Eroding State Mandate Effectiveness in the Land of Lucas

Abstract

With population growth in Southeastern coastal areas, and impending threats of both gradual and punctuated hazards from climate change, this article examines the effectiveness of one of the most stringent and celebrated state coastal management laws; namely, South Carolina's Beachfront Management Act of 1988 (BMA). The BMA's efficacy is gauged using a comprehensive mixed methodology, including: mandate assessment; plan quality evaluation; external conditions for plan creation and implementation; and post-regulatory conformance-based plan implementation assessment in two barrier island communities, the Towns of Hilton Head Island and Pawleys Island. This unique synthesis of policy analysis approaches reveals that a substantial volume of development has circumvented the BMA's policies, particularly the setback lines based on a forty-year erosion record, and the retreat objective. It exposes a classic challenge of minimal state implementation, prompted by timidity from the specter of Lucas v. South Carolina Coastal Council, and a need for improved institutional coordination.

Keywords:

• coastal retreat
• comprehensive policy analysis
• mandate effectiveness
• private property rights

Acknowledgments

The authors thank James B. London, Jeffery S. Allen, Courtney C. St. John, Samantha R. Jackson, and the Strom Thurmond Institute of Government and Public Affairs’ staff (Ellen Saltzman, Patrick Harris, and Sandra Sanderson) for their contributions to the larger research project from which this work originates. Braxton Davis, Curtis Joyner, Scott Davis, NOAA, and the GIS departments in the Town of Hilton Head and Beaufort and Georgetown Counties provided valuable guidance and data to make this analysis possible. Finally, we thank the three anonymous peer reviewers whose excellent feedback substantially improved our previous version of this article. Any remaining mistakes are our own.

Notes

1. It should be noted that at the time of this article's submission, the South Carolina Blue Ribbon Committee on Shoreline Management issued its draft Final Report, including recommendations for improved beachfront management in South Carolina. The public comment period was open for 30 days, and closed on March 12, 2013 (SCDHEC 2013). The report can be found at http://www.scdhec.gov/environment/ocrm/blue_ribbon.htm (accessed Oct. 12, 2013).