Best Moving Company in Folly Beach

It’s not unusual to hear the sounds of fireworks popping off in your neighborhood between the Christmas and New Year’s Eve holidays — but that doesn’t mean it’s the right time to set them off.

If you’re planning on ringing the new year with an at-home firework display, make sure you know the local ordinances and laws to avoid receiving a fine (and irritating all of your neighbors in the process).

Here’s the lowdown on when and where you can set off fireworks in the Charleston area this year:

Purchasing and igniting fireworks within the city limits is prohibited. (Many of the surrounding islands also ban the lighting of fireworks year-round, including Folly Beach, Isle of Palms, Sullivan’s Island, Kiawah Island and Seabrook Island.)

City of North Charleston

Residents of North Charleston are permitted to set off fireworks throughout the year between the hours of 9 a.m.-11:20 p.m. Special exceptions are made on New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July, when fireworks are allowed until 1 a.m.

Town of Mount Pleasant

Mount Pleasant permits fireworks the day before, the day of and the day after a holiday between 9 a.m.-10 p.m. For New Year’s Eve, firework displays would be legal during these hours on Dec. 30 and 31, 2021 and Jan. 1, 2022.

Town of James Island

Fireworks are legal year-round on James Island between 9 a.m.-11 p.m. This time frame is extended on New Year’s Eve.

Town of Summerville

Summerville dwellers are permitted to light fireworks throughout the year between 10 a.m.-10 p.m. and on the New Year’s Eve and the Fourth of July until 1 a.m.

City of Goose Creek

Goose Creek only permits fireworks on holidays including Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, New Year’s Day and Fourth of July.

Town of Monck’s Corner

Monck’s Corner residents can shoot off fireworks only on New Year’s Eve between 9 a.m.-1 a.m. and on the Fourth of July from 9 a.m.-11 p.m.

If you’re unsure about the ordinances in your area, check your local government’s website. People living in neighborhoods with a Homeowners Association should check with their HOA about firework guidelines.

Looking for professional fireworks displays? You can catch a few around Charleston.

COLUMBIA — A proposed state law would make it illegal for cities and towns to ban short-term rentals, a bill that municipal advocates say is currently a solution without a problem.

Under the bill, local governments would be prohibited from creating rules that bar renting a residential dwelling to a short-term guest, rentals advertised on popular sites such as Airbnb and Vrbo.

The bill was pre-filed in November for possible consideration in the upcoming legislative session and sponsored by Rep. Lee Hewitt, R-Murrells Inlet; Rep. Melissa Oremus, R-Aiken; and Lin Bennett, R-Charleston.

Local governments that violate the rules would be unable to collect property tax at the higher 6 percent commercial rate for short-term rental properties and ineligible to receive money from the state’s Local Government Fund and other state aid.

Property owners kept from operating a short-term rental would only be subject to the 4 percent property tax rate for a primary residence, even if the property was used as a second home or long-term rental, Hewitt said.

“You’ve taken away some property rights from that person, then they need to be compensated and need to be treated just as the other properties are,” Hewitt said.

While more cities have considered and adopted regulations for short-term rentals, none in South Carolina are known to have outright banned the practice, said Scott Slatton, director of advocacy and communications for the Municipal Association of South Carolina. The nonprofit organization that lobbies lawmakers on behalf of the state’s cities and towns doesn’t oppose the bill as written, Slatton said. That could change if the bill were rewritten to prevent regulating the rentals, Slatton noted.

“This is just one of many many bills that seek to preempt local authority and, on principle, those are things that we generally we’re going to oppose because local officials know best how to address issues in their communities,” Slatton said.

Cities throughout the state have considered and implemented short-term rental rules as sites such as Airbnb and Vrbo have gained popularity. It’s not just in typical tourist areas. Slatton noted that people throughout the state might be surprised if they searched for rentals in their city — from rentals aimed at football fans or business or government travelers in the capital city to more rural areas of the state.

In Greenville, short-term rentals are prohibited in certain residential areas except with a special zoning exception.

Mount Pleasant capped the number of short-term rental units at 1 percent of all residential units in the town.

The city of Folly Beach has a four-strike penalty during a six-month period that could result in a rental owner’s license being revoked if they break too many rules.

Many jurisdictions have similar guidelines in place requiring registration, someone available locally to respond to issues at the property and parking and occupancy requirements.

Hewitt conceded his home of Georgetown County currently doesn’t have such restrictions in place or proposed. He said the concern is governments will consider such rules as more and more people move to the coast or by property there to operate as rentals.

“You’re just saying, ‘Hey, guys, that’s fine. If you want to do it, you can do it. But here are the consequences if you do,’ ” Hewitt said.

FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCSC) - Folly Beach leaders plan to provide an electronic payment option for drivers using the city’s existing paid parking spaces.

The City of Folly Beach says it made nearly $1.7 million in parking fees in 2021, an increase of almost 56% over 2020′s $1.1 million, before expenses.

Starting in January, the city will extend its “TapToPay” option so that every paid parking spot will have an electronic option. The city started rolling out the ParkWhiz program in some areas this summer as another option for payment.

City administrator Aaron Pope says they want to make it clear that through this program, they are not adding any additional paid parking, just adding an electronic option to existing pay-to-park spaces.

