Kiawah Development v. South Carolina Dept. of Health & Env. Ctrl.
Court: South Carolina Supreme Court
Docket: 27065 |
Opinion Date:
December 10, 2014
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Areas of Law: Environmental Law, Government & Administrative Law,
Real Estate & Property Law, Zoning, Planning & Land Use
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The issue this case presented for the South Carolina Supreme
Court's review centered on the correct application of those statutes and
regulations pertinent to an invaluable (environmentally, economically, and
socially) stretch of tidelands located on the edge of a spit of land along the
South Carolina coast.
A landowner and real estate developer sought a permit to
construct a bulkhead and revetment stretching over 2,700 feet in length and 40
feet in width over the State's tidelands, thereby permanently altering 111,320
square feet or over 2.5 acres of pristine tidelands.
The landowner sought to
halt ongoing erosion along that stretch of tidelands in order to facilitate a
residential development on the adjacent highland area. The Department of Health
and Environmental Control denied the majority of the requested permit and
granted a small portion to protect an existing county park. An administrative
law court (ALC) disagreed and found a permit should be granted for the entire
structure, and this appeal followed.
The Supreme Court concluded the ALC
committed several errors of law and therefore, it reversed and remanded for
further consideration.