they’ll come into contact with powerlines.”

292 of the historic trees fall into Category One, meaning they will be up for immediate removal in the next few months. The rest fall into Category Two, meaning they do not pose an immediate risk, but are being monitored.

Nearly one-third of the island has converted overhead powerlines to underground. The proposal to remove trees has ignited a push to bring the change to remaining parts of the city.

“When I became mayor three years ago, it was a high priority for me to start attacking it,” Pounds said. “Dominion Energy has a cautionary program where you can put lines underground. About four years ago, we identified five projects to take them underground.”

The Palmetto is considered one of the defining features of South Carolina. Its logs built the fort on Sullivan’s Island that protected soldiers against the British Royal Navy in 1776.

It also served as a symbol of resilience for the Lowcountry after Hurricane Hugo devastated homes and businesses. The Plant-a-Palm program hoisted a historic marker on Palm Boulevard to show the impact of replanting and preserving the iconic tree.

Several of those trees are also facing removal.

“It is resilient,” Smith said. “It is a native tree that is supposed to be here.”

City leaders plan to discuss the topic with Dominion Energy into the new year. This includes the consideration of a comprehensive plan that slows the removal of trees and lessens the impact. The group would also consider cost projections to move the powerlines underground.

“They’re obviously important, aesthetically and historically to our island. We’ll do everything we can to save as many as we can. But then again, what do you want? The beauty, or do you want the power to your house to make sure it stays on? You want the reliability of the service,” Pounds said.

Dominion Energy comes in five-year cycles to analyze the area and cut trees as needed.

The next Environmental Advisory Committees will be on Dec. 12 and Feb. 13. There will also be a City Council meeting on Jan. 28.

Dominion Energy spokesperson Paul Fischer said:

While we certainly understand and appreciate the passion surrounding palmetto trees across our coastal communities, safety remains our top priority. Trees that have grown too close to overhead lines and other facilities are a fire hazard and an issue of employee and public safety. Our goal is not to remove trees but to remove risk.

Dominion Energy is always willing to consider underground lines if the construction is technically feasible, system reliability is not compromised and there is a mechanism in place to cover the cost. Every project is unique, and each requires a thorough, detailed feasibility and engineering study to determine the true scope of work.

We will continue to work cooperatively with our municipal partners as they consider their next steps in the process.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCBD)- Voters on the Isle of Palms head back to the polls Tuesday for a runoff election to fill a vacant city council seat.

Three candidates were vying for the seat on Election Day — Rusty Streetman, Susan Hill Smith, and Josh Hooser.

Unofficial results from the South Carolina Election Commission show Streetman received about 40.7% of the vote, Smith got 37.3%, and Josh Hooser got 21.5%.

A candidate must win at least 50% of the votes plus one to avoid a runoff. No candidate met that threshold, triggering a runoff between the two candidates who received the most votes.

That means voters will decide between Streetman and Smith in the November 19 runoff.

Neither candidate is new to Isle of Palms residents as both previously served on the city council.

Smith said her priorities include adding city staff for resiliency and natural resource management, tackling drainage issues throughout the island, and implementing proactive measures to protect against beach erosion.

“I have a very proactive solutions-driven approach around not just environmental issues but all the things that come before the council,” Smith said. “I am very collaborative, and I’ve lived on the island for 30 years now — raised three children here. I have great relationships with many people across the island.”

Streetman’s top issue is stormwater drainage, but he also wants to address traffic, safety, and parking problems.

“The reason [residents] should vote for me is because I have a background in the private sector, I have been in business for over 40 years handling budgets, handling people,” Streetman said. “I’ve got a good personality, good listening skills. I’ve served four years on council [and] I think I did a very good job while I was on a council.”

While the candidates align in several areas, they disagree on perhaps the island’s most salient issue — short-term rentals.

Voters defeated a referendum last year that would have capped the number of short-term rental licenses to 1,600 for non-primary residents. Smith wants to revisit the issue, but Streetman does not.

“Mr. Streetman doesn’t even seem to want to have a conversation and acknowledge the residents’ concerns about issues involving short-term rentals,” Smith said. “I’m open to having that conversation. I have not been aggressively talking about having a referendum or anything like that I’m just saying that I am open to revisiting the issue.”

“Our citizens spoke loudly and clearly by defeating that referendum by 10% last fall, and I see no reason in bringing that issue up again,” Streetman said. “We have a lot of other issues on city council we need to be dealing with next year, not the short-term rental situation.”

The winner of the special election will serve the remainder of outgoing Councilwoman Elizabeth Campsen’s term. Campsen resigned from her post on Aug. 9 after announcing plans to move off the island in 2025.

Polls are open at Isle of Palms City Hall and the Isle of Palms Recreation Center from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day.

Any registered Isle of Palms voter can cast a ballot, including those who did not participate on November 5.

ISLE OF PALMS — The state agency in charge of protecting South Carolina's coast issued a $289,000 fine against Rom Reddy, the beachfront homeowner at odds with the government over a buried ocean-facing wall he built behind his house.

The state Department of Environmental Service issued the civil penalty in July to Reddy and his wife, Renee, for a wall that comprises 92 linear feet installed behind their home.

