City meetings: September 2010
By Lauren Dean
Planning Commission: September 13
There was a new face at the table – Karen McNamara Burkette, Councilman D.J. Rich’s new appointment to the Planning Commission – and a few missing faces. The meeting had been postponed one week because of Labor Day and Kirk Grant, Ken Holland and Sam Robinson were unable to attend, but there was still a quorum so the commissioners got down to the business on the agenda.
Zoning Administrator Aaron Pope updated the committee on the City Hall expansion – proceeding according to plan, looking at a mid-December completion date – and the list of protected trees, which he said was available on line for residents to look at.
Vacation Rental Management
Ordinance 19-10 was described by Chairman LaJuan Kennedy as a “first step in regulating rentals.” Although it was the Planning Commission’s last shot at the ordinance and the public hearing that would have allowed input from residents before receiving final approval by City Council, the only person in the audience was a rental agent . The meat of the ordinance is the requirement that owners of rental property designate a person who can physically respond to the address within 30 minutes in the event of an emergency or nuisance issue and to agree to post City regulations in a conspicuous place inside the rental unit.
The responsible party could be an owner, agent or anyone else who is readily available and will agree to be appointed. Chairman Kennedy told a story about a recent event at one of Fred Holland’s rentals. “I used a City ordinance to bust a party,” she said. “I had two cops standing behind me saying ‘you have to leave.’ Having a designated person helps Public Safety find someone to respond.” Currently, a police officer cannot enter a rental unless the owner is present.
After minor tweaking, the ordinance was sent to City Council for final reading at their next regular meeting. “It may create a little more work for property owners,” Kennedy said, “but I don’t see a down side. It’s meant to educate the public, not to create fines for property owners. It’s not designed to hurt property owners, it’s designed to help them.”
Stuff you probably didn’t know
What started out as a simple approval of the chart designating the types and sizes of trees that are protected in Folly Beach, morphed into a discussion of excessive regulation and lack of information about rules and regulations. It might be a good idea to take a look at the Folly Beach Code of Ordinances, Title IX, Chapter 93, before you start pruning or chopping down trees. Definitely don’t get out a chainsaw because if you need a chainsaw to cut it down, you’re probably not allowed to cut it down.
Someone asked if wax myrtles were still protected and Chairman LaJuan Kennedy said “Does anybody know what a wax myrtle is?” I know what a wax myrtle is because I’m a Master Gardener and because when I lived on Johns Island, I hacked away at them on an almost daily basis because it seemed they would grow six feet overnight when I had to put down the machete and go to bed. But if you live on Folly Beach, don’t cut them down if they’re taller than you are. It’s actually six feet or taller, but they’re shrubby things that are hard to measure, so that’s a good rule of thumb.
However, other protected trees – which is basically every tree five inches or more in diameter at breast height and two inches in diameter for live oaks – can’t be cut down or significantly pruned unless you get permission. If you’re a property owner and that sounds like too much government in your face, think about someone clearing a lot for new construction. Do we want him to chop down all the trees? No, of course not, we want him to have a tree survey prepared and take it to City Hall, which will require him to locate his house on the site in a way that least impacts the vegetation.
If a tree must be removed because the “gosh, but where am I going to build my house?” issue comes up, the property owner can get a permit to remove the tree or mitigate it, which in layman’s language means “plant another one to replace the one you chopped down.” It’s okay to dig them up if they’re small, however. A two-inch diameter live oak might survive a transplant if you dig a really big hole and amend it well with real soil (I used to call it dirt before I became a Master Gardener, but you know what I mean) and water it twice a day. (It’s unclear what would happen to the property owner if the tree dies.)
“We are not amending the ordinance, we are just amending the tree chart,” said Pope. “If we don’t pass this legislation, a new owner could come in and cut down every tree less than 20 inches in diameter.”
But what about the homeowner who just wants to spruce up his yard? “If you want to cut a tree down, you need to come to the City for a permit,” said Chairman Kennedy. What about trimming, Millard Smith wondered. “Is trimming okay?” he asked. “Certain trimming is okay,” responded Pope. “We care about our trees, we don’t want them butchered.” Except, I guess, by SCE&G, who must not have read the ordinance, but that’s another story.
Then Smith told a story about a badly leaning oak tree on his property that would have taken out his neighbor’s house in a stiff gale. “I had it cut,” he said. “I did not know I needed a permit, my neighbor did not know this.”
“We cannot go door to door with every regulation. Citizens have a duty to know what the laws are,” Pope protested.
“It might be good to have a series of articles about things people need to pull permits for,” suggested Carl Hally.
“What about the kid who cuts my grass?” asked Smith. “I figured out I pay him $215 over the course of the summer. Does he have to have a permit? Government can get to the point it’s putting a burden on people.”
“If that strikes you as absurd,” responded Pope with rare indignation, “contact your government and ask them to change the rules. If there’s something that bothers you and you want it changed, put it on the agenda. We don’t make the rules for Folly Beach, you do.”
City Council Special Meeting: September 14
The purpose of the meeting was for the auditor to present a “State of the City” report to council members. The bottom line is we’re in pretty good shape. The auditor said that because Folly Beach is a tourist town with much of its income unforeseeable and subject to the vagaries of weather and economics, it is important to have a healthy fund balance. He considered Folly’s surplus “a good healthy fund balance.” Property taxes make up less than 50 percent of City revenues, according to the auditor, but all that money comes in at one time so it’s important to realize it’s got to last the whole year. A copy of the budget is available on-line at cityoffollybeach.com or you can pick up a copy from City Hall.
In other business, Chairman LaJuan Kennedy presented the Planning Commission’s recommendations to the Department of Transportation related to bridge design. Suggestions included designing bridge lighting to match the lighting on Center Street and to require DOT to present a landscape plan. “They are not immune to our ordinances,” Kennedy said, “and there’s not a single tree standing now that won’t have to be removed. They are going to have to mitigate.” The other issues concerned drainage, which Planning would like to see contained to the Crosby’s Seafood side of the bridge with a retaining wall that has “weep holes” to allow for proper drainage.
The bridge project is slated to begin in 2012 and take 18 months to complete. “Hopefully, they will start in the fall,” Kennedy said, somewhat wistfully.
“They’re saying we won’t even notice them,” said the Mayor. You betcha.
The next Planning Commission meeting will be on Monday, October 4. The City Council Work Session will be October 12 at 6:00 p.m. The regular City Council meeting will be at 6:00 p.m. on September 28 and will focus on prioritizing City goals and objectives.
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