FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCIV) — A beautiful day of beach-goings went on Thursday following a night of rising tides on Folly Beach. While those beachgoers were busy having fun Folly leaders were busy uncovering a sad truth about Tropical Storm Idalia's impact: Sand on the beach could become a dwindling commodity.

“This is actually the worst erosion we’ve seen since the passage of Hurricane Matthew back in 2016," said Nicole Elko, the Coastal Consultant for the City of Folly Beach.

Wednesday night's unusually high tide was a challenge for the beach.

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“So we are five years since our last renourishment. So, we weren't very prepared going into this hurricane season with sand on the beach," said Elko.

Idalia's impact caused up to 15 feet of dune loss in some spots. Even higher numbers in others. With three months left in Hurricane Season, Folly could see even more erosion before the next renourishment happens.

Elko tells us, “We won't have any sand on the beach for Hurricane season and we will be extremely vulnerable for the next month or two.”

Efforts are underway to work with the Army Corps of Engineers to hopefully speed up the renourishment timeline. The work could start in the Winter or as late as March 24.

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With an Emergency Declaration approved by President Joe Biden on Thursday, the Army Corps of Engineers could go in and help local spots like Folly Beach impacted by Idalia.

Jeff Livasy, the Chief of Civil Works for the Corps Charleston branch, said "What we anticipate doing from this event is looking at the storm damage and then we will be asking if we can basically, incorporate that into our ongoing activities and say, 'okay, we anticipated, you know, a set number or, you know, so many cubic yards of loss from Hurricane Ian.

"We now quantify that we got a little bit more from this hurricane are we eligible for the funding from last year or can we get additional funding and just keep the same efforts going but at an increased quantity."

Meanwhile, a number of folks were enjoying the change in weather over the 24-hour span. Some families and even beach-goers going solo were busy using metal detectors searching for "treasures." More importantly was just the chance to enjoy a great day of surf and sand regardless of the erosion status.

“It’s the perfect day. Like I don’t think we’ve had a better day this entire summer. It’s still catchable waves and it’s like 70 degrees all day," said surfer Georgia Myrick

FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCIV) — Tami Bourne has lived on folly beach for over three decades.

However, because of a recent development plan on Folly's beachfront lots, she is concerned.

Folly Beach resident fears overbuilding amid ongoing legal battle over beachfront development. (WCIV)

"When you have these disasters, these hurricanes, houses blow into houses," Bourne said. "So the more you put out there, the more it's gonna' get blown into the water. So it's just a problem that way. And also with the hurting the beach as far as making it erode more."

The super beachfront lots are along East Ashley Avenue, just north of the washout down to the lighthouse.

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"These lots were platted back in at least the 1950s," Leslie Lenhardt said, "and they are the most seaward of any lots that were platted on Folly Beach."

The plots are currently held in trust by the state for the public to enjoy. Some property owners attempted to claim ownership after the 2018 Folly Beach Renourishment Project.

"So for a very short period of time after that Renourishment, these lots became high ground," Lenhardt said. "These property owners, what they are trying to do during this window of time is to develop those lots."

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This is a legal battle that goes back to 2020. A judge hear motions on whether developers could build on those lots. The legal maneuvering is ongoing, with the issue expected to go before another court in the coming months.

"The Court of Appeals has remanded the case," Lenhardt said. "Because it's a novel issue, the court said we really want a judge to determine whether or not this is a recognizable theory under the law."

Multiple preservation groups and the city say they want to figure out the boundary between private and public property while preserving the beach.

"I'd like to keep folly as it is," Bourne said. "It's unique. It's funky. And I hate to see it get overbuilt and our beaches overbuilt."

FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCBD) – Warm weather and plenty of sunshine was a welcoming sign to the crowds of people enjoying the Labor Day on Folly Beach. But the heavy foot traffic and recent high tides come only days after Folly Beach saw significant dune erosion after Tropical Storm Idalia.