The agency alleges the structure was never permitted, and built within the beach's critical area, which violates the state's Coastal Management Act.

The order sent to the Reddys on July 1 mandated the couple to remove the structure and any other non-beach-compatible material from the beach, alongside the $289,000 fine.

Reddy criticized the agency for issuing the fines, calling it a "war on property rights." He maintains the wall was built landward of the beach's setback line, a boundary that determines where state jurisdiction of the beach begins.

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"Seawalls in SC are only banned by statute seaward of the setback line. My structure is well landward of the setback. This is a property rights fight for all those SC citizens who cannot afford to stand up to the bullying and intimidation from their government," Reddy wrote.

The penalty is one of the largest issued by the agency for violations of the state's Coastal Zone Management Act and Coastal Division Regulations, according to DES spokesperson Laura Renwick.

The highest civil penalty issued by the agency was in 2015 to the Wild Dunes Ocean Club Villas, also located on the Isle of Palms, for an illegal seawall. DES fined the Ocean Club $749,000.

"We had issued the $749,000 fine using the highest available statutory amount, the $1,000-per-day penalty set in law for the approximately two years they had been told the wall had been up," Renwick said.

Civil penalties are designed to act as deterrents for violating regulations and can put a steep price tag on noncompliance, according to DES enforcement guidelines.

Reddy is standing firm on his belief that the wall he built was not constructed in the critical area of the beach, as DES argues in the order.

The Isle of Palms homeowner installed the wall after Hurricane Idalia in 2023 caused severe erosion on the island. The structure was uncovered last December following a nor'easter that again eroded much of the beach, particularly near Breach Inlet.

DES became aware of the wall last December. Since then, the state and the Reddys have remained at odds over the wall and protecting a shoreline that's steadily diminishing.

"This has never been done before, as reflected in Hilton Head where five homeowners built a 30 feet deep seawall which is still in place after a $3,000 permitting fine each," Reddy said.

In 2019, DES fined five homeowners $15,000 for building an unpermitted seawall in a Hilton Head Island beachfront community, and ordered that work stopped until a permit was secured.

DES filed suit against the homeowners last February over the structure.

The final verdict on whether the wall can stay or go, and if the Reddys must pay the hefty civil penalty, will come from Administrative Law Court Chief Justice Ralph K. Anderson in early 2025. The case was argued in his court earlier this year.

Updated: Oct. 24, 2024 at 8:32 PM PDT

ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCSC) - The Isle of Palms is putting 44 solar panels on its public safety building thanks to a state grant that will pay for the installation, saving the city money on its electric bill and creating a reliable energy source.

“We have a resident committee that’s an Environmental Advisory Committee, and they may periodically look at initiatives that we may want to do around the island, and this is one of them, to turn our public works building into a solar-powered facility,” Mayor Phillip Pounds says.

A state grant of $67,000 will cover the purchase and installation costs. Climate and Energy Program Director at the Coastal Conservation League, Taylor Allred says the state funding project is new. He’s excited to see the town taking advantage of it and to see how many others do as well.

“My reaction is that it’s great news. You know, I think that we want to see as much of that as possible. Municipalities should take note across the state and follow suit. It’s a great deal for taxpayers, and it’s a great opportunity to help clean up the grid and save a little bit of money in municipal operations while doing it,” Allred says.

The installation projects will reduce the monthly electric bill for the building from more than $3,000 to about $600 a month. Factoring in the 30-year life span of the panels, and the needed upkeep, the town anticipates this will create about $9,000 in savings over the 30-year life span, on top of the installation being paid for by the state grant. All savings will go back into the town’s general fund.

“We can use it for foot bridges or different things on the island. I mean, $9,000 is not enough to do too much of a project. But, you know, it might be hiring another person, a piece of another person, or giving somebody an additional raise that we may not be able to do with these,” Pounds says.

Allred notes saving a little money is a perk, but there are other benefits to diversifying energy like reliability.

“It definitely offers a lot of potential reliability benefits. Having more distributed generation resources like solar energy can help to provide backup power in the event of disasters like a hurricane, and I would love to see more projects done that incorporate microgrid designs that can incorporate solar and battery storage to be able to keep an area powered, while maybe there are disruptions across the larger grid” Allred says.

The town awarded work for the project to Alder Energy Systems. The company did the installation of panels on the James Island Town Hall, Cultural Center and Fire Station One. Alder has experience installing panels on private businesses across South Carolina as well as other municipalities. City staff explain the project is a win because the state is incentivizing the installation with grants, but it would be hard to invest in solar on their own.

According to state data compiled by the Coastal Conservation League in 2015, solar generation made up only .01% of overall net generation in SC. In 2023, solar grew to well over 3%. Allred calls that a major jump and he’s encouraged to see the investment. South Carolina ranks 19th in the county for total solar installations.

“Solar also creates a lot of jobs and economic growth in the state. There are about 3,500 jobs in South Carolina in the solar industry across about 90 companies, including 21 manufacturers, that are here in the state. And overall, there have been about $3.3 billion of capital investment in solar in South Carolina today,” Allred says.

Isle of Palms approved the contract to Alder to do the solar installation at the public works building. The project is expected to take about 3-4 months including pre-planning. A start day and construction time frame have not yet been set.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.