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Committee advances ordinance to restrict animals on section of beach tied to renourishment permit, removes seizure clause
Summary
Committee approved advancing an ordinance that follows federal and state permit conditions restricting dogs and other animals near Fishhall Creek as part of a beach renourishment permit; committee amended the draft to remove language authorizing seizure of animals.
The Community Service and Public Safety Committee voted to advance to town council an ordinance amending the municipal code to implement an animal‑restriction area on a section of Hilton Head Island beach near Fishhall Creek, a condition tied to federal and state beach renourishment permits.
Assistant Town Manager Sean Cohen summarized the permitting background, telling the committee that a February council resolution authorized the town manager to accept beach renourishment permits and that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the South Carolina Department of Environmental Services included a permit condition requiring restrictions on dogs and other animals in a defined beach area near Fishhall Creek.
Cohen said the restricted area is 24/7 within the mapped segment and that the town is required to post signage alerting beach users to the condition. The draft ordinance also reorganized and clarified the town’s existing animal‑on‑beach rules to make leash and voice‑control requirements easier to read.
During committee discussion, Councilwoman Becker raised concern about a new clause in the draft that would allow an animal to be seized by a code enforcement, animal control or law enforcement officer on conviction of an ordinance violation. Becker proposed an amendment to remove the seizure language; supporters and opponents debated whether seizure was intended to address unattended or dangerous animals. The committee voted to adopt Becker’s amendment and then to advance the revised ordinance to town council. Committee minutes show the amendment vote carried and the final recommendation advanced with a 2‑1 tally on the original motion.
A public comment submitted through the portal by "Mister Williams" was recorded and acknowledged by the committee; no other in‑room public commenters spoke on the item. Cohen said the restriction must be in place before construction on the renourishment project can begin; he estimated construction could begin as early as June but likely later in the summer.
Ending: The committee’s recommendation sends the amended ordinance to the full town council for first reading; the ordinance implements the permit‑required animal restriction in the mapped area and requires signage and code revisions to clarify animal rules on the town’s beaches.
