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Beaufort County committee postpones major waterways ordinance after business-use concerns
Summary
Deputy County Attorney Dylan Kidd presented a broad rewrite of Beaufort County’s waterways ordinance including abandoned-boat procedures and new limits on commercial use of public landings. Commissioners raised enforcement and small-business concerns and voted to postpone further action to the Oct. 20 meeting for additional stakeholder feedback.
Deputy County Attorney Dylan Kidd presented a comprehensive rewrite of Chapter 102 (Waterways), including a section staff described as necessary to mirror South Carolina Code 50-21-10 for abandoned vessels and new restrictions on commercial activity at public boat landings and docks. The committee voted to postpone the item to the next Public Facilities meeting on Oct. 20 to collect more community and business feedback.
Kidd told the committee the abandoned-boat provisions are constrained by state law: “South Carolina code, 50 21 10 … dictates that if a local government is to enact an abandoned boats ordinance, it has to be identical to the state ordinance,” and staff focused the draft on clean-up, standardized penalties and clarified enforcement roles among county offices and municipalities.
Several commissioners and audience members urged caution over proposed limits on commercial operations — jet-ski, kayak and small rental operators — saying a full ban or strict limits could harm small local businesses. One committee member said earlier complaints focused on specific landings and urged staff to consider targeted, site-specific rules rather than a countywide prohibition.
Staff said they had identified roughly 17 businesses listing public landings as their place of business and that the draft seeks to balance commercial uses with public access and marina operators’ concerns. Commissioners pressed staff on enforcement capacity and whether the county, code enforcement or the sheriff would respond to violations; staff said enforcement responsibilities and weekend coverage remain among the topics the county and local towns are still coordinating.
After discussion, a committee member moved to defer consideration and invite affected businesses to the next meeting for targeted input. Chair approved the postponement with no recorded roll-call vote; staff agreed to carry out outreach and return a revised draft on Oct. 20.
Next steps: staff will solicit feedback from marina operators and small rental businesses, refine enforcement roles and return with a revised draft at the Oct. 20 committee meeting.
