The Isle of Palms City Council once more sent proposed changes in its noise ordinance back to its Public Safety Committee following a lengthy discussion at its April 9 workshop. The discourse was mostly about whether to base potential infractions on decibel readings, but a few Council members apparently just couldn’t pass up the opportunity to drag the issue of short-term rentals into the conversation, complete with accusations of hidden agendas.
Public Safety Chair John Bogosian said his committee would meet again May 7, and a proposed ordinance will be on the Council’s agenda for first reading at its regularly scheduled May 28 meeting. He also explained why the ordinance wasn’t quite ready for the Council to consider.
“There’s been no consensus on an ordinance that would pass,” he said. “The Council had lots of different views, but there was consensus on decibel levels. After the workshop, I think there is a majority that would be willing to go forward with decibel levels, as long as they are appropriate for zoning classifications. I think what we bring to Council for first reading will have decibel levels in it.”
Bogosian’s committee includes Council members Jan Anderson and Jimmy Ward.
Not everyone on the Council favors using decibel levels, however, and not everyone agrees that noise is an issue on the Isle of Palms.
“We have minimal noise, and they are almost always resolved without the need for decibel readings, with the exception of a handful of people,” Council Member Blair Hahn commented. “Let’s learn how to get along with each other and deal with the issue that we are a resort and not put decibel meters in all our residents’ hands. We can learn from Myrtle Beach. It’s not working in Myrtle Beach.”
He added: “I am concerned that this is in some ways addressing the hidden agenda for people who want to limit short-term rentals. It’s not about noise. It’s about putting pressure on short-term rentals.”
Council member Katie Miars, apparently offended by that statement, called the end of Hahn’s anti-decibel tirade “disingenuous at best.”
“It’s very frustrating that this has become yet another quiver for the short-term rental group to fight against the residents of this city,” she said. “I believe some people who are coming to vacation on this island might actually want to enjoy some peace and quiet. If we had an enforceable number, it might actually be helpful for all parties involved.”
Council member Elizabeth Campsen agreed that the proposed changes in the noise ordinance and the short-term rental situation are unrelated.
“This issue we’re talking about pre-dated the latest short-term rental discussion and the referendum,” she noted. “One didn’t have anything to do with the other. I personally am not using this as leverage to get rid of short-term rentals. I’m just saying we need an objective, impartial ordinance.”
On Nov. 7, 2023, Isle of Palms voters rejected a referendum that would have capped at 1,600 the number of investor short-term rental licenses on the island.
Concerning whether decibel levels should be part of the ordinance, Police Chief Kevin Cornett presented the Council with two opinions. He said the city of Myrtle Beach started using decibel levels, found that system to be too complicated and is now considering a change. Meanwhile, the chief reported that his colleagues in nearby Mount Pleasant “see a lot of value in it. They switched over to decibels in the last few years, and businesses are finding value because they know what their threshold is.”
Cornett also reported that his department had two noise complaints in January, four in February, 23 in March and 12 in April, as of the 6th of the month. He said among the 23 complaints in March, only one citation was written.
“The law is completely subjective at the moment,” Cornett pointed out. “If an officer shows up and decides it’s not too loud based on their own experience, they won’t write a ticket. Most of the time, when an officer shows up, the noise stops.”
Council member Ashley Carroll said the city has never reached out to the city’s short-term rental managers for feedback on the proposed noise ordinance and that the Council should do that “before we impose subjective decibel limits on our community.” Mayor Phillip Pounds disagreed that rental managers have been ignored.
“They are always a plugged in community. Sandy Stone is on the Planning Commission, and he has certainly expressed his point of view as a management property owner. We do that on certain things but that didn’t directly happen with noise,” Deputy City Manager Douglas Kerr told the Council.
Neither Carroll nor Ward was convinced that the Isle of Palms has a noise issue.
“We don’t have a high number of people or businesses that are not complying,” Carroll said. “I really don’t think we have a problem. I think as a community we can solve this together.”
“I’m not in favor of a decibel limit,” Ward added. “The more you keep stirring the pot, the worse it’s going to get. I think we’re going to get some pushback from the Front Beach business owners if you come up with a decibel limit.”
Two other issues were discussed at the workshop and were scheduled to be on the Council’s April 23 agenda: an ordinance that would restrict or possibly eliminate political signs in the public right of way and the emergency ordinance – which was set to expire April 20 – that would permit homeowners to build seawalls to protect their homes from the severe erosion that has plagued the southwest end of the island.
