Criminal Defense Lawyer in Hilton Head, SC

When driving along South Carolina’s coastal waterways, wetlands and estuaries, you may find yourself spotting a small, strange-looking bird with a long, curved beak.

Those little birds are white ibis.

White ibis are primarily year-round residents in the Carolinas that may also be found around golf courses and near lagoons.

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If they do happen to migrate south, they tend to go to Florida, Cuba or northern South America (Columbia), said Kay Grinnell, President of the Hilton Head Audubon.

As adults, they are medium-sized, striking birds that are all white in coloration with black wing tips, which are only visible during flight, with orange/red long decurved bills and facial skin and blue eyes.

As juveniles, these birds are different in color. Juveniles typically appear from fall through winter and are brown above and white below, sport a streaky brown neck., with orange-pink bills and legs. In addition, immatures, which are the first summer birds, are a splotchy brown and white above as they molt into their adult plumage, according to All About Birds.

White Ibis feed in shallow water in groups and their diet consists mainly of crustaceans, which include snails and small crabs such as fiddlers and crawfish. Their long, narrow, curved bills are perfectly shaped to put down into crab or snail burrows to find their prey. White ibis will also dine on insects, frogs, marine worms, snakes and small fish.

To feed, ibis will insert their bills into soft muddy terrain and feel for prey. When they do, they will pinch the critter between their bill and pull it up to be swallowed and eaten.

White Ibis can be found year-round along the southeast coast up to North Carolina, most of Florida and the Gulf Coast as well as the southern coasts of the Baja peninsula, Grinnell said.

Ibis birds are colony nesters in mid to late summer and prefer to nest in trees on an island.

As for the Beaufort County area of the South Carolina coast, Pinckney Island’s aptly named Ibis Pond has nesting ibis in July, August and sometimes into September, Grinnell said.

These birds do prefer to change their nesting locations each year; thus making it unpredictable but not impossible to locate their new nesting site.

Nest sites usually are constructed 2-15 feet above the ground or water, sometimes higher or occasionally on the ground. As for the nests themselves, both males and females participate in the nest’s construction. Male ibis bring the sticks and the female builds the nest, according to the National Audubon Society.

First breeds for these social birds begin at 2 years old. Afterward, a female Ibis will lay approximately two to three eggs, occasionally up to five, which are pale blue-green to white and are adorned with brown specks. After the eggs have been laid, both males and females cover “nest duty,” where the eggs will incubate for an average of 21 days, continued the National Audubon Society.

Once hatched, the Ibis nestlings are unable to hold their head up, and have closed eyes but will develop quickly. The nestlings will be ready to flap their wings and attempt short flights at four to five weeks and leave the nest at six to seven weeks to forage with adults, Grinnell said.

Cars lap — one time, two times, three times — around the Hilton Head Piggy Wiggly parking lot. It’s the weekend and owner David Martin stands outside, watching people scour for a spot. Once they park, they don’t pull out shopping bags and grocery lists. Instead, out come umbrellas and folding chairs. They’re beach goers, not shoppers, and they walk past the store, past the packed Coligny Beach Park lot and across the street to the ocean.

Martin, who has lived on the island for decades, compared beach parking on Hilton Head to the Wild West. More than 3.1 million people visit the town throughout the year and there are about 37,660 full-time residents. Where those people leave their cars when they go to the beach has become an issue. Busy parking lots during tourist season, or events, harm businesses by taking away parking for customers in their private lots, frustrate those who can’t find a spot, and can be unsafe for vehicles and pedestrians.

For decades, Martin said he can remember Hilton Head trying to wrangle the issue. Currently, the town is hung up discussing how to implement an electronic parking program that’s been in the work for at least four years, according to Deputy Town Manager Josh Gruber.

The most recent proposal, presented to the Community Services and Public Safety Committee by town staff in April, includes implementing paid parking at two beaches (not Coligny) that were previously free, increasing fees to $5 per hour and gating some beaches. The proposal wouldn’t privatize the beaches, which are public under South Carolina’s Public Trust Doctrine, but it would put up barriers to entry.

It’s an attempt by the town to mitigate a larger issue: its beach parking lots don’t have enough capacity. There are 1,155 beach visitor parking spots on Hilton Head for its estimated 8,500 visitors per day, not including including second-home owners or workers. Not every visitor is going to the beach, or driving a car, but the numbers point towards a parking supply shortage.

“This demand far exceeds the supply. In some way we have to reduce demand until we can increase supply,” Council member Steve Alfred said. Previously, the town has discussed a multi-level parking garage — which about 60% of residents, business owners and visitors disapproved of in a 2020 town survey — or offsite parking with shuttle transportation. “But that’s not going to happen this year or next year,” Alfred said. “So we have to deal with the situation for now.”

