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Board approves one short-term rental, denies another after neighbors cite safety and shared-dock problems
Summary
The ZBOA approved a special-use permit for Ashley Timmons’s seasonal short-term rental with turtle-season conditions, and later denied a separate application for Timothy Shurtleff after neighbors raised safety, shared-dock liability and unpermitted rental operation concerns.
Beaufort County’s zoning board issued two contrasting decisions on short-term rental requests in the same meeting: it approved a seasonal short-term rental application from Ashley Timmons and denied a separate application tied to a disputed property on Pawlkey Island.
Ashley Timmons, who said she and her family bought a house in Coffin Point and plan only occasional family-focused rentals, described steps she would take to protect nesting turtles and to limit parties: blackout blinds, disconnecting exterior lights that face the water, and clear house rules restricting renters under age 25. "We wanna do everything the right way," Timmons said, adding she would accept restrictions and management requirements.
After public comment that included both support and opposition, the board voted to approve her short-term rental special use. The transcript records a motion and second and the chair's announcement that the application passed.
In a later case, neighbors on Pawlkey Island said a nearby house was operating as an unpermitted short-term rental and described repeated disturbances: late-night noise, fireworks and oversized trailers that do not fit island roads. Charles Bell, a longtime island resident, said the house had been operating without county registration and that renters had caused safety and nuisance problems. "We had someone come in with a trailer... at 10:00 at night he's out there revving this motorcycle up," Bell said.
Neighbors also raised liability concerns because the properties share a dock and small children frequently run on and near it. Several speakers urged denial based on adverse effects to adjacent properties and ambiguous shared-dock access. The board agreed and voted to deny the Shurtleff application, with members citing the shared-dock circumstances as making the proposed use incompatible with the immediate vicinity.
Taken together, the actions show the board weighing applicant mitigation commitments and adherence to conditions against tangible neighbor complaints about safety and unpermitted operations.
