Roofer in Isle of Palms, SC

ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCSC) - Little Goat Island, the piece of land between Isle of Palms and the mainland, is being preserved as a natural habitat, donated as a conservation easement by the private owners.

Little Goat Island is 28 acres of land and 393 acres of salt marsh. Conservationists with the Lowcountry Land Trust say that although it has little in the name, it has a big impact on the natural habitat of Charleston’s Coast.

Natalie Olson is the Sea Island Program Director at the Lowcountry Land Trust, and she says she’s thrilled about the donation from owners Gary and Kim Chesson.

“These areas, they’re vulnerable to development, they’re vulnerable from storms, and they’re very, very important habitats for wildlife. So an island like Little Goat is home to thousands of different species. Lots of them are rare, threatened or endangered species and are a nesting ground, a breeding site, a feeding area for all sorts of fish, birds and lots of native plants are found there,” Olson says.

In addition to the benefits to animals, the island is an undisturbed view for people driving over the Isle of Palms Connector and Palm Boulevard south on the island.

Olson says it is encouraging and inspiring that the private owners chose to preserve the land in perpetuity.

“Little Goat Island was protected with a conservation easement that was fully donated by the landowners. So that was their decision to permanently restrict that island from any sort of development in perpetuity. And it’s just incredible to be working with landowners who are willing to do that sort of thing, especially donating the value in that property. And so we will not see any houses on Little Goat Island. We won’t see any structures forever,” Olson says.

Thanks to the fully donated conservation easement, the pristine landscape will continue to support thriving wildlife, clean waterways, and the natural beauty of the Lowcountry.

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Isle of Palms looks to reinstate a seasonal parking pass following a rise in prices for off-island residents. April 11, 2025. (WCIV)

ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCIV) — A change in parking prices on Isle of Palms has upset many locals.

Now, city leaders are considering bringing back a popular seasonal pass that was cut earlier this year.

“Isle of Palms is definitely the beach that I prefer,” said Dillon Clyburn with his family.

But going to the beach is getting more expensive for them.

READ MORE | "Isle of Palms approves parking fee hike, expects $400K in additional revenue."

Ahead of this beach season, Isle of Palms (IOP) got rid of its $60 summer parking pass for non-island residents.

“It just seems like they don't want the locals, the people that live in Mount Pleasant, Sullivans Island. surrounding Charleston areas to want to make it affordable for them to come over to their area and support their local businesses,” Clyburn, a Mount Pleasant resident, said.

Locals now have the option of buying a weekly pass for $100.

In January, IOP City Council raised parking rates for the first time in five years.

“The island is crowded during the summer months. It's very crowded. But we have to maintain the quality of our residential area on the island,” said Rusty Streetman, a city council member.

READ MORE | "Isle of Palms' new parking enforcement plan issues over 3K tickets in 4 months."

Still, Clyburn and other locals say these changes, on top of higher parking ticket fees, make them feel like the city is prioritizing tourists over neighbors.

“It's kind of pushing the residents of Charleston County and the greater Lowcountry out and making it more for the people that are coming in from out of state,” Clyburn explained.

Daily rates at the city’s parking lots also jumped to $15 during the week and $25 on the weekends.

Streetman said IOP leaders are now discussing bringing back a version of the seasonal passes.

“We think that we can take a few hundred, at least a few hundred parking passes, make that available for off-island residents who would like to purchase those,” he said.

Streetman hopes roughly 500 passes can be made but said they will be significantly more expensive than the old $60 option.

A reboot of the seasonal passes will go before the city council in May.

ISLE OF PALMS — City officials are rethinking some recent changes to parking rules as it heads into the first beach season with higher prices, namely the elimination of a seasonal parking pass that was popular with beachgoers of neighboring communities.

But the decision to ditch the seasonal permit has been largely unpopular with off-island residents, prompting the city's public safety committee to reconsider the change on April 9, so the pass may not be gone for good.

The Isle of Palms, up until this summer, set aside 500 seasonal beach parking passes that could be purchased for $60. Passholders had access to the two parking lots on Pavilion Drive, bypassing the $10-$15 a day charge in the summer months.

However, City Council voted earlier this year to change the city's parking rules and rates for the first time since 2020, which effectively eliminated the seasonal pass. Other notable changes included adding higher daily fees for the parking lot— up to $25 on weekends and holidays — and raising the hourly fee to $3 for on-street parking, a 50-cent bump.

