COASTAL OBSERVER

When people head east across one of the two causeways  over Pawleys Creek next spring they may be greeted with a new sign: “Welcome to the Historic Town of Pawleys Island.”

That’s the hope of a group of property owners and officials who are working create a historic preservation plan for the island, where a handful of 18th century houses set the architectural style that has persisted for close to two centuries.

The town’s Historic Preservation Committee started work this month to get a formal program in place by the end of the year. It would normally take two to three years to become a “certified local government” designated by the state.

That designation will allow the owners of historic properties to get tax breaks for improvements and exempt them from some requirements of the town’s flood damage prevention ordinance, which is required by the federal government for participation in its flood insurance program. The goal is to encourage owners to preserve older homes rather than tear them down.

A historic district on the island was included in the National Register of Historic Places in 1973. “It’s an honorific,” said Town Council Member Paul Groce, who started working on historic preservation as a member of the Planning Commission. “We will have the power potentially to save historic properties from demolition.”

To become a certified local government, the town needs a preservation ordinance, a review board, an inventory of historic properties and public participation. Town Council formed the ad hoc committee to provide the participation and help with the other elements.

“We’re limited in the means we have to get things done from a fiscal perspective,” Groce said.

He and Jerry Lieberman, who chairs the committee, will look to its members to do the work that would otherwise require hiring outside consultants.

“The ordinance itself is 95 percent complete,” Groce said. It is based on the ordinance used by the town of Sullivans Island and will be reviewed by the State Historic Preservation Office.

The committee’s first task will be to decide what criteria to use to define historic properties. At their first meeting this month, the dozen people in attendance agreed that structures that predate Hurricane Hazel in 1954 would be the starting point. But there are other factors to consider, such as the materials and the look of the structures.

“There are a gazillion rabbit holes to go down,” Groce said.

 Once they have the criteria, the committee will do an inventory. Not every property that meets the criteria needs to be designated as historic, said Brad Sauls, who heads the State Historic Preservation Office.

“Your survey can be a broad database of information,” he said. “Your actual designation is a step beyond that.”

The committee – which will have seven voting members, but no limit on participation – will morph into a Historic Review Board, Lieberman said. It will then make recommendations to Town Council about which properties should get the designation.

Nominations, based on the committee’s criteria, can come from the owners or the general public.

As a certified local government, the town can’t limit the program to owners who opt in, Groce said. But he said the council will be sensitive to the concern of owners who don’t want the designation.

“We’re all about property rights,” he said.

The committee members hope that the appeal of a historic designation, which could also boost values and rentals, will draw property owners into the program.

To succeed, the town needs to show property owners that the program makes it easier for them to make their houses liveable, former Mayor Bill Otis said.

One factor is the requirement that homes be elevated to meet the flood code, a feature that applies when improvements exceed 50 percent of the home’s value. But it isn’t the only factor, he said.

“To make 1935 houses more liveable,” Otis said, “goes way beyond the 50 percent rule.”

He recommended that the town examine how its unified development ordinance will align with historic preservation goals. “Some of it we can fix, some of it we can’t,” he said.

Bert Mills, who serves on the Planning Commission, agreed that preventing tear-downs is important to preserving the look of the island, but he said owners will have questions.

“Am I the steward of my property now or am I still the owner? That’s what I’ve heard,” Mills said.

There will be permit requirements for alterations, Groce said. “Our intent is to make it easy for maintenance and repair,” he added. “We have an ARB right now for new houses, but on old houses you can do anything.”

The town hopes that it can make the trade-off  attractive.

“Participation being carrots versus sticks is important,” Groce said.

“We’re hoping this is all carrots,” Lieberman said.