COASTAL OBSERVER

Two words that have long defined Pawleys Island are about to be enshrined in local law. It’s part of an effort to preserve the island’s historic homes.

A historic preservation ordinance approved by a special committee this week says it will give protection to “structures representing the distinctive Pawleys Island aesthetic often known as ‘arrogantly shabby.’” Moving the popular phrase from bumper stickers and T-shirts to an ordinance is part of the town’s effort to reduce the number of old homes that are torn down because renovation costs trigger compliance with federal flood regulations.

“Part of this is trying to preserve these older houses, but also make them livable,” said Bert Mills, a member of the Planning Commission and the special committee created by Town Council this year to lead the historic preservation effort.

After adopting architectural guidelines in 2021 to preserve the “Pawleys look” for new houses, the town started looking for ways to protect the old ones. Ten homes were included in a historic district added to the  National Register of Historic Places in 1972, but their status doesn’t protect them from alteration or demolition.

The Planning Commission started work on a historic preservation program last year but failed to get a grant from the State Historic Preservation Office to fund the initial survey. The town hired a consultant to conduct a workshop for officials and residents in December and decided to move forward on its own.

The goal wasn’t to have the best program, “we wanted to be the fastest,” said Jerry Lieberman, who chairs the special committee and also served on the Board of Zoning Appeals.

When renovations to a structure exceed 50 percent of its assessed value, the town requires that it be brought into compliance with zoning codes and the flood ordinance. That often means elevating the house to meet the flood rules mandated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency in order to qualify for federally-subsidized flood insurance. The historic preservation ordinance will allow the town to seek “certified local government” status through the state and the National Park Service and then issue waivers to the elevation requirements for homes that are on the town’s list of historic properties.

The tradeoff is that the town will need to approve any exterior changes to the structures, beyond minor repairs, to ensure they don’t alter their historic character. A “certificate of appropriateness” will be required from the town before a building permit is issued.

While the entire town will be designated a historic district, only houses nominated by their owners and approved by the town will be included on the list of historic properties. That ordinance defines those as ones built before Hurricane Hazel in 1954 and have the “Pawleys look” as defined in the town’s ARB guidelines.

Nominations will be reviewed by the town Historic Preservation Board, which will make a recommendation to Town Council.

Although the board and the council can both nominate properties, the requirement that all the owners of a property sign the form means nominations won’t be considered without the owners’ full approval.

“If you don’t want your property in the program, don’t put it in the program,” Council Member Paul Groce said. He served on the Planning Commission before being elected last year.

There was concern that the State Historic Preservation Office would balk at an ordinance that allowed owners to opt out if the town nominated their property. That scenario can be useful if a property is facing “a preservation tragedy,” said Brad Sauls, supervisor of local government programs at the office.

“The state law doesn’t require owner consent,” he said. If a local government moves forward without consent, “it becomes a political decision.”

Pawleys Island wanted to avoid that.

“If all the owners don’t sign, it never gets considered,” Mills said.

The Planning Commission approved the preservation ordinance when it met two days after the special committee. Town Council meets today, but Groce said that after moving “at lightning speed” the town is ready to pause.

“If any concerns come up, we will listen to those,” he said.

It’s likely that the ordinance will get the first reading along with a public hearing in July and final approval in August. The town would then create the Historic Preservation Board. It already has a list of houses that are eligible and has interest from about 30 owners.

“They have been moving with all deliberate speed,” Sauls said, but added that “you want to build public support of it first and foremost.”

“If you spring it on people, it can backfire on you,” he said.

The special committee has worked to avoid that. It has 30 members although only seven are eligible to vote. 

Some people were skeptical at the start, Lieberman said, but all of the comments in recent weeks have been positive.

The first dozen homes on the town’s list of historic properties could be approved in the fall. Although Groce thinks there may be 40 to 50 eventually, the first group will be included in the application to become certified. Until that is approved, the town can’t grant waivers to the flood regulations. The process takes three to five months, Groce said.

“Once we get our CLG, there’s no rush,” he said.