Frequently Asked Questions Shoreline Improvement Plan

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1 Frequently Asked Questions Shoreline Improvement Plan How did we get here? The shoreline of Fripp Island is dynamic. Significant sand accretion and erosion events have occurred since Fripp Island was developed in More recently, since 2006, significant changes occurred both to the shoreline and Fripp inlet. In April of 2013, the POA and PSD commissioned a study by Coastal Science and Engineering, CSE, to assess Potential Realignment of Fripp Inlet and Alternatives for Oceanfront Improvement. In a survey, POA membership voted to decline into entering a contract to move forward. Subsequently, a Fripp shoreline and crossover team continued to monitor and make recommendations for evolving Fripp beach conditions and accessibility. We saw how quickly the walkway was installed at Access #2. If we decide to open other accesses, when will they be constructed? Preliminary information is already showing a big increase in usage at this new access. We are keenly aware of the need to open others accesses on the north end of the island. We are now working diligently to side by side with governmental authorities that monitor, supervise and approve any work done in critical areas, which includes the area from our revetment to the water. Permits are required for most of the work we do. We want to provide you with beach accesses you will be proud of as quickly as possible. As we are able to install new walkways and direct beach goers to newly created right of way parking, we hope to restore beach accessibility to the entire three mile length as it was originally designed. Why did you put a wooden walkway to the street at accesses one and two? The frontage of these accesses has been problematic. They had not been maintained and had become washed out sand gullies. People had trouble pulling carts and wagons through this and the crossover structure was old and past it useful life. More importantly, the sand washed out and clogged the drains causing constant flooding on the road every time it rained. North Marlin is subject to significant flooding and the drainage in front of 1 and 2 were all blocked by sand from the accesses. We studied many different solutions, and consulted with others. In the end, the best solution for this particular area was to raise the grade and put in a wooden walk. It s more durable, won t wash out, and it was short enough so that it wasn t too expensive to do. Is the plan for you to put wooden walkways all the way to the street on all the other accesses? Absolutely not. Each access is different. There is no plan, nor desire to see how much wood we can put along the street. Far from it. Wherever the drainage is good and the topography consistent, we prefer to avoid unnecessary construction. However, providing consistent and reliable beach access remains our primary goal.

2 We can't get to the beach. We heard you weren't going to open all the accesses and you were going to pick and choose. Please explain Fripp Island was originally platted with 32 beach access points. It is not in our scope of work to arbitrarily decide not to open or close a deeded beach access. Our mandate was to develop a plan and a budget to restore and reopen all the beach accesses on Fripp Island. This is what we have done. We think it s a great plan, affordable and would add tremendous value to all homeowners and guests of Fripp Island. In the end, each homeowner will have a vote as to whether they want to support the FIPOA special assessment proposal that includes this recommended shoreline plan. Why do we need so many beach accesses and who owns the property on the beach? The original developer dedicated 33 beach accesses when the property was originally platted in From what we understand, control and management of the accesses and crossovers were deeded to the POA in the mid 1980 s. The POA owns the land, the revetment and structure over 33 of the accesses. Access 15 is an easement which, currently is the only vehicular access to the beach. Accesses OP-6 are 10ft wide. Accesses 7-32 are 20ft wide. Spreading out the accesses north to south ensured all property owners access to the beach. POA and private property owners own from the street out to the high water mark. SC department of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, OCRM, controls maintenance and use of the beach. SC Department of Natural Resources, DNR has jurisdiction over the wildlife that may be on the beach. Why did you install a ramp at #1 instead of crossover with steps? Visiting other island communities and observing the difficulty of our old steps up and down convinced us that we are making it too difficult for folks to get to the beach. Here are a couple of videos we shot of what homeowners and guests encounter daily. Why do we make it so hard? We believe it is better to provide ramps where feasible to allow everyone ready access with all their beach gear, like the demonstration Access # Who is OCRM? Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, OCRM, is the state agency that directs all activities on the beach. In 1988, a blue ribbon panel, (including Dr. Robert Young), established a Beachfront Management Act. This requires that ocean and beachfront counties and municipalities prepare comprehensive beach management plans. Each plan must include 10 elements and are then are filed with OCRM for review and approval. The Act establishes statutory guidance and state policies, which directs all beachfront activates and decisions. The act defines which activities require permits and what policies are encouraged on the beach. Fripp Island is not required to, nor has it filed a Beachfront Management Plan. In our discussions at the state level, it was recommended that we prepare a plan to manage the overall beach and accesses at Fripp Island. OCRM is able to level monetary fines on individuals or organizations for shoreline activities that are deemed to be illegal.

