Isle of Palms homeowner’s ‘sea wall’ sparks controversy over property owner rights
ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCBD) — As sea levels rise and strong storms impact coastal areas across the country, a battle is brewing on the Isle of Palms over what homeowners can do to protect their properties.
One beachfront homeowner on the island, Rom Reddy, has taken matters into his own hands by building a wall that he says is protecting his property near Breach Inlet from beach erosion.
This comes after Tropical Storm Idalia hit the Lowcountry coast in August 2023 and a lot of the beach behind homes on the Isle of Palms disappeared.
For some homeowners, like Reddy, this meant part of their property is now regulated by the state because under South Carolina law, the Dept. of Health and Environmental Control’s (DHEC) division of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM) oversees critical areas, which includes beaches.
“If Idalia comes in and erodes the property line, they [OCRM] have jurisdiction,” Reddy explained. “Another storm comes in — Nor’easter erodes it further — they have jurisdiction.”
So to avoid losing control of any more of his property, Reddy took action and is building a structure in front of his home aimed at protecting him from further beach erosion. However, DHEC officials said they did not find out about it until a strong storm in December exposed it.
“DHEC investigated, and has since issued the property owner and contractor cease and desist directives related to this unauthorized structure,” the agency said in a statement.
A spokesperson also explained that anything built on critical areas of the coast, like beaches, needs a permit, and erosion control structures have been banned on South Carolina beaches since 1988.
Reddy is in the process of having the structure rebuilt after the storm in December exposed it. He maintains that he is within his constitutional right to protect his property, adding that the wall is landward of the state’s jurisdictional lines known as the setback and baselines that define the beach/dune system.
“So this is a landgrab by the state,” Reddy said. “Where they are saying your property — and it’s just not this — any waterfront property — they say ‘if a storm erodes it, I own it I have jurisdiction — no plants, no bushes, no fences, nothing — I can tell you what to do with it.'”
Rob Young, a geologist and professor at Western Carolina University, said DHEC and OCRM’s regulations are ensuring that everyone’s right to use the beaches is protected.
He explained that DHEC and OCRM have regulatory authorities over the beaches, coastal waters, and the beach/dune system, identified by the setback and baselines which are redrawn every 7-10 years.
“If you are buying an oceanfront property you need to understand what the limitations are and what you can and can’t do,” he explained. “For most beachfront lots in South Carolina that active beach is probably considered or a portion may be private property — but that doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want out there.”
Young said anything an oceanfront homeowner wants to do in the critical areas needs approval.
“This isn’t just a regulation from OCRM this is the Beachfront Management Act, it is the law of South Carolina,” he said.
Young also explained that structures like sea walls are banned from South Carolina beaches because state officials have found they can often do more harm than good.
“One of the reasons we do not permit seawalls is they have impacts on adjacent property owners,” he said. “Just imagine if everybody did whatever they wanted to one lot at a time — it would look terrible and you would have property owner suing property owner.”
Young said if homeowners are concerned about beach erosion, they need to come together and discuss long-term solutions like building dunes, beach nourishment projects, and developing a plan for regular beach nourishment projects.
There is currently a beach renourishment project ongoing near Reddy’s home following the storms in August and December 2023. However, Reddy believes Isle of Palms leaders dropped the ball before then.
“They are supposed to preserve, protect, enhance and renourish these beaches,” he said. “Prior to Idalia, there was not a lick of sand nothing done to this side of the beach since 2017.”
Isle of Palms leaders dispute these claims in a statement to News 2:
“Prior to 2023, the southwest end of the beach had been stable and accretional and only required periodic post-storm emergency berm repairs. The city has monitored this shoreline annually since 2009 and the area in question became highly erosional in 2023 due to numerous storm events and abnormally high tides. As soon as the shoreline eroded to the point that the conditions met the South Carolina regulatory standards to allow emergency work, the city began restoring dunes to provide better protection against structural damage.
The city has assisted with funding major renourishment projects and emergency protective measures. Last year, IOP City Council approved spending up to $1,890,000 to protect the public beach and property through a combination of emergency sand scraping, trucking in beach-compatible sand and placement of sandbags.
The current balance of the Beach Preservation Fund is $8.3M and it grows by approximately $1.8M annually. However, the city is forecasting a total need of almost $30M for beach projects in the next five to six years to be covered between public and private funding efforts.”
City leaders added there are also plans to work with the Army Corps of Engineers on a project that would place around 500,000 cubic yards of sand along the intertidal zone between Breach Inlet and 10th Avenue. They anticipate the project to start in March 2024 and be completed in four months.
However, Reddy is not waiting around for that work to be done.
“Every property owner has the right to protect their property — and no government no one can take it away from us because that’s the supreme law of the land,” he said.
