We oppose restrictions to free parking on Isle of Palms and the proposal to convert all free parking on the island to paid parking, specifically, for the following reasons:

1. Paid parking will not address traffic congestion on IOP - The primary reasons for this policy change, as offered by Mayor Jimmy Carroll and other City Council members, are that (1) traffic on Isle of Palms becomes congested on summer weekends, and (2) many visitors violate existing parking regulations. While these are both valid public safety concerns, a paid parking system will simply not provide an effective solution. Whether parking is free or paid, thousands of beach visitors will still flock to Isle of Palms in the summer, the same number of parking spaces will be available (perhaps even fewer), and visitors will still slowly drive around the island looking for open spaces. Those visitors who disregard parking regulations will continue to do so. Changes in enforcement strategy and tactics as well as clearer signage and parking designations are more likely to solve these traffic concerns than the elimination of free parking on the island.
2. The Isle of Palms City Council violated the law - As stated in the Charleston Area Public Beach Access Group vs. City of Isle of Palms official complaint and summons that was filed in the South Carolina Court of Common Pleas on 08/04/20, “…because the Isle of Palms neither owns nor maintains the public parking along state highway rights-of-ways, and is required under its agreement with the State of South Carolina to preserve, maintain, and increase public access to the public beach as a condition of receiving state support under the Coastal Tidelands and Wetlands Act, § 48-39-320, et. seq.: The department’s responsibilities include the creation of a long range and comprehensive beach management plan for the Atlantic Ocean shoreline in South Carolina. The plan must include the following: . . . (b) development of a beach access program to preserve the existing public access and enhance public access to assure full enjoyment of the beach by all residents of the State; In addition, the State provides the City of Isle of Palms additional tax money specifically earmarked to assist the municipality in acquiring, expanding, and protecting beach access for the public.”
3. Prioritizing vacation renters over Lowcountry residents - South Carolina beaches are public property. They belong to the residents of South Carolina, not to the residents of Isle of Palms. And certainly not to the rental property owners and mangers on Isle of Palms. This proposal to convert to paid parking on IOP would benefit affluent beach-front home owners, rental property companies, and out-of-state renters (with the promise of emptier beaches) to the detriment of Lowcountry residents who choose to live off the island. There has already been evidence of this underlying dynamic and motivation on the part of the City Council. Using the summer spike of Covid-19 cases in South Carolina as an excuse, the City Council enacted a temporary ban on all non-residential parking on the island while continuing to allow vacation rentals (and free parking) to out-of-state renters. This measure undermined the stated intent of the policy (to control the spread of the virus) and betrayed the true motives of the City Council - to transform IOP into a renter's paradise at the exclusion of Lowcountry residents.
4. Process matters - On July 15th, the IOP City Council held an emergency meeting. The posted purpose of the meeting was to consider Emergency Ordinance 2020-11, "which would prohibit coolers, chairs and umbrellas on the beach, prohibit live entertainment and amplified music after 9:00 p.m., limit to 50% indoor occupancy at restaurants and bars and other emergency measures proposed for the safety and public health of the City of Isle of Palms." After reading the July 15th meeting minutes, the Council amended Ordinance 2020-11 at the meeting without providing any notice to the public of their intent to do so. The meeting minutes state: "Council Member Ward made a motion to amend Ordinance 2020-11 by striking the wording in Ordinance 2020-11 ‘prohibiting beach chairs, coolers, and shade devices,’ and added the wording ‘and prohibit parking on the landside of Palm Boulevard, the finger streets of 3rd- 9th avenues, and to reduce parking availability in the municipal lots by 50% effective Friday, July 17, 2020 and lasting 30 days.’ Council Member Streetman seconded the motion." We believe that this last minute bait and switch and lack of transparency was intentional, and it was meant to deprive the Lowcountry of a legitimate debate about both the necessity and equity of a more restrictive parking policy on Isle of Palms. We also believe that the restrictive policy currently in place, which was enacted under the guise of an emergency Covid-19 health policy and largely without public input, was intended by several councilmembers to pave the way for a paid parking system in the coming months.
5. Unfair to neighboring beach communities - By charging for parking, Isle of Palms will encourage working class families for whom paid parking may be a financial barrier to visit Sullivan's Island and Folly Beach as an alternative, thereby creating an influx of visitors that could overwhelm the local roads and free parking in both of these towns. As a result, those towns will have an incentive to also charge for parking, creating a slippery slope that ends with working class families being priced out of every local beach. IOP saw an influx of local visitors when Sullivan's Island prohibited coolers, umbrellas, etc. on their beaches to its detriment, and yet it now wishes to create a similar problem for its neighbors.
6. Creates a disincentive for working class families to visit IOP - By charging for parking, Isle of Palms will create a financial barrier to working class families in the Lowcountry who would wish to enjoy the state's natural resources. The City Council will effectively create a private beach for affluent residents of Isle of Palms, in particular, at the detriment of working class families for whom the occasional visit to the beach may be affordable but for whom frequent visits will no longer be an option.
7. Potential conflicts on interest on the City Council - Mayor Jimmy Carroll is a multi-millionaire who is affiliated one of the largest vacation property management companies in the Lowcountry (Carroll Realty). We have already seen evidence that he will use city policies to advance his business interests and those of the real estate industry. While strict parking restrictions in response to the spread of Covid-19 have all but prohibited non-IOP residents from visiting the beach, Carroll Realty has advertised the benefits of empty beaches on at least one social medial platform in order to rent more vacation properties. There is reason to believe that his push for paid parking is also an attempt to benefit his own business interests and those of the real estate and rental home industries.