GAINSWave® Treatment in Sullivan's Island, SC

Over the past 15 years, a legal battle involving the Town of Sullivan’s Island’s maritime forest and some homeowners who front it has been tossed back and forth more than the sea spray along the accreted land in question. This month, the issue is again before the South Carolina Court of Appeals as the appellants respond to a 2023 decision ruling that a 2020 settlement with the town was unenforceable.

The nearly 200-acre maritime forest on the southern tip of Sullivan's Island has been described as resilient, flourishing, and protective — but the same could be said of the dispute between a few front beach property owners and the Town of Sullivan’s Island, the proprietor of the land in trust. Now back in court are the parties in a case that began in 2010, when oceanfront homeowners who could no longer see the ocean sought to force the town to trim and maintain original views of a shoreline that had moved farther away. Both parties are resilient — each has sued and countersued.

Things change — especially on a sea island. Sullivan’s Island is a barrier island, formed when water moves sand over time. Usually, barrier islands and oceanfront homeowners fight erosion and the very real threat of losing property. On the north end of Sullivan’s Island, this is the case. However, due to jetties built in the late 1800s, Sullivan’s Island is one of the few barrier islands in the United States with such extensive accretion of sand, land, and vegetation that a forest was created, sustained, and continues to grow.

Walk through the maritime forest today along sandy footpaths and wooden boardwalks and you’ll find secluded benches surrounded by thick underbrush and windswept trees. Many species of birds, butterflies, and bumblebees are visible, as are scurrying squirrels. Nocturnal creatures such as rodents, rabbits, raccoons, opossums, and coyotes remain hidden by day. Signs warn of coyotes in the area and of strong ocean currents, holes, and drop-offs — a caution to anyone who might swim nearby. Turn one way and see the beach as the path opens up; turn the other and catch glimpses of homes in the distance, obscured by trees and brush.

Ultimately, this maritime forest acts as a protector of the Sullivan’s Island coast. It absorbs wave and wind energy before it reaches inland, meaning the homes behind it are better protected from storms — as is Mount Pleasant.

This role of Sullivan’s Island as a Lowcountry protector is nothing new. Walk in the footsteps of history at the western end of the Sullivan’s Island Nature Trail in the maritime forest. Before the First Siege of Charleston in 1776, Col. William Moultrie led the construction of Fort Sullivan, the island’s first military fortification. It consisted of a 16-foot-thick palmetto cribbing filled with sand. During the Battle of Sullivan’s Island, the native sabal palmetto trees enabled Americans to fend off British warships, marking the first major victory of the American Revolution.

Sand and trees as protectors — that’s precisely the benefit provided by the maritime forest. Yet nature has a tendency to grow and change. That growth is at the root of the ongoing litigation. The appellants claim their property values have diminished because of the forest, yet a simple online search for homes along Atlantic Avenue fronting the maritime forest shows that the accretion is often listed as a positive feature, increasing privacy and protection while maintaining ocean views and access.

At the heart of this pending litigation is the notion that the Town of Sullivan’s Island is obligated to maintain the maritime forest vegetation — and that by not doing so, the town is in breach of contract. The most recent voided settlement spells out those obligations in detail. The original deed gives the town this power but does not obligate it.

Attorney for the plaintiffs, James Hood, said his clients “simply want the Town of Sullivan’s Island to do what it promised to do. Nothing more and nothing less.”

History of the litigation

After Hurricane Hugo ravaged the Charleston area and residents began to rebuild, the Town of Sullivan’s Island sought to protect the accreted land through a heavily restricted deed with the Lowcountry Open Land Trust. After watching a developer bulldoze accretion on Isle of Palms to make way for development, the town had the foresight to protect its own accreted land for residents’ safety as well as for its aesthetic, educational, and ecological value.