Jean Legacki, who lives just over the Isle of Palms connector in Mount Pleasant, has purchased the seasonal parking pass for several years. She likes to get up early, head over the connector, and walk on the beach before both the heat and the crowds set in.

This summer will be different for Legacki.

Along with raising parking fees, the city opted to eliminate the seasonal $60 pass for non-residents based on a recommendation by PCI Municipal, the city's parking management vendor. The $60 passes were set aside for island employees to use.

In its place, a weekly pass for the same lots is available for $100.

The loss of seasonal passes and the increased price left some with sticker shock.

"I'm not going to pay $100 a week to park," Legacki said. "It's almost like they're trying to deter people from coming to the beach."

Also gone is the option to pay an hourly rate after 4 p.m. in the lots. Visitors coming to the island for a dinner reservation or an evening stroll on the beach could park at the lots on Pavilion Drive and pay $2.50 per hour after 4 p.m.

Parking is free between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. and in the offseason, November through February.

For now, visitors will pay the flat rate regardless of the time of day.

Daily rates are $10 for March and April. During peak season, Memorial Day through Labor Day, rates are $15 on weekdays and $25 on weekends and holidays. After Labor Day, rates drop back to $10 for the rest of September and October.

But that could be subject to change in the coming months.

The public safety committee on April 9 considered reviving both the seasonal parking permit and evening hourly parking rates, though both are still likely to be more expensive in their new iterations.

"We'd be looking at a significantly higher number, I would think, for the lots that we have here at Front Beach," Councilman Rusty Streetman said.

Committee members estimated that the updated seasonal pass would be between $200-$250 and $3 per hour for evening parking.

They also noted Charleston County offers a seasonal pass for parking in the Isle of Palms County Park on 14th Avenue.

"I think we're doing this to benefit our business people in the late afternoon and evening. We want to encourage people to come to Front Beach at that time," Councilwoman Jan Anderson said.

The full city council is expected to discuss bringing back the seasonal passes at next month's workshop in May.

COLUMBIA —The first day of testimony in the trial involving a retaining wall constructed on the Isle of Palms showcased the staunch determination with which Rom Reddy is prepared to fight the state's environmental agency to protect what he argues are his property rights.

The May 6 hearing before Administrative Law Chief Justice Ralph Anderson revealed a battle that started as a property owner seeking protections against rising tides, but has quickly turned into a self-described battle against the "police powers of the state," as Reddy said in his opening statement.

Wearing a black suit with a red tie, Reddy represented himself against the state Department of Environmental Services' counsel after firing his team of lawyers a week before the hearings were to begin. During the first day of the trial, he often took aim at the agency by referring to its representatives as "unelected bureaucrats."

"This is a hoax," Reddy said to a small courtroom in the Edgar A. Brown Building on Pendleton Street in Columbia.

Sallie Phelan, an attorney for DES, argued that the homeowners continued work on the structure, made mostly of concrete and reinforced with metal brackets, despite three cease-and-desist directives sent by the agency.

"We're here today about a total disregard of the law and a total disregard of the department's authority to regulate the coast and the beaches critical area," Phelan said.

DES attorneys are asking Anderson to uphold the validity of the penalties levied against the couple last July, reaffirm their jurisdiction over South Carolina beaches, and order the removal of the wall.

Reddy and his wife Renee, who appeared next to him in court, are defending the 150-foot wall they constructed between their home on Ocean Boulevard and the ocean in 2023.

Witness describes erosion, damaged wall

The hearings will include testimony over three days from a slate of witnesses, including current and former DES employees, a coastal engineering expert and an Isle of Palms resident.

Matt Slagel, a former beachfront management section manager for DES who responsible for reviewing applications within the state's beachfront jurisdiction was the first witness called to the stand.

In his testimony, he described a tenuous line of communication with the Reddys. The couple requested an emergency permit for sand scraping to repair dunes eroded in May 2023. Slagel said he denied the request, but told the Reddys they could stabilize the eroded area with sand fencing or vegetation.

Later, the agency learned of plans to place clay in the critical area of the beach. Slagel said he met with the Reddys and their contractor in June 2023 to discuss other ways to stabilize the area that avoided placing non-compatible materials in the beach.

