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Hilton Head Island planning commission initiates Holiday Homes overlay after residents cite oversized houses
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Summary
The Town of Hilton Head Island Planning Commission voted unanimously to initiate a text amendment to the Land Management Ordinance to create a revised Holiday Homes protective overlay after residents said existing rules failed to prevent oversized homes at 3537 and 39 Oleander Street.
The Town of Hilton Head Island Planning Commission voted unanimously to initiate a text amendment to the Land Management Ordinance to create a revised Holiday Homes protective overlay, after residents told the commission existing safeguards have failed to prevent construction of ‘detrimentally oversized’ houses in the Holiday Homes neighborhood.
Rick Lawson, a Holiday Homes resident, told the commission the current protective overlay is “slightly contradictory when compared to the Holiday Homes covenants of 1957” and said residents, with help from town staff, drafted a clearer overlay that they hope the town will adopt quickly. He urged the commission to move the amendment through the process “promptly with flying colors.”
A public commenter also cited recent permitting and construction at 3537 and 39 Oleander Street as examples of the ordinance’s shortcomings, and said the town removed a covenant question from the building permit application and chose not to enforce private covenants after a Board of Zoning Appeals reversal that followed an executive session with the town attorney.
Planning staff told commissioners the proposed text amendment aims to capture private covenants and restrictions that were not accounted for in the character overlay when it was created, and to place enforceable design and scale standards into the town code so they can be administered consistently. The staff presentation described the draft as addressing mass and scale issues — including garage-under-living-space designs driven by flood rules — and introducing limits on height and floor area to reduce out-of-character redevelopment.
Key technical features discussed by staff and commissioners include a reduction in maximum floor area from 4,000 to 3,200 square feet and a net height reduction of 5 feet (from 35 to 30 feet). Staff said the draft clarifies a “two-and-a-half stories” standard and that the nonconforming rebuild threshold in the code (greater than 50% replacement) would generally require rebuilds to meet the new standards; in the event of destruction by natural disaster, the nonconformity section contains mechanisms that may allow building back in an existing footprint.
Commissioners asked whether the overlay would supersede private covenants; planning staff responded that covenants remain deed restrictions that run with the lots and are not superseded by the overlay, but the code would function as the mechanism the town can use to enforce neighborhood character when private enforcement is not being pursued. Staff reported outreach had reached most lots in the Holiday Homes neighborhood: of 57 lots, they said they had 42 signatures in support, eight owners who refused to sign and a small number not yet contacted.
On a procedural question, staff said a citizen-driven text amendment typically comes through the planning commission for recommendation; after initiation the amendment will return to the planning commission for a public hearing and then proceed to town council for two readings. Staff estimated — subject to required public-notice periods — that council consideration could occur in March, with adoption possible in late spring or early summer if the process proceeds as anticipated.
After discussion, Commissioner (motion maker) moved to proceed with the amendment as presented; Commissioner Leval seconded. The commission voted and the motion passed unanimously (no roll-call tally was recorded in the meeting transcript).
The commission also received an update on the Land Management Ordinance task force: town staff introduced a public-facing task force page with meeting dates, materials (including a September 2024 workshop video), and contacts, and said the 21-member task force will review the draft code chapter by chapter and is aiming for completion by the end of the year. The commission was told district plans will be finalized before the LMO task force concludes. The meeting was adjourned.
What happens next: the commission’s initiation moves the Holiday Homes overlay forward to a planning commission public hearing and, if recommended, to town council for two readings and possible adoption. The town has not provided a final adoption date; staff cited notification windows and an expected path that could lead to council consideration in March and potential adoption in late spring or early summer.