3 What happened since the CSE Report was issued? Since 2014, we have accreted sand and then some. The POA shoreline committee studied the growth and conditions that developed on the beach but were limited in implementation of a developed plan due to a lack of a budget. The area north of access 15 changed dramatically. Some of the predictions outlined in the CSE Report came true, such as large areas of water developing, and a growing maritime forest. Unfortunately, none of the recommendations in the report were implemented. Eventually in 2016 accesses 2-15 became inaccessible and were for the most part closed. A homeowner offered to fund the construction of a wooden boardwalk at access 3. Once constructed the access maintenance of number 3 remains under the control of the POA. What changed in 2016? In May of 2016 the Fripp Shoreline Committee submitted an application for permit activity on POA accesses 2, 11, and 15. Specifically, the applications sought to move sand by scraping and borrowing, building up sand paths and installing mobi-matting. OCRM refers to this process of sand removal as sand scraping. Subsequently a new Shoreline Committee was organized post POA election in June Shortly thereafter, two back to back tropical storms hit Fripp Island making a bad situation worse. The sole vehicle access (#15) was underwater and impassible. Emergency work performed on the beach revealed that a significant number of alligators had taken up residence in the tidal pool, on the beach between accesses The permit applications languished. Hurricane Matthew hit in October. Despite repeated requests for permit application updates there was no word from OCRM. In early Dec 2016, with the encouragement of state legislators Tom Davis and Chip Campsen, an onsite visit with Shoreline Committee leaders and OCRM representatives occurred. Regarding the vehicular access at #15 (Rock Beauty), OCRM stated that if they could change this permit application and remove the request to scrape sand and instead request to import the sand they might approve permit for access 15, but only because it was a vehicular and emergency access. But simply adding sand to the Rock Beauty Access would not serve as a viable vehicular access. It would quickly wash away again and would not support heavy vehicle use. The Shoreline Committee enlisted three on-island civil engineers to hire a reputable firm and design a real solution. Andrews Engineering designed a sand based, geo web installation that would have the integrity to support vehicular traffic. We were able to convince OCRM and Andrews Engineering to work together, amend the necessary portions of the permit applications and approve a plan for #15. On the remaining accesses in the permit request, (2 and 11) they would not approve scraping sand or importing sand. Instead they said they would approve wooden walkways and myrtle removal. The shoreline leadership accepted their decision, and the outstanding permits were delivered Jan 4 th Who is developing the plan for working on the beach and why are we paying consultants? With the seating of a new chairman for the Shoreline Committee, several homeowners expressed interest in joining the new committee. A co-chair was also chosen. The first thing done was to have a phone meeting with the State Chief of OCRM. The Chief Officer of OCRM strongly recommended that the POA hire a specialist/expert to come in and develop a beach management plan for Fripp Island. Given this advice, our own lack of knowledge, and the need for expertise, an outside consultant was brought in. The consultant was hired to address the most recent changes to the beach and offer assistance with working with regulators. A robust committee was formed including three civil engineers and liaisons from the PSD, Fripp Resort, environmental and turtle patrol. Over 25 people signed up to

4 serve in various capacities. Some of the previous committee members continued to serve as well, including the previous Chair, providing continuity. Then the work and planning began. Since June: *Numerous sub committees were developed to look at beach changes, inventory of the accesses from the street to the shore, accessibility, state of crossover structures, and communications with homeowners. *A proposal to develop a beach management plan with Dr. Robert Young and consultant Bill Eiser was approved by the POA board. A beach management plan would look at the variety of conditions that exist on the Fripp beach and address the best practices approach to managing our shifting sands. *The committee s engineers spearheaded and accepted a bid from an outside engineering company to develop an engineered plan for the vehicular access that continued to lie below grade. Because of the need for this access to have the integrity to carry heavy equipment, and its topographical challenges, it necessitated expert input. * A subcommittee of team members including POA president Chris Assaf visited Seabrook and Kiawah islands for an overview of how they addressed beach accessibly. *New myrtle