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Council removes weekend flat fee, sets hourly parking rates; Coligny charge deferred after committee review
Summary
After extended debate and public comment, council set paid parking at $3 per hour Monday–Friday and $5 per hour Saturdays–Sundays with no daily maximum; the council voted 6–1 to adopt the change and decided not to begin charging at Coligny Beach Park pending further committee review and outreach to businesses and residents.
Hilton Head Island’s Town Council on Tuesday revised the town’s paid‑parking structure and postponed charging the Coligny Beach parking lot while directing further study and a stakeholder committee.
After hours of council discussion and more than a dozen public comments from residents and business owners, the council voted 6–1 to eliminate the previous weekend flat fee and daily maximum and set an hourly parking fee of $3 Monday through Friday and $5 on Saturdays and Sundays, with no daily cap. Councilmembers said the change aims to increase turnover and better align payment with hours of use. Staff said the rate change can be programmed quickly and new signage posted; implementation timing will follow administrative steps but can begin promptly.
Separately, the council considered whether to begin charging for parking at Coligny Beach Park, the island’s highest‑use public beach lot. After public comments and a range of proposals from council members, the body declined to activate paid parking at Coligny immediately, opting instead to hold to the prior council’s one‑year study promise and to form a focused committee to analyze Coligny‑area impacts (employee parking, shuttle options, business effects, neighborhood impacts and enforcement). Councilmembers asked staff to produce additional data—particularly on time‑of‑day occupancy, employee parking patterns at the Coligny plaza, and neighborhood parking complaints—and to return to the Community Services and Public Safety Committee for a focused review.
The council also rejected an ordinance that would have authorized a Beaufort County resident beach parking pass (the first reading was recommended for denial earlier); that matter was handled separately and the committee recommendation to deny was affirmed. The parking changes adopted Tuesday replace the town’s weekend flat fee structure and remove the daily cap by resolution; the vote to adopt the revised fee structure was 6–1.