In 2010, homeowners Nathan and Ettaleah Bluestein, M.D., along with Theodore Albenesius III and Karen Albenesius, applied for a permit to cut down vegetation between their homes and the ocean. When they were denied, they sued the town (Bluestein v. Town of Sullivan’s Island). They argued that their property values were affected, that the forest was a nuisance harboring wild animals, and that their ocean views and breezes were obstructed. They pointed to the 1991 deed, claiming it required the town to keep the vegetation at the low-brush state that existed when the deed was enacted.

For a decade, the case went through several courts, including the South Carolina Supreme Court and the South Carolina Court of Appeals. In 2018, the Court of Appeals sided with the town. In 2020, the Supreme Court reversed the lower court’s ruling and recommended further proceedings due to the “ambiguity” of the 1991 deed’s language regarding maintenance obligations. A settlement was reached that same year, with the town agreeing to selective trimming — provided the homeowners obtained necessary permits and funded the work.

A new Town Council was elected in 2021. In 2023, it challenged the 2020 settlement, and a circuit court judge ruled it unenforceable, stating that a previous Town Council cannot dictate what a future Council must do with its governmental powers under the deed.

This month, the 2023 reversal was appealed by Nathan Bluestein and Theodore Albenesius III. Ettaleah Bluestein, M.D., passed away in 2019, and Karen Albenesius has since divorced and is no longer a plaintiff.

At the Oct. 8, 2025, hearing before the South Carolina Court of Appeals, the appellants’ attorney, James Hood, described his response to the nullification of the 2020 settlement:

“I think it’s illogical, and I think a conclusion that determines that maintenance of your property as you’re obligated to do it by the restrictive covenants that you negotiated, put on it, and then purchased it back — if you can’t do that as part of your proprietary function, then you can’t put on restrictive covenants. You can’t put historic easements. You can’t encumber property in the future.”

In response, attorney for the town, Greenville-based lawyer William Wilkins, argued that the 2020 settlement was too restrictive on future Town Councils.

“This prior Council is attempting to dictate to future Councils how it must spend taxpayer dollars of some unspecified amount. Without question, this is impairment of governmental powers.”

Looking forward

In April 2024, the Town of Sullivan’s Island hired a director of resilience and natural resource management, Rebecca Fanning, to use evidence-based decision-making to advise on land management and lead community engagement events fostering appreciation for the island’s natural resources.

Fanning said her role’s creation “has been a tremendous step in the right direction toward evidence-based land stewardship practices tailored to the unique challenges and opportunities of the barrier island environment.”

Sullivan’s Island is Fanning’s hometown, and she spent her childhood playing in the island’s maritime forest and forested batteries.

“I am uniquely aware of the forest succession that has taken place since the year Hugo hit,” Fanning said, “and the added value of those woods with their wonderful understories for providing forage and shelter for migratory warblers, nesting painted buntings, southern leopard frogs, fireflies, mosquito fish, praying mantises, and a host of other amazing creatures that call this place home.”

“Last year under my leadership,” she said, “several front beach homeowners pursued permits to remove more than 1,000 invasive popcorn trees from the maritime forest. Once the invasive removals were complete, I seeded the areas with beautiful saltmarsh mallow to suppress next year’s invasive reemergence, and a riot of pink blossoms emerged to greet the bumblebees that depend on native plant nectar and pollen to feed their young. We are only just getting that popcorn removal permitting process the attention it deserves, and I expect we will at least double that number this winter season.”

Town Administrator Joe Henderson said, “The town is committed to protecting its governmental powers by acting in the public interest on matters concerning the preservation and maintenance of the maritime forest now and in the future.”

At the Oct. 8, 2025, hearing, Wilkins also spoke about the validity of the 2020 agreement:

“This contract provides in perpetuity. It is to last forever, and that certainly is not a proprietary function that is appropriate. I might add that this contract says it is binding on the parties, their heirs, their successors and assigns, clearly making this a contract to last in perpetuity. The agreement also says it may not be modified or amended ‘except upon the mutual agreement of all parties and their authorized agents.’ This is clearly an attempt to give private citizens — the parties, their heirs, their successors and assigns and their authorized agents — the ability to veto any future act that any future Council wishes to take with regard to the accreted land.”

