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Town Council to Consider Regulation of

Single-use Plastics at May 7 Meeting

Recently, coastal communities, including Charleston, Mt. Pleasant, Sullivan's Island, Folly Beach, James Island, and others, ha ve enacted ordinances limiting the distribution and/or use of single-use plastic bags and polystyrene foam products. Most recently, Charleston County enacted an ordinance cov ering all unincorporated areas of the County.

On April 29, Town Council held a work session to consider the many different bans being enacted and assess whether Kiawah should similarly support this environmental action. Council will be considering an ordinance prohibiting single-use plastic bags, plastic straws, and polystyrene/foam products at next week's Town Council meeting on May 7 . Read the draft ordinance here. As a reminder, all ordinances require two readings.

There are differences between the ordinances enacted to date by municipalities in South Carolina. The proposed Kiawah ordinance most closely parallels the language recently adopted by Charleston County, but additionally regulates the use of these products on our beach.

Members of the public, including interested residents and property owners, can comment on the proposed ordinance at the beginning of next Tuesday’s regular council meeting or send any questions or comments to Stephanie Tillerson, Town Administrator at stillerson@kiawahisland.org . Any emails will be shared with the Town Council prior to the meeting. Town Council meetings are available to watch via live stream on the Town's YouTube channel .

Beachwalker Drive Road Improvement Project

In an effort to ease beach traffic congestion on Beachwalker Drive, the Town of Kiawah has contracted with Truluck Construction to add a right turn lane to Beachwalker Drive where it approaches Beachwalker County Park. The project begins today May 1 with estimated completion by May 17, weather permitting. The project impacts 800 ft of Beachwalker Drive starting past the second entrance to Inlet Cove. The road and bike path will be closed to thru traffic. However, road access will be open to construction and local traffic only (Inlet Cove/Timbers). Crews will work daily from 7:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. for the duration of the project except for Sundays.

Cars on Kiawah

Sat. May 4, 2019 at Ocean Park

10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.

Price: Free Admission

Parking: $20 Cash Per Car

On May 4, Cars on Kiawah will host its fourth annual display of over 250 of the region’s most outstanding automobiles in scenic Ocean Park. Come out and enjoy outstanding classic to present-day cars on display, enjoy lunch, and watch the awards ceremony. More information at www.carsonkiawah.com

1st Turtle Nest of 2019 & in the State of S.C.

On Friday, April 26, Kiawah Island Turtle Patrol found the first sea turtle nest of the 2019 season in between the Beach Club and Ocean Course. This was also the first nest for the season in the state of South Carolina. This find was surprising considering nesting season does not begin until mid-May. Read the SCDNR press release

The #1 marker denotes the location of the first sea turtle nest of 2019 for Kiawah Island -- and the state of South Carolina (Photo: Lynne Sager)

New Beach Lighting Ordinance

The Town has made changes to the beach lighting ordinance primarily to reduce negative impacts on nesting loggerhead sea turtles and hatchlings. Notable changes are summarized below:

No artificial light shall illuminate any area of the beaches of Kiawah.
No exterior point source (light bulb) of artificial light shall be visible from the beach.
Use of unfiltered lights (any color spectrum except red), including but not limited to flashlights, cellular phones, and cameras, by persons are prohibited on the beach from 9 p.m. until dawn from May 1 to October 31 of each year (free red filters are available at the Municipal Center and the Nature Center at Night Heron Park).
For new construction, tinted or filmed glass shall be used in all windows facing the ocean.
The illumination from beachfront organized functions or special event lighting shall not spread beyond the boundary of the property, and in no case shall those lights illuminate the beach or shall the point source of light be visible from the beach. No organized functions or special events shall take place seaward of the OCRM setback line between dusk and dawn from May 1 to October 31 of each year. The full ordinance can be found here

Bobcat Den Found

On April 25, Town Biologists located the den of Bobcat 350 in The Preserve. She had two 10-day old kittens, 1 male and 1 female. The kittens were quickly examined, fitted with a PIT tag, and released.

Tagging kittens allows biologists to monitor their survival and dispersal and is part of the Town’s Bobcat GPS program. More information

The Red Knots are here!

Each spring from March through May, Red Knots makes their way to Kiawah Island. Red Knots undertake an incredible journey from South America to the Arctic traveling over 9,000 miles, sometimes flying for 6-8 days continuously over the open ocean without stopping. They stop on Kiawah during migration to rest and feed before continuing to their Arctic breeding grounds. Red Knots have suffered a steep decline in their population over the last 30 years and are listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act. Disturbance by people and dogs on our beach can have detrimental effects on the bird’s survival. Each time a bird is forced to fly while feeding or resting, it is using up essential energy needed to make the next flight to its breeding grounds. Here is how we can ensure they complete their journey:

Keep a respectful distance and do not make noise around them.
Do not walk or bike through the flocks.
Do not allow your dogs to chase the birds. If Red Knots are present in the “dog off leash” area of the beach, please keep your dog on a leash and take them away from the birds. Allowing dogs to chase Red Knots is a violation of Town Ordinances and Federal Laws.

The Town has Shorebird Stewards on the beach this spring to help educate beachgoers about red knots and our beach-nesting birds. If you see someone wearing a blue shirt that says “Ask Me About The Birds” please stop them to learn more about these fascinating birds. (Photo: Bob Hill)

Kiawah Island Shorebird Stewardship Program

Last week Town Biologist Aaron Given and volunteers from the Kiawah Island Shorebird Stewardship Program posted roughly 80 signs surrounding the boundary of the nesting area on the east end.This area is closed each year to protect beach-nesting birds (Wilson’s Plovers, Least Terns, American Oystercatchers).

The Kiawah Island Shorebird Stewardship Program aims to protect and conserve Kiawah’s shorebirds by teaching beachgoers about the birds that they share the beach with. Learn how you can become a Shorebird Steward

2019 Charitable Contribution Funding

On April 2, Town Council approved the 2019 Charitable Contribution selection recommendations made by the Ways and Means Committee at the preliminary review on March 26. Funding was awarded to the following organizations:

AMOR Healing Kitchen $1,500
Backpack Buddies Seabrook Island $2,000
Barrier Islands Free Medical Clinic $20,000
Barrier Islands Little League $5,000
Begin with Books $2,500
Bridges for End-of-Life $2,150
Charleston Area Therapeutic Riding $7,076 See more

Painted Buntings Alert

During the summer of 2017 and 2018, adult male Painted Buntings were fitted with geolocators (a light-level tracking device) on Kiawah Island. The birds were banded with an aluminum band on the right leg and either a yellow or pink on the left leg. To retrieve the valuable data stored on the geolocator, we need to recapture these birds and take off the device. If you see a Painted Bunting with a yellow or pink color band coming to your bird feeder, please contact Aaron Given at agiven@kiawahisland.org or 843-768-9166.

Grow Native Plant Database Released

The Town is pleased to announce the release of the new online native plant database. The database is part of the Town’s Grow Native initiative launched last fall. This initiative is a community-wide effort to increase the use of native plants in landscaping projects across the island with an overall goal of improving wildlife habitat. Check out the new database by visiting www.grownativekiawah.com Why grow native? Find out here