In addition to trying to alleviate stress on the island’s short supply of spaces, fees would fund the electronic program. Gruber said the plan would allow visitors to track which lots are full and the town to enforce parking more efficiently, reducing traffic. Contracted employees monitor the lots on a rotating basis, except for Islanders Beach Park, which is manned and is mostly permit parking for residents.

The increased and expanded fees for visitor-paid parking would allow this current $15 resident parking pass to be free. The town estimates visitor-paid parking could bring in up to $1.7 million each year, depending on whether the town charges for it year-round or seasonally.

Payment would be enforced by cameras at each lot, which have been installed at each location except for Alder Lane. The cameras will be fully functional within a couple of weeks, according to the town’s report at the committee meeting.

Just because the cameras are functional doesn’t mean the town is ready to implement the program.

The committee must still approve the resolution to put in front of the town council, who must then vote to approve the program, including fee structures, enforcement and the timeline. In the April committee meeting, a vote to approve the resolution failed. If it the resolution moves on in the May meeting, the town council must weigh the problems that paid parking might solve with the problems it might create.

One potential problem: visitors spending money on parking instead of on local business.

“Every dollar for parking is a dollar not spent in our local economy,” Lee Lucier said at the meeting. He is a local business owner and the COO of the Richardson Group real estate development and management company.

Another concern is that free parking at Coligny Beach will incentivize visitors to park there instead of at the paid lots, further exacerbating parking problems for surrounding businesses.

“We’re concerned by employee parking being taken by tourists, day trippers, or residents who are parking in our neighborhoods and our businesses,” Lucier said. “Then our employees are put out in the street.”

At Piggy Wiggly, Martin said that when shifts change at 2 p.m., cashiers are circling with the beach goers looking for a spot.

“I’m out in the parking lot as we speak,” Martin said. “Not one spot,” he said of the 92 parking spaces, despite only 21 people being inside the store.

Here is what the town proposed at its April meeting:

Currently, there is paid parking at the following beaches ranging anywhere from 50 cents an hour to $1 an hour:

Hilton Head staff are proposing paid parking at $5 per hour with a cap of $30 a day at:

The staff is proposing free parking at:

“A couple of them will remain without gates, a couple of them will have gates,” Gruber said of the beach parking, though he didn’t say which. The lots with gates will be restricted to 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

The gates would allow visitors to leave, but not park, after 10 p.m.

“It’s not so much to keep people out early in the morning, but it’s to keep people out late at night,” he said.

The town presented both a year-round option and a seasonal option, which would charge during June, July and August.

It estimated the year-round option would bring in about $1.7 million each year and the seasonal option would bring in about $1.4 million each year.

“We can pick and choose locations, times and rates,” Gruber said.

He said: “This is a hypothetical example of one (option) we could implement that would hopefully have less of an impact than it would be to charge all year long,” of the seasonal option.

Town staff proposed that the current $15 fee for Island Resident Beach Parking Passes be made free and that revenue replaced by revenue generated exclusively from beach parking fees.

Currently, Hilton Head Island residents get two passes per year that would allow them to park in any of the metered spaces year round.

“The program is targeted at visitors and guests who are not otherwise contributing from a property tax standpoint towards paying for these cost of operations,” Gruber said at the meetings.

The days of parking at Driessen Beach with crossed fingers that the parking machine isn’t working are over. Cheating the town out of a few bucks an hour could get much harder.

As cars enter a lot, cameras capture their license plate and immediately recognize whether the car is a resident’s or not. If the car isn’t a resident’s, the system will know the driver needs to pay.

Once parked, the driver can pay by via text message or a QR code. The town plans to place signs with a phone number in each lot. If the driver doesn’t pay, then the town will be notified that someone needs to be ticketed in that lot.

This tracking would also allow the town to monitor the number of people in each lot and eventually notify potential visitors through an app or notifications when lots are full, with the goal to reduce traffic and air pollution.

With the report still in the Community Services and Public Safety Committee, the electronic parking fees and changes couldn’t be voted on and implemented by town council until at least after the 2024 summer season, potentially jeopardizing current beach patrol services.

Gruber warned that if they don’t pass the fees soon, they’ll have to reevaluate the budget, which factors in the revenue from paid parking.

“If we’re not going to charge for parking to pay for it, it certainly can’t be sustained at the level that is is now,” Gruber said.

The town has $869,730 in projected expenses for the 2024 fiscal year for parking management, and $623,788 for the 2025 fiscal year. The town contracts a Michigan-based parking services firm called PCI Municipal Services to provide the services and technology for the parking management program.

“If this vote stands, it creates an issue with being able to provide services at Islander Beach Park,” said Council member Tamara Becker, shaking her head when Council members Alex Brown and Patsy Brison voted against the moving the resolution to the town council. Council member Steve Alfred voted to move it forward.