trimming guidelines were developed and made available to oceanfront homeowners, with updated OCRM guidelines regarding chipping debris in place. *Committee members performed beach cleanup post hurricane Matthew. OCRM has granted permission to continue use of equipment to clear the beach of debris for the subsequent year after the storm. *Clarification of OCRM rules and the release of the permits allowed construction of the first POA wooden walkway at access 2. Construction occurred in Jan OCRM worked hand in hand with the POA approved contractor to supervise and install this walkway prototype, including the placement of its terminus at the MHW mark. *Additionally, a crossover was removed and replaced with a ramp walkway at beach access 1. Most oceanfront communities are transitioning to this approach to allow maximum ease of access to beach goers. ADA compliant accesses remain at 9 and 15. *Completion of the new vehicle access at 15 occurred during February. *Emergency revetment repair at OP access is out for bidding. *Anticipating future access work, surveys of many POA beach accesses revealed significant surprises. Many of the crossovers are not on POA property and were built on private property. Also, many of the current low lying walking paths have meandered and are not on POA property. As further building occurs, walkways and pathways will be returned to POA property. The walkway constructed at #2 and the ramp at #1 were considered to be prototypes to allow the committee and homeowners the opportunity to experience alternative approaches to the beach. We have received considerable feedback both positive and negative. If funded, feedback received may be incorporated into future buildouts if supported by the state. A FrippShorline@gmail.com account was set up for owners to send questions and feedback in order to help us.

5 Construction, appearance and budgetary questions What is the difference between a walkway and a boardwalk? Aren t they one in the same? OCRM guidelines makes a distinction between the use of walkways or boardwalks. Wooden walkways are low lying structures built at a minimum of 24 inches above the height of the dune. Construction guidelines do not require the use of hand rails. Boardwalks are more significant structures that are built at a minimum of 3 feet above grade usually over standing water or very high dunes. This type of structure requires the use of hand rails. Both structures are the preferred method to transit over beach dunes. All structures will be built using best practices, including marine grade lumber and stainless steel hardware. The committee is aware of the importance of the use of high grade materials. Where are future wooden structures being installed? The accesses from 4 to 9 will need installation of walkway or boardwalks from the revetment to the mean high-water mark. Accesses are influenced by a tidal pool and Hurricane Matthew completely changed the depth and boundaries of the pool. Dr. Robert Young has recommended wooden walkways for accesses 10-14, when the tidal pool closes off. Wherever feasible, a ramp approach will be installed from the street side approach crossing the revetment and onto the beach. OCRM building guidelines dictate that if a high dune is to be crossed that an elevated boardwalk needs to be constructed over the dune. The appearance therefore on some of the accesses will be dictated by topography and may appear to be a combination of both walkways and dunes. OCRM will evaluate the final terminus with the builder and we hope to explore the possibility of placing the terminus behind the mean high water mark on future construction. The SC DNR turtle coordinator also weighs in on the construction of any structures on the beach. Essentially the state will dictate the final appearance thereof. When do homeowners get to have input on new permit applications? Why aren t owners notified of permit applications? The Shoreline Committee is not qualified to prepare OCRM Permit Applications. A significant amount of survey work must be submitted with any permit application. Based on the recommendations of Dr. Robert Young, Mr. Bill Eiser (former OCRM official), and the OCRM, we have contracted any necessary permit application preparation to an outside expert. Only property owners who are directly impacted by actions adjacent to their property are notified by the state of permit applications. For access work this would be the owners on either side of the affected access. For general permits all owners in the affected area are notified. Subsequent to the permit being filed a public notice is published in the local newspapers. Construction of wooden walkways or boardwalks does not require a permit. Why are the accesses being filled up with ramps taking away parking spaces? We have been told that once upon a time, all POA accesses used to have wooden walkway ramps at all accesses. In our inventories of all the accesses, we discovered that some still have wooden ramps and wooden walkways on the street side of the access. Unfortunately, we learned that over time a decision was made to remove most of them as they fell into disrepair. Therefore, now many accesses have become rutted and mud filled. The accesses along Marlin have significant drainage issues and have buried drains and utilities. Bringing the accesses back up to grade and keeping pedestrians from tramping down the path requires the use of some wooden walkways. Our research has shown that most island communities along the east coast share this approach. The Shoreline Committee and the Roads