A coastal consultant with the city of Folly Beach told News 2 that the dune erosion they faced from Idalia was worse than Hurricane Matthew back in 2016 and could have lasting impacts through the winter.

On Monday beach officials set up cones to create a path for rescue vehicles and to prevent people from setting up too close to the dunes.

The assistant manager at Folly Beach County Park, Sam Colgate, said in the past three days, even with minimal space, they’ve seen thousands of people at the county park alone.

“From Friday to today we’ve had about 5,000 people here at Folly Beach County Park, it’s been pretty busy, especially for after a storm,” she said. “This week especially we’ve seen a lot of people setting up camp right against the dunes, I’d say for the most part people are very respectful,” said Colgate.

Dune protection continues to be a priority for Folly Beach after Tropical Storm Idalia removed about 15 feet of dunes in some locations that separate the beach from homes and the island itself. And according to coastal consultant Nicole Elko, it’s leaving the city in a vulnerable spot for the rest of the hurricane season.

“We basically have no protection if another storm were to come by this season,” said Elko.

Folly Beach has plans to renourish its dunes but that will happen after hurricane season.

“Folly Beach hasn’t been renourished since 2018, so this winter the contract will be awarded for the next renourishment, so that is certainly coming just in time, not to get us through this hurricane season but to get us through the next one,” said Elko.

Beach officials want to remind folks to stay off the dunes, especially after the recent erosion

“We definitely want folks to be respectful and not go up in the dunes, they are a natural barrier, kind of help us for lots of reasons out here,” said Colgate.

FOLLY BEACH, S.C. (WCIV) — The debate on short-term rentals is once again heating up on Folly Beach. Residents say proposed amendments approved earlier this year could add dozens more rentals to the area.

Folly Beach residents voted to cap short-term rentals to 800 in February. It was nearly a year-and-a-half-long debate that seemingly came to a close.

But now, residents are worried new amendments to the ordinance proposed by city councilmembers could increase the number of short-term rentals beyond the cap approved earlier this year.

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The first amendment would allow short-term rental owners who were not renewed by the deadline this year, but paid taxes on the property previously, to have a chance to apply for license renewal.

The second amendment says if an investor got a short-term rental license approved for a construction project before the ordinance was passed on February 7th and hasn't received their certificate of occupancy, they could get approval for a license after the deadline as well.

Right now, there are dozens of rentals on the waitlist. Folly Beach residents say this would only create more of a backlog and could open the door for many more short-term rentals on the island.

“It just means if you pay your taxes, you could then get a license. It could be hundreds more, and basically take us to the same position we were before the cap, where there was no limit on short-term rentals," said Ann Peets, president of the Folly Beach Residents Association. "It takes it back to them being really a dominant force on the island over the residents."

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Councilmembers DJ Rich, Billy Grooms and Adam Barker proposed these amendments. News 4 reached out to each one of them for comment but did not receive a response.

Peets and other residents plan to propose some alternatives at the city council meeting on Tuesday, which they believe could help clear the backlog.

Peets says since there are already tons of homes on the waitlist, promoting alternatives like 72-day rentals or long-term rentals on the island could cut down on the number of investors aiming to get STR licenses.

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But more importantly, she says the city could avoid these headaches by just having more transparency of its enforcement. Peets claims it would shorten the waitlist and also improve compliance throughout the island.

“We want to see them move to the next phase where that enforcement really is starting to happen, where they are going in and basically issuing violations when they happen, not just nice warnings that don't result in anything and that really rewards the people that do a nice job in terms of property management," Peets said. "They can have a great investment rental that is a good community player and really moves it, moves them up in the list and makes them thought of most positively on the island."

Folly Beach mayor Tim Goodwin says to stay in good standing and adhere to the enforcement of the ordinance, owners must keep business and rental licenses up to date, know who they rent to, and avoid violating the city’s strike system.

The amendments will have their first reading at the Folly Beach city council meeting Tuesday night at 7 o'clock.

