TOWN OF EDISTO BEACH LOCAL COMPREHENSIVE BEACH MANAGEMENT PLAN 2017 Previous State Approved-February 1, 2012 Beachfront Management Committee Adoption-April 12, 2017 Local Adoption -October 12, 2017 State Approved- April 2, 2019 Prepared by Iris Hill Page 1 of 129 Table of Contents 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 5 1.1 Purpose ............................................................................................................................................... 5 1.2 History of Plan Approvals and Revisions ............................................................................................. 6 1.3. Overview of Municipality ................................................................................................................... 6 1.3.1 Local Beach Management Policies ............................................................................................... 8 1.4 Local Beach Management Issues ........................................................................................................ 9 2. Inventory of Existing Conditions ......................................................................................................... 10 2.1 General Characteristics of the Beach ................................................................................................ 10 2.1.1 Land Use Patterns ...................................................................................................................... 12 2.2.1 Beach Uses ................................................................................................................................. 14 2.2.2 Benefits and Value of Beach ...................................................................................................... 14 2.3 Beachfront Developments and Zoning ............................................................................................. 16 2.3.1 Beachfront Structural Inventory ................................................................................................ 20 2.4 Natural Resource and Ecological Habitats ........................................................................................ 21 2.4.1 Threatened and Endangered Species ............................................................................................ 24 2.4.2 Turtle Nesting ................................................................................................................................. 27 2.5 Existing Public Access and Map ........................................................................................................ 28 3. Beachfront Drainage Plan ................................................................................................................... 33 4. Beach Management and Authorities ...................................................................................................... 37 4.1 State Authorities ............................................................................................................................... 37 4.1.1. Overview of State Policies (Beachfront Management Act) ...................................................... 37 4.1.2 Beachfront Setback Area............................................................................................................ 38 4.2 Local Government and Authorities ................................................................................................... 43 4.2.1 Municipality’s Comprehensive Plan ........................................................................................... 43 4.2.2 Municipality’s Hazard Mitigation Plan ....................................................................................... 43 4.2.3 Municipality’s Disaster Preparedness and Evacuation Plan ...................................................... 44 4.2.4 Beachfront Development Regulations ....................................................................................... 46 4.2.5 Regulations on Beach and Shoreline Protection ........................................................................ 46 4.2.6 Other Regulations on Beach Management ................................................................................ 47 5. Erosion Control Management ................................................................................................................. 49 5.1. Shoreline Change ............................................................................................................................. 49 Page 2 of 129 5.1.1 Beach Profiles ............................................................................................................................. 50 5.1.2 Long-Term Erosion Rates and Shoreline Change ....................................................................... 53 5.2 Beach Alteration Inventory ............................................................................................................... 60 5.2.1 Beach Renourishment ................................................................................................................ 66 5.2.2 Emergency Orders and Sandbags .............................................................................................. 70 5.2.3 Previous Hurricanes and Storm Events ...................................................................................... 70 5.3 Discussion of Erosion Control Alternatives ....................................................................................... 71 5.3.1 Beach Renourishment ................................................................................................................ 74 5.3.2 Other Measures ......................................................................................................................... 75 6. Needs, Goals and Implementation Strategies ........................................................................................ 75 6.1 Retreat Strategy ................................................................................................................................ 75 6.2 Strategy for preserving and enhancing public beach access ............................................................ 77 7. Appendix ................................................................................................................................................. 78 7.1 Beach Management Overlays ........................................................................................................... 78 7.2 Structures Inventory Table................................................................................................................ 79 7.3 Public Access Inventory Table ........................................................................................................... 82 7.4 Prior Studies ...................................................................................................................................... 83 7.5 Copies of Local Laws and Ordinances ............................................................................................... 87 7.6 Beach Management Authorities ..................................................................................................... 125 7.6.1 Federal ..................................................................................................................................... 125 7.6.2 State ......................................................................................................................................... 127 7.6.3 Town......................................................................................................................................... 129 Page 3 of 129 Figure 1 Location Map (October 21, 2014) ................................................................................................. 12 Figure 2 Land Use Map (May 18, 2007) ...................................................................................................... 12 Figure 3 Tourism Taxes ............................................................................................................................... 15 Figure 4 Zoning map Including Baseline and Setback Line ......................................................................... 18 Figure 5 Wetland map ................................................................................................................................. 23 Figure 6 Turtle Nesting Habitat Map (2016) ............................................................................................... 28 Figure 7 Public Beach Access (DHEC 2017) ................................................................................................. 32 Figure 8 DHEC Monitoring Location map (2016) ........................................................................................ 36 Figure 9 Baseline and Setback Line Maps (2009) ........................................................................................ 40 Figure 10 Monitoring Stations and Numbers Map ..................................................................................... 52 Figure 11 Historical Shoreline Trends ......................................................................................................... 55 Figure 12 Long Term Erosion Rates on Edisto Beach .................................................................................. 56 Figure 13 Historical Shorelines near "The Point" .......................................................................................