6 and Drainage Committee work closely on the appropriate approach at these accesses. Parking of any type of vehicle is not allowed on POA accesses. There is legal precedence on Fripp regarding this issue. Why open accesses when there is no parking? Why not just have a few open accesses? Not in my backyard cannot be the rule on Fripp Island with regards to parking. Given the jump in summer population, parking must be available at each access to avoid overcrowding. We have seen unmanageable crowds and parking at the few open accesses over the past two summers. Significant overcrowding of select accesses creates frustration and potentially unsafe conditions. The Security Committee has developed an island wide beach access parking plan and is actively creating spaces close to accesses on POA right of way. Beachgoers will be able to utilize a mobile app to locate both accesses and parking. They are also designing a parking map. This will help spread out the traffic and parking. Are trash cans and poop bags really necessary? And do we really need to have warning signs? Trash collection is contentious and unfortunately a consequence of a crowded beachfront. Street side trash cans will be placed at the highest volume accesses with daily collection during busy season. Trash can corrals and trashcans will be standardized. Placement near the street side portion of the access will allow the contractor to keep trash pickup expense to a minimum. If there is one thing that Frippers could agree on it is poop bag dispensers at each access. New dispensers will be placed at every access. Access signage has been consolidated into one warning sign. This is a work in progress. Warnings have been reviewed and approved by the POA attorney. Once aware of a hazard we have a duty to provide clear warning. We are proposing one clean, standard warning sign rather than accesses littered with multiple and confusing signs. Why are we opening so many accesses at once? Shouldn t we take it slowly? We are looking at the price of deferred maintenance. Many of our wooden revetment crossovers are well past their useful life and well over 25 years old. Further inaction on our repairs will only solidify the perception that Fripp is unable to care for its infrastructure. Surrounding islands are well on the road to post storm recovery with less than three months till summer. We still have 11 accesses closed. In the long run, it is MUCH cheaper and smarter to do all the work at one time and get it done. By doing this now, we can obtain cost savings with bulk material purchases, better contractor negotiations, and move forward with an organized maintenance plan to ensure that future residents and guests don t have to deal with these problems. Since last summer the current Shoreline Committee has only opened one new access that was previously closed. What about keeping it cheap and eco-friendly and just using imported sand to create paths? Imported sand is only allowed to be used if creating an elevated vehicular path. Imported sand can be used to create dunes but cannot be used to essentially create a berm especially in a heavy dune area. Absolutely no sand can be imported and placed in an area which maybe a fish hatchery area or under tidal influence, per OCRM. How can you justify this kind of expense? What is the payback? The Shoreline Committee is tasked with fixing years of deferred maintenance and neglect. There has been a consistently underfunded and unorganized approach to take care of the beach accesses and our infrastructure of revetment crossovers. Many of the structures have been in place for years. There is no maintenance schedule. There is no wood sealing plan. No standards. Eclectic, inconsistent trash can and signage on both street and beachside of POA accesses. Accesses are unmarked and effectively inaccessible. Beachgoers using private property to meander to the beach. POA structures have been built on private property. Promotion of a natural look and habitat has left owners with an asset that is