A land trust sign on the nature trail in the maritime forest claims this property at the heart of the lawsuit is “protected forever.” To many residents, it’s a promise of good stewardship for the future, but for a few, it’s a challenge — and a reminder that the fight continues.

The South Carolina Court of Appeals is expected to issue its decision by early 2026.

SULLIVAN’S ISLAND, S.C. (WCBD) – Town council candidates spoke at a community forum, answering questions from the public.

News 2’s Brendan Clark moderated the event. Candidates touched on several topics, including town finances, stormwater management and plans for the maritime forest.

The forum began with candidates discussing their top priorities for the town if they are chosen.

People heard from:

Laura Shcroeder, who has served for years on the Island’s planning commission. She says her priority is transparency.

“It’s hard to know exactly where our tax dollars are going if we don’t have full transparency of how it’s being spent,” Schroeder said. “Additionally, this council takes most conversations into private sessions instead of having open and frank discussions with residents so they can hear what each council member is really thinking.”

Justin Novak, who is seeking re-election. He says stormwater management.

“We also have antiquated stormwater infrastructure that’s owned and should be maintained by the department of transportation,” Novak said. “It is not. What we have done is started putting money away for this in the long term.”

Scott Millimet is also an incumbent. He agrees on stormwater management.

“Executing the plans that are already in place for stormwater management,” Millimet said. “We broke ground a couple of weeks ago on the initial funded projects. That should be wrapping up by the end of next year. So, we’ve got already engineering plans that we need to get funding for.”

Gary Visser is the third candidate seeking re-election. He says staying open to a wide variety of ideas from the public.

“Ensuring that we have a community that has discussions of goofy ideas more and more,” Visser said. “The more you bring your ideas, the more we all benefit. We want ideas to be discussed, we want you to be able to provide your input so they become crafted.”

And Melanie Burkhold. She says she is an active St. Andrews church member and MUSC volunteer. She says transparency and giving people more opportunities to speak up is a top priority.

“Implement town halls,” Burkhold said. “True town halls. Like here at the church, or at the school. So we can go back and forth. It would be on critical issues. Bury the power lines, stormwater, maritime forest. We have a back and forth with experts, with town council, with y’all.”

SULLIVAN’S ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - The town of Sullivan’s Island is working to reduce the effects of flooding with projects in the works and a study that forecasts sea level rise and offers solutions to combat it.

A working stormwater system on Sullivans Island is no longer just a pipe dream, Mayor Patrick O’Neill said.

“This is the exciting beginning to a project that’s been years in the making,” he said.

The existing storm drain system is failing, leading to flooding.

“We’re going be removing and replacing some of the existing storm drains and putting in new,” Golf Stream Construction Senior Project Manager Cam Cooper said.

Crews are working on adding massive pipes starting with Station 28.5 and Station 31. O’Neill said the pipes will make it easier for rainwater to get collected and flow out to the marsh. That is one of several flood related projects the town is prioritizing.

Town council will look at a sea level adaptation and resilience plan, which highlights nature-based solutions, on Tuesday.

“What we’re really trying to do with these practices as is mimic predevelopment hydrology, so water moves across the land like before we built upon it,” Weston & Sampson Team Leader Kim Morganello said.

The plan will recommend ten adaptation strategies including redesigning Middle Street, a main road on the island. Researchers looked at where street level rain gardens can be added and where permeable parking would be possible.

The study also looked at open space around the island, researchers identified 33 specific locations that could have nature-based solutions. One of the projects is already moving into implementation, a rain garden will be going in at the Sullivans Island Elementary School.

Morganello said the plan serves as a guidebook through 2050 for the town to reference among anticipated increases in high tides and storms. A model allowed researchers to simulate what the future on the island could look like.