Pope says currently there are 2,881 right-of-way parking spaces on Folly Beach and 9% of those are paid spots. He says they plan to keep it that way for now.

All of the pay-to-park areas include public beach access, some areas of Arctic Avenue and the Washout on Ashley Avenue.

Folly Beach City Council will give a summary of their parking payment collection and traffic enforcement plan Tuesday at 6 p.m. at City Hall.

After expenses, Folly Beach says it made nearly $1.3 million in parking fees in 2021. That figure is more than they expected to make, after budgeting for $833,376.02 this year.

Pope says after the companies running the paid parking and parking enforcement programs are paid, the city uses the remaining funds to pay for road shoulder improvements, beach access improvements and repairs, public safety calls, beach and litter patrol, and extra sanitation runs at the beach accesses during the summer.

Folly Beach also reports that over 11,000 parking citations were issued this year and 79% of those have been collected.

The city’s parking contractor, Jared Glass, says they collect unpaid citations by sending late notices to folks who have a citation that is 30 days delinquent. If not paid, they send a follow-up late notice at 60 days informing them of the fine and the intention to release the owed fine to a collection agency. At 90 days, the citation is eligible to be sent to a collections agency to attempt to collect the fine.

Glass says they also have a vehicle immobilization device for violators that they encounter.

Pope says all paid access spots on Folly except for three will still offer a physical pay station option. Those are the 10E access, 1587E access, and the 1670E access.

Copyright 2021 WCSC. All rights reserved.

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - Three people are facing fines and possible community service for filming themselves digging up a loggerhead turtle nest on Folly Beach, the state’s Department of Natural Resources says.

The incident happened this past July, the peak of South Carolina’s sea turtle nesting season, according to a release from SCDNR.

In early September, SCDNR officers in Charleston County said they received a copy of a Snapchat video that appeared to show two young men digging up a sea turtle nest and later attempting to replace the eggs from the nest.

One egg was smashed on the ground during the video, which was being filmed by a third person, the release states.

SCDNR Officer Freddie Earhart led the investigation into the source of the video. During the course of his investigation, Earhart was able to identify and locate the three people involved, the release states.

All three were under the age of 21 and were vacationing with family at the time of the incident, the release states.

“A meeting was set up with all three suspects and their parents, at which time the young men made voluntary statements confirming their involvement and that they were aware such actions were against the law,” SCDNR spokesman David Lucas said.

The suspects admitted that some of the eggs were damaged and that they tried to rebury the eggs, which ultimately resulted in additional damage, he said.

SCDNR Marine Turtle Conservation Program coordinator Michelle Pate, using data collected by the Folly Beach Turtle Watch team, was able to confirm that out of ninety eggs remaining in the nest, seventy-one did not hatch.

“While they could have been charged for each egg disturbed, based on the cooperation of the suspects, five summons for unlawful taking of loggerhead turtle eggs were issued to the three suspects (two each for the individuals who dug up the eggs and one for the individual who filmed them),” Lucas said. “These charges can carry jail or fines of up to $2,000, as well as restitution.”

SCDNR will recommend that the restitution comes in the form of community service time to working with SCDNR’s Marine Turtle Conservation program so they can learn first-hand about how much work goes into protecting sea turtles in South Carolina.

Copyright 2021 WCSC. All rights reserved.

FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCIV) — Renting a spot on the beach is more popular than ever. Folly Beach may soon put a moratorium on short-term rentals.

City council will consider a six-month moratorium on short-term rentals at its council meeting on Tuesday.

The number of short-term rentals on Folly Beach has grown significantly in the last couple years.

In 2011, when the city first started collecting data, there were 438 licensed short-term rentals. That number grew to 779 in 2017 and by September 2020, there were 1,019 licensed and approved short-term rentals.

The proposal would place a moratorium on new rental licenses. It would not apply to properties who were issued and approved in 2020.

City Administrator Aaron Pope said Folly’s short-term rental rules have not been amended since 2018 and do not reflect the current climate. He said the moratorium will put a pause on rentals and give the city time to study what changes need to be made.

Business is booming for those who rent. Gary Hart runs Folly’s Best Rentals.

“I know in our situation at Folly’s Best Rentals we often have more guests inquiring about properties than properties available and so that drives people to want to buy properties to rent them out and so Folly Beach is concerned about how that’s going to affect livability of the island and their ability to control it,” said Hart. “There are people here in town who own houses on Folly who rent them out as short term rentals but they still use their property a tremendous amount, so that’s just a battle Folly Beach is going to have to sort out, how are they going to handle it.”

The proposal allows homeowners to renew or transfer licenses to existing properties prior to the moratorium. Whatever decision council makes is still at least two weeks away. Council will hear the first reading of the proposal Tuesday. If it passes, council will hear the second and final reading the following Wednesday.

Hart said he sees both sides to the argument, the pros and the cons. He added rentals pay a 4% accommodation tax.

“The people who are going to have difficulty with it, they have in the past had people who had been renting their property in the past and didn’t follow the law and get a license. Those people will definitely be impacted,” Hart said. “There’s a lot of good in vacation rentals. There are some companies who do vacation rentals who don’t play by the rules and my personal opinion is those are the ones that they need to be addressing this with.”