For Brown and Brison, they said they need more data and specifics.

“I need to understand on a five, ten, year term where we’re going to be implementing this project,” Brown said, questioning what the town will do with the at least $1.4 million it estimates to bring in with the program, after paying expenses. “We owe the community an answer to that if we’re going to start to charge for parking on Hilton Head.”

This story was originally published April 22, 2024, 12:42 PM.

Tom Peeples, Hilton Head Island’s mayor for 15 years and council member for six years before that, died late Saturday from complications after spinal surgery earlier in the week. He was 71.

He is the only mayor in Hilton Head’s history to be reelected for more than one term, serving three terms between 1995 and 2010, when he stepped down. He also is the only native of the Lowcountry to become mayor since the island incorporated in 1983.

Peeples owned a home-building company, Tom Peeples Builder, on the island from 1978 until his retirement in 2021.

He and his wife, Mary Ann, lived in Hilton Head Plantation. They would have celebrated 52 years of marriage in June, said their son, Josh.

In 2011, Tom Peeples was awarded the Order of the Palmetto, the state of South Carolina’s highest civilian honor, and in 2012 he was grand marshal of the Hilton Head St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

He initially filed to run for the mayoral position again in 2018 but withdrew his name before the election.

“My time as mayor was the most humbling and defining experience of my life,” Tom Peeples said in a news release at the time. “I am forever grateful for the opportunity and for the friendships I forged then and enjoy today.”

Tom Peeples was born and reared in Ridgeland but worked on Hilton Head with his father, who sold goods door to door starting in the 1940s, long before there was a bridge to the island.

His legacy will come not just from growing up on the island but helping to build it as well, said Josh Peeples. “He did a million things that nobody saw.”

Josh Peeples recalled his father coaching and being an advocate for youth sports facilities among his many other grassroots community contributions. Tom Peeples helped build facilities at Barker Field.

“He was an amazing father,” Josh said.

“He always wanted to volunteer. ... He was always about putting in the man hours. He was a much bigger believer in showing up and putting in the time whether people saw it or not.”

Paula Harper Bethea of Hilton Head worked with Tom Peeples on his campaigns. She described him as honest, trustworthy, hard-working and courageous.

“Everything that he did as mayor for our island, he always had in mind ... how would it affect the greater community,” she said.

“He was a wonderful friend. ... He made me better, but he didn’t just make me better, he made the island better.”

As mayor, Tom Peeples was known as a consensus builder.

Steve Riley, former longtime Hilton Head town manager, said Peeples spent a lot of time calling council members and talking to community leaders to ask what he could do to bring them on board.

“He was always shooting for that consensus plan,” Riley said. “He worked very hard in the background to get support among civic groups and to bring (town) staff along.”

Riley said many people may not realize how Peeples’ vision and understanding of construction shaped the town that exists today.

“He championed the idea of working with Palmetto Electric to bury all the power lines on the island,” Riley explained. This would prove to be a major benefit after Hurricane Matthew.

Among Peoples’ other successes:

In 2010, just before he ended his last term as mayor, he talked to the Packet about what he saw as his greatest accomplishment.

“The town’s Land Acquisition Program,” he said. “The protection and development of Honey Horn as our museum is at the top of that list of benefits from that program.”

And his biggest disappointment? That was not having been able to fund a long-term home for a law enforcement center. “That was something we looked at doing for a decade,” he said.

When he retired from his construction business in 2021, land acquisition was still on his mind. He offered this advice for Hilton Head’s leaders, according an Island Packet column at the time: Don’t give away land the town bought to widen U.S. 278 on the north end.

“If we have to just give our land to the highway department for free, that’s not right,” he told the newspaper. “They should buy it, and we use the money to buy more land.”

In a statement released Monday, Hilton Head’s current Mayor Alan Perry lauded Tom Peeples’ vision for Hilton Head.

“I am truly saddened by the loss of a man who meant so much to the Town of Hilton Head Island,” Perry said. “Tom Peeples helped lay a foundation for the Island we know and love today. ... He did everything he could to not just build for that future but also protect the natural environment that makes Hilton Head Island so special.

“He was truly a local legend and will be missed dearly,” Perry said.

A celebration of life is planned from 4 to 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 30, at Honey Horn on Hilton Head.

This story was originally published April 22, 2024, 2:52 PM.

Are you looking for a special place to spend an evening for an anniversary, first date, business dinner, celebration or something else important?

Here is a list of the five best-ranked fine dining restaurants of 2024 on Hilton Head Island, according to Tripadvisor in an updated list.

Chez Georges Bistro & Bar

Placing fifth, Chez Georges is a French bistro that illuminates the elegance behind French cuisine. Chez Georges acts as a gathering place for families and friends, which serves traditional bistro staples while incorporating fresh, locally sourced ingredients from around South Carolina’s Lowcountry. Chez Georges can be found toward the south end of the island in Orleans Plaza at 37 New Orleans Road Suite J, Hilton Head Island, SC 29928.