“We increased the title storm search value to almost two feet to show what it would look like in 2050. We also added an increase in rainfall depth to simulate some stronger, more frequent and more intense storms,” Weston & Sampson Senior Project Scientist Lucas Hernandez said.

Hernandez said the models and research provides the town with information that will allow officials to begin to address some items on the community rating system through FEMA.

“That system actually feeds into the insurance premiums for a community standpoint,” Hernandez said.

O’Neill added being proactive on anticipated flood concerns is the best strategy for the town.

“We’re definitely planning for tomorrow’s needs and not today because we do expect sea level rise will continue, we expect there to be more extreme rain events, so we’re trying to plan ahead for that,” O’Neill said.

At Tuesday’s council meeting, members could accept the sea level adaptation and resilience plan document, but they will not be voting on anything in it. O’Neill said as the town considers those solutions there will be opportunity for community involvement along the way.

Click here to review the draft plan.

Click here for the latest on Sullivan’s Island Town Council meetings.

SULLIVAN’S ISLAND — Running low on gunpowder, Col. William Moultrie’s men timed their cannon fire carefully on June 28, 1776.

From behind the walls of a makeshift fortress made of palmetto logs and damp sand, the soldiers of the Continental Army’s 2nd South Carolina Regiment fought back the well-armed ships of the British Royal Navy.

And against all odds, they won.

America’s first decisive victory against British forces is a well-known story among South Carolina natives and locals. Now the Battle of Sullivan’s Island is commemorated in a new documentary produced in time for the 250th anniversary of the American Revolution.

“The Battle of Sullivan’s Island,” produced by Wide Awake Films and commissioned by South Carolina 250, premiered Nov. 6 to a packed house at the Charleston Library Society.

“Our team is dedicated to creating media that breathes new life into stories from the past and hopefully spurs new generations to get hooked on history. That's our mission,” said Shane Seley, founder of Wide Awake Films.

The 13-minute short film is available for free on the S.C. American Revolution 250 Commission YouTube channel. The documentary depicts the battle that proved to British forces that they wouldn’t easily lay siege to Charleston. The triumph is celebrated each year Carolina Day on June 28.

It took over a year to produce as the filmmakers poured over maps and books, researched period-specific military uniforms and consulted with historians. Rob Shenk, an SC 250 board member and chief content officer for Wide Awake Films, said the goal was to create an accurate retelling of the Battle of Sullivan’s Island and the critical moments that led Moultrie and his regiment to victory — and bring the story of this early American victory into the mainstream.

“This film was built to kind of build awareness, to be a vanguard, to help people to understand this important moment in our history,” Shenk said.

In the weeks leading up to the battle, Moultrie’s men constructed a fort with palmetto logs and sand. Though some had wavering faith in the makeshift fortress (Maj. Gen. Charles Lee dubbed it a “slaughtering pen”), the logs proved incredibly useful at absorbing blows from British cannonballs.

But that wasn’t the only reason for the American’s success.

The British Royal Navy hired local Black harbor pilots to guide their warships through the Charleston Harbor. With Moultrie’s regiment vastly outnumbered, the ships approached Sullivan’s Island in a major show of force against the American soldiers.

A trio of ships, the Sphinx, Syren and Actaeon, were dispatched by British Maj. Gen. Henry Clinton. They were to sail behind the fort. In their attempt to flank Moultrie’s troops, the three ships ran onto a hidden shoal. With these ships stuck on a sandbar, the soldiers on Sullivan’s Island only had the handful of warships on the British mainlines to focus on.

“Those three ships were trying to flank and provide enfilading fire down the side of the fort,” said historian Doug MacIntyre. “If they had succeeded in that, we would have lost, basically, because his men would not have been able to withstand that and fight.”

