Folly Beach Property

Kristen Hankla’s article posted in the Post & Courier today discusses Folly Beach’s City Council meeting held on Tuesday.

“Folly Beach’s current condominiums may be the last the island ever sees.

The City Council voted 5-1 Tuesday to postpone a decision on the matter until its next regular meeting Dec. 12.

Councilman Eddie Ellis, who presented the proposed ordinances and wanted a vote, said the two-month wait could leave Folly vulnerable to development that residents don’t want.

Ellis said stopping condo development is the No. 1 concern of residents, based on feedback from the 2004 comprehensive plan update. He said residents believe condos “undermine the essence of Folly Beach.” He said more condos would require additional city services, such as fire protection, and further congest roads.

Councilwoman Laura Beck said the majority of the council is in favor of limiting high-density, multi-family structures on Folly Beach but said postponement was needed because the council must “start looking at ordinances with a broader brush rather than just reacting to one issue at a time.”

Other members of the council said the wording of the ordinances was too vague. The ordinances allow single- and two-family dwellings but don’t regulate the number that can be built on each property, which Councilman Tim Goodwin cited as an “open-ended loophole.”

One of the ordinances applies to land zoned “corridor commercial.” Only two properties, each about 5 acres and located near Piggly Wiggly on Folly Road, have that zoning designation.

Owners of the property at 1960 Folly Road won’t be affected because they’re already developing the land. The other property, often referred to as the toll booth property, is owned by Robert Barber Sr., father of lieutenant governor candidate Robert Barber Jr.

Three people spoke on behalf of the owner, who lives in Newberry. Steve Barber said his father annexed the property into Folly Beach at the request of former Mayor Vernon Knox. That annexation allowed the adjoining property where Piggly Wiggly is located to be annexed into the city. “My dad did this as a favor to this town. He had no other reason to do it,” he said.

Steve Barber said council has since put multiple restrictions on the property, significantly decreasing its value. “This is morally, ethically wrong,” he told council. “It is intellectually dishonest, what is going on here.”

“Why would you single out one man?” the owner’s attorney, Frances Cantwell, asked the council.

Ellis said he didn’t attempt to single out Robert Barber Sr.’s property with the ordinance. The council learned the corridor commercial property was considered vested, and therefore wouldn’t be affected by the ordinance, during the meeting with the help of City Attorney Ben Peeples. Forty-one condos and one small retail building are planned for that property.

The other ordinance that would stop multi-family dwellings from being built applies to land zoned “resort commercial.” About 60 lots of varying sizes have that zoning designation, and all but 10 to 15 of them already have condos, said Aaron Pope, the city’s zoning administrator. One of the undeveloped resort commercial properties is Bowen’s Island, which is owned by multiple members of the Barber family, he said.

If council gives tentative approval to the ordinances at its next meeting, the planning commission will hold a public hearing and then make a recommendation to council before a final decision is made.”