7 in disrepair. None of the state barrier islands have a large freshwater alligator habitat on their beach. NONE. Click the video link to see what this Shoreline Committee inherited as a starting point. The exposure to this type of liability is huge. The state of the beach accesses, our front yard, tells all who we are as an island and how much we value our most prized asset. The beach is also an asset available to all property owners. All owners own property on an oceanfront barrier island and derive benefit of that. The accesses belong to all owners. Oceanfront owners are allowed to construct personal crossover and walkway or boardwalks on their own property to access the beach. No permits are required. It would be foolish not to restore our 32 accesses and instead encourage more private property owners building perhaps 150 plus walkways. Since Fripp has been more fully developed, there are now nearly 70 homes per each public beach access. People come to Fripp for the beach, and it must be easily accessible. Year-round owners and their guests come for the experience of visiting and living on an oceanfront island. That perk is a factor in the value of all properties on Fripp. The more inaccessible and unattractive that asset is the less monetary benefit one derives from it. Improve the health and access to your beach and you will see an improvement in user experience and likely real estate sales and subsequently valuation. How did you come up with your numbers? How can I possibly afford it? The Shoreline Committee has spent the past eight months obtaining estimates, researching options and soliciting expert opinions on all aspects of shoreline repairs from construction, to materials and all associated expenses. Thrown into this process is the effect of a category two hurricane. Practically speaking, the POA derives benefit from bulk pricing and is looking at repairs that will be as long term as possible given the harsh marine environment. At the end of the day, the budget is our best estimate, given the present conditions. The estimate for the complete restoration of the entire shoreline is $1.36m. Of this total, approximately half is for the necessary wooden walkways and the other half is for restoring/replacing the revetment crossovers, street side restoration of all accesses, grading, leveling, clearing, landscaping, new signage marking all the accesses, trash corrals, pet bag dispensers, and everything else, soup to nuts. This also includes consulting, surveying and permitting. The total Shoreline project to restore everything is $1.36 million. This works out to approximately $650 per property owner, or $216 per year for three years. This is less than $20 per month for three years for the entire job. This estimate is included in the special assessment request that the Board and Finance Committee is proposing in March Why do we have so much water that stays on the beach? Fripp has several different areas of standing water on its beach. Proximate to accesses 11-15, a tidal pool of varying size has been in place. Hurricane Matthew has significantly altered the shoreline pushing a considerable amount of sand up on the beach. Subsequent to the storm, the tidal pool is significantly smaller and more shallow (see picture to the left).

8 OCRM advised that it is preferential to use natural debris to help dry up the pool. To date considerable progress has been made. Until the area is dry the accesses cannot be restored to provide beach access. A second larger area of water exists between beach accesses 2 and 6 with occasional communication further south. This water is fresh water and is not influenced by the tides. Part of the area contains plant life consistent with wetlands. At the request of the state, the area was evaluated to determine if it was indeed a wetland and under the control of the Army Corp of Engineers. Dr. Robert Young prepared a report for the Corp and they have determined they do not have jurisdiction over the existing wetland. The existing water appears to be primarily runoff from storm water on the roads above and proximate to the beach. Diverting drainage of roadway runoff would help reduce the collection of storm water on the beach. Wildlife Concerns Why can t we get rid of alligators on our beach? As long as we have ponds on our beach, we have an alligator habitat. Our beach ponds are basically due to storm water collection from rain and runoff. Some may have a saltwater component due to tidal influences, but even these will afford alligators a temporary habitat. Alligators have a very effective internal GPS. An alligator relocated elsewhere on Fripp from the dunes, can return quickly. They move at night, they are fast, they communicate with one another and they lay down scent trails. This means that if there is no alligator in that water today, there may be tomorrow. The best way to ensure there are no alligators on our beach is to not offer them a habitat. So what do we do? We can take measures to encourage the drying of our dunes. We can take a look at issues related to drainage and management of storm water. In the meantime, our raised crossovers keep beachgoers from entering even the peripheral waters of ponds. We alert visitors and owners alike to the risk of alligators and the dangers presented by inter-dunal ponding. We continue to monitor the alligator population, tag and relocate smaller gators, so we will know that if caught again, relocation is not a good option; we remove gators from the island who are unsuitable for relocation based on size or behavior.