The Jazz Corner

Ranked fourth on the list, The Jazz Corner features live jazz shows in a “moody space, accompanied by over-sized martinis & contemporary Southern food,” according to Google.

The “iconic and award-winning jazz club and restaurant on Hilton Head Island” has attracted fine music and cuisine connoisseurs since 1999. The locale features some of the finest entertainment from around the globe and is paired with Southern-inspired cuisine.

The Jazz Corner can be found in the Village at Wexford at 1000 William Hilton Parkway. The establishment is open daily and reservations can be made online at https://thejazzcorner.turntabletickets.com/.

Links, An American Grill

Links offers guests prime viewing of Harbour Town Golf Links, home of the PGA TOUR’s RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing golf tournament. Links, an American Grill is on the south end of the island in the Sea Pines resort community of Harbour Town and can be found within the Harbour Town Clubhouse. The 2023 “Travelers’ Choice Award” receiver offers beautiful views and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner. With both indoor and outdoor seating options, the premier fine-dining locale features a broad array of menu items and includes a Wine Spectator award-winning wine list, local craft beers, specialty cocktails and more.

Nunzio Restaurant + Bar

Ranked second overall, Nunzio Restaurant + Bar is open daily at 18 New Orleans Road on Hilton Head Island and offers guests the opportunity to experience homemade Italian cuisine through traditional meals and desserts.

The Italian restaurant offers fresh, simple and local dishes, according to Nunzio’s website, and displays a lively bar scene with Italian charm.

Nunzio is owned and operated by its executive chef, Nunzio Patruno, who designed the restaurant’s experience based on his love for the cuisine and wonderful wines.

Michael Anthony’s Cucina Italiana

Michael Anthony’s Cucina Italiana, located at 37 New Orleans Road on the island, is a renowned, award-winning Italian restaurant that offers fine Italian dining, a casual cafe and trattoria, a cooking school and an Italian specialty shop. The local fine-dining restaurant was ranked as the best overall by Tripadvisor for Hilton Head Island.

Dinner at Michael Anthony’s is served Monday through Saturday beginning at 5 p.m. and The Market Cafe is open from 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. for shopping, 11:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. for lunch and dinner beginning at 4:30 p.m.

Michael Anthony’s website says the restaurant showcases Italian cuisine from every corner of Italy, and their pasta and desserts are made in-house daily. They have a variety of menu options and include dietary options including vegetarian, vegan and gluten free.

The former Sam’s Club building on Hilton Head Island, which has been vacant since January 2017 when the big box retailer moved to Bluffton, has a new owner.

Hilton Head businessman J.R. Richardson, owner of the Richardson Group, purchased the property for $5.8 million, according to paperwork filed in Beaufort County. The deal closed Feb. 28.

Lee Lucier, chief operating officer for the Richardson Group, said on Thursday afternoon that Richardson aims to give the mid-island eyesore a new life, but it was too soon to speak of specifics.

“We were able to secure the property with the hopes of it being developed as a local asset to the community,” Lucier said. “We think we have a great plan going forward. We’re just working through the planning stages.”

The more than 70,000-square-foot building sits on 5.26 acres in Port Royal Plaza.

A small portion of the space will be a locally owned indoor pickleball club, Lucier said.

Richardson made the deal as part of a separate business, Barony Fund 1 Investment LLC. However, Richardson Group will manage the property at 95 Mathews Drive in Port Royal Plaza.

It currently is zoned for commercial development. Lucier said he didn’t anticipate the need to request rezoning.

“The property is in an Opportunity Zone, and we are glad to be able to use it as space for the island in a manner that will serve the community,” Richardson said in a statement.

Opportunity Zones are federally designated areas set up to encourage economic development and job creation by reducing taxes for investors. There are 135 Opportunity Zones in South Carolina but only one on Hilton Head.

In the seven years the former Sam’s Club building has been vacant, several businesses have announced plans that failed to materialize:

Richardson moved to Hilton Head with his father, mother and siblings in 1955. His father, James Norris Richardson, opened a supermarket and other stores in the area that would become the current Coligny Plaza on Hilton Head’s south end.

In addition to Coligny Plaza, the younger Richardson was also behind the development of Windmill Harbour and the South Carolina Yacht Club. Today, Richardson Group also includes Local Pie, Fish and Forrest Fire restaurants plus several workforce housing projects on Hilton Head Island.

Port Royal Plaza is also home to Planet Fitness and an assortment of shops and restaurants including Rollers Wine and Spirits, Fiesta Fresh, Okko, Street Meet, Paris Baguette and Jinya ramen bar, among others.

This story was originally published March 29, 2024, 11:39 AM.

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