The debate over short-term rentals is taking shape across the country. Locally, Sullivan’s island and James Island have both discussed short-term rental bans at recent council meetings.

Nationally, Dallas became the first city to ban short-term rentals last week.

When my grandma made this summer’s vacation plans for Folly Beach, South Carolina, the rest of my family and I had never heard of it before.

For years, my brothers and I have always gone on vacation during the summer with our grandparents, who we call Mimi and Poppy.

We’ve been to Myrtle Beach twice, Virginia Beach, Ocean City, Maryland twice, New York City and Canada.

Wherever we go, it’s always an adventure with the Graves Family, and Folly Beach was no exception.

Our journey began at the Akron-Canton Airport, where our night flight to Charleston was delayed until around 10:30 p.m.

When we landed in Charleston, we took a long 45-minute cab ride and finally arrived at Folly Beach shortly after 1:00 a.m.

As we walked into our hotel, the Tides, we were greeted by a wall of men’s body spray smell that filled the lobby along with our favorite icon of the trip, Susan, who had the midnight shift at the front desk.

When we first got to our hotel room, exhausted and hungry from our long night of traveling, we decided to venture out and explore the town at 2:00 in the morning.

Susan, who we jokingly imagined running through the hallways spraying the men’s cologne that stunk up the hotel, directed us down the block to a 24-hour store called Bert’s Market to satisfy our late-night cravings.

As we walked down the street, the town immediately reminded my grandma of the beach town described in Jimmy Buffett’s famous “Margaritaville” song, with the shops and unique restaurants that surrounded us.

The town was dead.

I remember all of us laughing and joking that our vacation might be a bust because of how lifeless the town seemed.

But as soon as we stepped inside Bert’s, it seemed like the only place still alive. The sound of a piano playing flowed through the crammed market, and when we turned around, someone was actually playing a piano in the corner.

The store sold everything from groceries and hot foods to music supplies. We grabbed some snacks and trotted back to our hotel, drained from the night.

We went to bed wondering what Folly Beach would have in store for us. After our three days, it turned out to be my favorite beach vacation, and I think more people should know just how special it is.

The beach, which is south of Charleston, is on Folly Island. The Atlantic Ocean and the Folly River surround the island, and there is also a pier stretching over 1,000 feet into the ocean.

What makes this beach stand out from others is that it’s not as commercialized as more popular places, and it’s a much more relaxed beach town.

Our hotel had an oceanfront view, so we were able to walk right out onto the beach. Since it’s a tight-knit beach town, many of the shops and restaurants were within walking distance. However, we rented a golf cart so we could explore the island.

On our golf cart, we passed through countless rows of beach houses. Each one was styled differently with colors and textures, and palm trees lined the town.

For the rest of our stay, the streets were full of life, and the down-to-earth atmosphere made you feel right at home.

We spent our days relaxing on the beach and eating our way through Folly. Though it might not sound thrilling, it was exactly what we needed.

Another fact about this town is that there aren’t any chain restaurants. Instead, there are a wide variety of local restaurants, bars and cafes that attract tourists to their dining rooms each day.

My favorite was Taco Boy, a three-story hideaway that features a rooftop bar. Hanging above the patio bar is an upcycled octopus, a piece of artwork made entirely of trash.

They serve tons of specialty tacos and, of course, tequila. I ordered their Taco Americano and Baja fish tacos, and they were the best tacos I’ve ever had.

We went to several other restaurants on our journey, including the Lost Dog Café, which serves breakfast all day and has walls covered with dog photos.

As our vacation came to an end, we realized that the laid-back “Margaritaville” vibe that Folly Beach gave off was the kind of vacation we were looking for.

Even though it may not be as popular as Myrtle Beach or Hilton Head, I was drawn to the tides of Folly Beach, and I think it’s highly underrated.

Aden is an opinion writer. Contact him at agrave10@kent.edu.