9 What about the gators coming in on the surf from the ocean? Boaters will tell you it is not uncommon to see a gator in the ocean. During mating season, young males may be forced off neighboring islands, riding currents in search of a new home. They can easily wind up in our beach lagoons and ponds. Larger ones likely will move inland in search of new territory. Since alligators can arrive anywhere, anytime on our beach, caution is best. Is liability a concern? Liability is always a concern. Since we know that we may have alligators in beach ponds and lagoons, we re obligated to post warnings. It s also just plain common sense to provide safe pathways across our dunes to the beach and close crossovers we can t make reasonably safe. We seek to minimize known shoreline hazards such as alligators residing on the beach in standing water lagoons to prevent incidents that could lead to litigation and pass large costs to Owners. What are we doing to our beachfront habitat? We have wonderful dunes and maritime forest; we have birds and mammals and other wildlife living there. What about the habitat destroyed by building elevated crossovers? The growth of vegetation on our dunes is remarkable. We offer a variety of habitats throughout our beachfront. Constructing an elevated walkway or clearing a path for an on-grade crossover will disturb the existing environment. However, and this is key to OCRM s promotion of walkways like ours, when completed, beachgoers will use those walkways! They are welcoming to beach goers, easy to find and transit across the dunes to the high tide line and thus keep beachgoers off the dunes! They are constructed 24 inches off the ground. This provides safety for walkers, and still allows the sand and critters to move about freely. People don t wander through the dunes, searching for a dry or shallowwater path to the beach. There is far less damage to dunes, dune vegetation and less stress on groundnesting birds. With high- quality walkways, our dunes will flourish. A robust dune system protects us from storm-driven tides and surf. Dunes provide cover for shorebirds. Migratory birds rest in the dunes and regain strength for the next leg of their journey. The dunes offer birds protection from dogs running freely on the beach. Only a handful of our dunes would be traversed by crossovers; their construction and attendant noise would be over quickly. Nearby dune habitat more than adequately provides refuge for any displaced wildlife. Transiting over higher levels of water and wetlands requires installation of boardwalks, built at a minimum of 3ft over water and includes handrails. What are we doing to protect our nesting turtles? The Shoreline Committee has been working with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources Turtle Division. The last thing we want to do is disturb a nesting turtle or build structures that could interfere with these beautiful creatures. All of our construction has been and will be approved by the Department of Natural Resources who oversee turtle conservation in the state. If work is conducted during nesting season, it

10 will not take place in and about the high tide area until we have a daily all-clear from the Turtle Patrol. We will in no way disturb a nesting turtle, an already laid nest or a hatching nest. We will stake out the crossovers in advance of construction, so that any nests laid near a crossover s terminal point on the beach can be relocated away from future foot traffic. We don t envision a hatching nest presenting a challenge, although a wild nest could surprise us. And one of the best environmental features for nesting turtles are soft sand dunes. We want to do everything we can to assure Fripp Island quickly has as many dunes as possible to protect our property, provide beautiful maritime foliage such as sea oats, and provide natural habitat for the turtles. There was a beautiful bird habitat surrounding the Rock Beauty lagoon that you are trying to close off. We still don t understand, why? Earlier this summer we found that the very same lagoon where adults waded and children played, safe from waves and jellyfish, was home to some large alligators! Despite the beautiful vista of the lagoon and the surrounding trees, dotted with shore and wading birds, there was a hidden danger that could have proven deadly. Hurricane Matthew changed the topography on the beach and pushed a significant amount of sand up on to the shore, effectively lowering the level of water in the area. State officials from OCRM visiting in December suggested that placement of natural debris at the mouth of the pool could encourage further drying of the beach and hasten reopening of the accesses adjoining the pond. There remains a significant amount of bird habitat both dry and wet providing an important rest stop on their migratory passages.