At that time, Slagel said the clay had already been buried, which the agency did not learn until the discovery process for the trial began.

He testified that he didn't realize that a retaining wall was buried under the sand until December 2023. The wall was exposed following an unexpected nor'easter that month.

Photos presented in court showed the exposed wall reinforced with wood and metal brackets, and cracks filled with yellow foam.

"Following the nor'easter, (the wall) had started to tilt towards the beach. It was becoming undermined. It was starting to break apart at the seams," Slagel said.

Dark, wet sand in front of the wall meant it had been exposed to waves and water, Slagel said.

He said this meant the wall was situated in a critical area of the beach where wave action prevents plants from growing, or periodic inundation. Building and construction in this area is limited and often requires a permit from DES.

Reddy argued that the agency used deficient data to justify what is considered "periodic," referring to a storm damage survey Slagel conducted in December 2023 to document erosion from the nor'easter.

Reddy to attempt 'takings' claim

Reddy and counsel for DES spent much of the the first day of hearings questioning Slagel. Around 5:30 p.m., Jacques Prevost, a compliance manager for the agency who attended site visits and conducted inspections at the Reddys' property since 2023, was called to testify.

Reddy is also arguing that the agency's actions—penalizing the homeowners $289,000 and attempting to stop the construction of the wall—amounts to a taking of private property.

He referenced David Lucas, an Isle of Palms property owner, who in the 1990s, challenged the state's beachfront management laws.

Lucas purchased two properties on the island in 1986 with plans to build homes on the lots. The South Carolina Beachfront Management Act was enacted two years later and the state's Coastal Council, a predecessor to DES, told him he was not allowed to build.

He was successful in his challenge that ultimately reached the Supreme Court in 1992. Lucas has since become a vocal supporter of the Reddys in this case.

However, the takings claim is not one that can be tried in the state's administrative law court, Judge Anderson told Reddy when the hearing began. The ALC hears cases that are statutory in nature, and can review and enforce administrative orders issued by regulatory agencies.

Day two of hearings will begin at 10 a.m. on May 7 and are expected to conclude on May 8.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to reflect the correct spelling of names for DES counsel and witnesses.

Reach Anna Sharpe at 843-806-6790.

An Isle of Palms homeowner will argue before a judge this week that the state's challenge to the retaining wall built behind his oceanfront home is null and void.

The hearings for the case that has pitted Isle of Palms property owners Rom and Renee Reddy against the Department of Environmental Services will begin on May 6 in the state Administrative Law Court in Columbia, and are expected to last until May 8.

A clerk confirmed on May 5 that the hearings would be held the morning of May 6, despite a motion filed by the Reddys on April 30 asking for a 90-day continuance.

Reddy recently fired his team of lawyers from firm Williams Mullen. The termination came shortly after ALC Chief Justice Ralph Anderson denied the Reddys' motion for summary judgment on April 24, which would have bypassed the need for trial.

This is the second team of lawyers Reddy has fired. He parted ways with his original counsel from Finkel Law Firm in July 2024.

In the order, Anderson reaffirmed the state's authority to manage South Carolina beaches, including the power to issue permits for building in the critical area, a section of the shoreline where development and construction is limited.

In an email to Anderson on April 29, Reddy attributed the termination to an irreconcilable fee dispute. He filed a motion for a 90-day continuance, a delay to give him time to hire more lawyers. Reddy noted that no attorneys were willing to take up the case without at least three months to prepare for trial.

If the request was denied, the homeowner and founder of SC DOGE said he would appear and represent himself.

Opening statements are set to begin as scheduled on May 6.

DES filed a petition for injunctive relief in the Administrative Law Court in February 2024 after the state agency became aware of the ocean-facing wall behind the Reddys' home on the Isle of Palms. The state fined the homeowners $289,000 for the wall, which they say is an unauthorized structure in the protected area of the beach.

The Reddys' have fought against the state's claims, arguing that the definition of "critical area" is too vague, and questioned the constitutionality of the term. Reddy has characterized the legal proceedings as "tyranny."

"Ultimately, this is a question of whether a government can confiscate a private citizen's land in the name of environmental protection with no compensation," Reddy said in an April statement to The Post and Courier.

DES, joined by the Coastal Conservation League, will argue to uphold the state's jurisdiction over the beaches. They are also seeking to have the wall removed and the beach restored to its original state.