6 IslandVibesIOP.com NEWS Outdoor Lighting Ordinance Passes – Then Fails City leaders and police uncertain how to enforce measure By L. C. Leach III IOP Rebranding Effort entails more than changing words and logos By L. C. Leach III If you are an IOP resident wondering how city leaders are planning to regulate new and existing outdoor lighting for residential structures, you might be wondering for a long time. At their Aug. 25 meeting, the IOP City Council unanimously vetoed on second reading a measure to enact a lighting ordinance of any kind – at least for now – because there is no simple way to define what is acceptable and what isn’t. The reversal came on the heels of a first-reading passage in July, following a recommendation by the Environmental Advisory Committee as a way to protect the island’s natural environment by keeping excessive lighting away from natural areas. Committee member Todd Murphy gave a summary of three goals, detailing what neighboring communities were doing toward the same objective: to prevent sky glow caused by excessive exterior lighting; not allow excessive lights from one property to shine into another property; and to prevent light trespassing into other natural areas besides the beach. “This could be rivers, marsh, ponds, forest – any other natural wildlife area,” he said. “So the Environmental Advisory Committee is recommending changes to our existing residential lighting ordinance to accomplish those same three goals.” But after 20 minutes of discussion and comments from all nine council members, plus input from Police Chief Kevin Cornett, the only item of agreement was that the ordinance as written simply couldn’t be accomplished. “It’s not enforceable,” said both Councilman John Bogosian and Mayor Phillip Pounds. For example, part of the proposal, as written, calls for ‘Outdoor lighting shining directly onto the Intracoastal Waterway, marsh or other natural areas outside of the owner’s property shall be extinguished (turned off) when the outdoor area is not in active use or occupancy.’ Bogosian pointed out that the zoning enforcer wouldn’t be able to testify that there were lights on at any particular dwelling at night “when they’re not here.” Another questionable section read: ‘Light fixtures on residential properties in excess of 40 watts or 300 lumens shall be installed so that the lamp or light-emitting is not visible beyond the property.’ Councilman Scott Pierce affirmed that while he favors reducing IOP’s lighting footprint and not shining lights in a neighbor’s window, he concluded that upon reading the document as proposed, “I’m not sure that that accomplishes the objectives.” Councilwoman Katie Miars got a laugh when she said, “It sounds like we’ve gone a really long way to get to the wrong place … But I do think that a lot of people have put a lot of time into this and there are two good valid goals. So I would like for this to come back in a better form.” When asked how this issue began, Councilman David Cohen said it originated partly from the 2023 Community Enrichment Plan, in which some residents expressed interest in regulating residential lighting, and others in marsh lighting. “And somehow it all ended up in one package,” he said. “This is the third time it’s come before council for a formal vote. And it came before the Planning Commission before I got on the council.” Going forward, the measure could either be remanded to the Environmental Advisory Committee for more consideration or just dropped entirely. But until a more specific and enforceable ordinance can be reached, there won’t be any changes to new or existing lighting. “I think we all realized that there are just too many extremes to reach a compromise,” Cohen said. “The measure started as a way to protect the marshes from people shining their lights into them at night but morphed into residential lighting at night. So at this point, I’m not sure where the issue is headed.” Ask anyone who has been to Isle of Palms in the last few decades to name one attraction, feature or psychological intangible that makes the island either a signature getaway spot or place to live, and chances are you won’t hear anything that stands up to scrutiny. This is precisely why city leaders have undertaken the effort to rebrand the entire island into a place synonymous with its name. On Sept. 1, Blue Ridge Creative Marketing, based in Wilmington, North Carolina, began extensive work toward this goal. The push came after two years of discussion, research, a 2023 community enrichment survey and consulting by the IOP City Council, which approved the measure for a cost of $50,000 following Blue Ridge’s presentation this past May. The project is expected to last five months across four phases and involves more than just changing a few words and logos. Once finished, the rebranding is expected to give IOP the kind of trademark distinction it has heretofore lacked. “It’s about what type of tourists we want to market to, and an image of what we want to show to people who come here,” said Councilman David Cohen. Right now, that image is blurry at best. For example, IOP beaches aren’t much different than others along the Grand Strand coast, yet a weeklong vacation in a short-term rental costs an ever-increasing pretty penny. And residents and visitors alike constantly must deal with beach erosion, property flooding from king tides and hurricanes, parking space availability and even beach coyotes. Whereas if you were to visit South Beach in Miami, you would at once get the impression that its intention is to attract a non-stop party-and-nightclub crowd. Anoka, Minnesota, leaves no doubt that it caters year-round to all things Halloween, ever since its at-large designation in 1937 by the U.S. Congress as the ‘Halloween Capital of the World.’ The tiny town of Tusayan, Arizona, with only about 600 residents, makes up for its otherwise obscurity with the nearby presence of the Grand Canyon. But since IOP doesn’t have any of these hallmark attractions or the kind of local getaway appeal that used to carry a natural, seasonal charm, it makes rebranding the island somewhat tricky. “Isle of Palms exists at an intersection of multiple identities: a close-knit residential coastal community, a destination for families drawn to the South Carolina shoreline and a municipal government serving residents while welcoming visitors,” said Aaron Lee, creative director/founder of Blue Ridge Creative Marketing. “This complexity makes the branding initiative both important and nuanced.” To meet the challenge, Lee and his team have developed a line-item timetable in four separate phases that will include: • What residents value and want to protect • Workshops and collaborative feedback sessions • Audience and visitor perception analysis • Competitive and regional positioning review • Research into tourism and destination search behavior “We begin by reviewing existing brand materials, tourism positioning, communication systems and peer businesses,” Lee said, “to identify what’s working, what’s not and where the real opportunities exist.” Once implemented, a three-year consultative advisory period will follow to review progress, address challenges and provide recommendations to support consistency and evolution over time. Blue Ridge director of content strategy Amanda Donohue pointed out that local input will be critical in all phases. “We have a lot of stakeholders that we’re going to be involved with in the next few months,” she said. “Messaging is a huge part of this in terms of what Isle of Palms is and what it wants to continue to be.” Mayor Phillip Pounds added that while the rebranding deliverables will land differently on everyone, the island needs to “continue to reach new visitors by tweaking our look and messaging.” “This project has spurred a ton of resident interest, which is great,” he said. “We have a very engaged community – response to the survey has been very high. And maybe we will catch someone’s eye that we haven’t before.”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MjcyNTM1