Still, the 2nd Regiment was extremely low on gunpowder and fired at the enemy ships only once every 10 minutes. Though the American blows were accurate, severely wounding British soldiers manning the ships and significantly damaging their artillery, a lone blow from a Royal cannon knocked down the fort’s flag.

The liberty flag, indigo-hued and bearing a white crescent, toppled from the fort. Sgt. William Jasper refused to continue the fight without the flag and successfully evaded enemy fire to retrieve it. He secured it once more over the fort — signaling to the British forces that the battle was not yet over.

As the sun set on June 28, a delivery of over 500 pounds of gunpowder arrived. The delivery from South Carolina president John C. Rutledge arrived at a critical time and gave Moultrie’s men the necessary power to deliver the final blows to the British. Clinton’s ships surrendered shortly after.

“The absolute victory for the Americans was a disgraceful disaster for the British. Following their defeat at Sullivan’s Island, the British military had no base for southern operations,” MacIntyre said. “They realized claiming Charleston and the South would not be easy.”

Despite British weaponry outnumbered the Americans’ 8 to 1, the British saw far more casualties than the Patriots. The 2nd Regiment reported 37 dead and wounded soldiers after the battle, compared to the 200-plus dead and injured soldiers recorded by the British. One Royal Navy soldier wrote that they “have never had such a drubbing” in their lives, describing the unexpected defeat.

SULLIVAN’S ISLAND — Two homeowners have taken their fight to cut down parts of the island's maritime forest back to court.

The latest appeal heard Oct. 8 brings the legal battle into its 15th year.

In 2023, a judge tossed out a settlement that residents Nathan Bluestein and Theodore Albensius had reached with the town agreeing to remove an unprecedented number of trees from the forest behind their homes in a detailed maintenance plan.

The trees stand between their property, as well as their neighbors’ land, and the ocean.

The S.C. Court of Appeals heard arguments Oct. 8 in Columbia from the plaintiff’s attorney, James Hood, and Greenville-based lawyer William Wilkins, who represents the town.

“We're hopeful that the Court of Appeals will order the town of Sullivan's Island to do what it agreed to do,” Hood told The Post and Courier.

The lush forest that spans more than 200 acres of accreted sand on Sullivan’s Island is relatively young. The forest took hold in the 1950s and has been left to its own devices ever since. This untamed growth became a sticking point for residents living behind it.

The property owners, Bluestein and Albensius, sued the town in 2010 for failing to manage the forest. They argued the overgrowth brought mosquitos, raccoons, snakes and coyotes and created fire hazards. In their initial complaint, the homeowners claimed the thick forest’s growth had deprived them of ocean views and breezes and lowered their property values.

In 2020, the homeowners settled with the town. Under the terms of the agreement, Sullivan’s Island would selectively thin zones of the forest and remove more trees than had previously been allowed before. Any future town council would be bound to this agreement, too.

Shortly after the agreement was executed, Sullivan’s Island elected an entirely new town council, save for Mayor Pat O’Neil, who voted against settling the litigation in the first place. The compromise also drew criticism from some residents, including a local environmental advocacy group called Sullivan’s Island for All, who decried the impending tree removals.

The newly elected council sought to overturn the agreement and in 2023 were successful.

Charleston County Circuit Judge Jennifer McCoy ruled the settlement unenforceable because a previous town council had agreed to its terms. The agreement restricted council from adopting future regulations preserving or maintaining the land as public interests change, McCoy wrote.

Wilkins argued this point again Oct. 8.

“A prior council may not tell a future council what it must do or what it may not do regarding the exercise of its governmental powers,” Wilkins said.

Hood disagreed with that assessment. His clients are asking to reverse the 2023 judgment that voided their agreement with the town.

“What they did in this case was they settled a lawsuit, then they turned around and sued the people they settled with and forced them to go back to court to defend a settlement agreement that the town had agreed upon,” Hood said. “My clients’ hope is that the town of Sullivan's Island would recognize its obligation to do the work of its constituents, and that would include living up to the promises it makes.”