It’s been a long road, but we may have reached a resolution for now on the issue of Short Term rentals. On October 29 2024, Charleston County passed the proposed amendments to our zoning. Among many clarifications, this gave Dewees residents the right to rent their homes on a short term basis (less than 29 days) for a maximum of 56 days per year. Homeowners who rent need a license from Charleston County and a letter of approval from the POA. Owners who rent from other owners are not counted in the 56 days.
Prior to the amendment passing, the Dewees Island POA board established a moratorium on rentals until a plan was established for managing island logistics pertaining to a rental program. There were several forums for community input, and all ideas were considered and vetted for practicality, legality, and affordability. The resulting pilot plan was presented to the community for input and the vote passed by a vote of 45 for, and 32 against.
Pilot Program For Short Term Rentals
This POA pilot program requires that:
- Owner register with the Dewees POA for a licensing fee,
- Owners register with Charleston County
- Owners educate renters about being on Dewees.
- Rental owners must provide POA Management with a 24/7 contact telephone number that can be used to contact the owner or owner representative , and who can be on-site in a timely manner.
- Owners are required to provide golf cart transportation for every member of a rental party.
- Rental guests will purchase their own ferry transportation and parking passes/
- The number of homes that can rent at any one moment is capped at 5.
- It allows management to impose fines on rule breaking and specifically prohibits:
- Underage driving of golf carts
- Fires/fireworks
- Firearms
- Unauthorized vehicles
- Pets off-leash
- Non-owner boats parked at Dewees Island docks
As of this publication, two houses have registered with the POA and are awaiting the Charleston County Permit. Once the paperwork is complete, the POA will have a link to the owners who allow rentals on the official POA website: management of those reservations and rentals will be the responsibility of the owner rather than the POA.
I am hopeful that this extraordinarily divisive issue has eased somewhat. If you are a former renter reading this, you now have a (trial) path back to the island for vacation. Please consider the tenuous nature of this compromise as you pack, ride the ferry, fish, and relax on the island. In my years of working with renters, most were an asset to our community, and many of you became friends.
But a small handful of entitled visitors created a significant amount of negative buzz! Please help us avoid that this time around. Don’t be “that guy”!
If you have any questions (or you’re an owner and didn’t get one at the annual meeting), ask the ferry captain for our new map: it’s like crash course in our cultural values.
Great news as former and future renters (and Lord willing someday owners). Hope to be back on the island someday soon. I’m fairly certain we’re not on the “that guy” list.
Thanks for a well-written synopsis Judy. Looks reasonable to me