Sullivan’s Island’s zoning administrator thinks the house at 3115 Ion is being used as a short-term rental and therefore is in violation of the town’s zoning ordinances. The company that is selling fractional ownerships in the luxury home not far from the beach disagrees. The town’s Board of Zoning Appeals will decide who is right and who is wrong Feb. 9, but the case could drag on for an extended period of time if it makes its way to circuit court and beyond. Meanwhile, with at least three shares of the property already sold, people apparently are using the house as a vacation retreat.
Sullivan’s Island Director of Planning and Zoning Charles Drayton said “there has been transient use of the property.” Brian McGuigan, director of corporate communications for Pacaso, a California-based company that is offering fractional ownerships in the house through 2 SC Lighthouse, an LLC with a Columbia, South Carolina, address, wouldn’t say how many people currently own shares of the home. He said Pacaso homes generally have an average of six owners.
“We feel very confident,” Drayton commented. “This is a well-tested ordinance, this prohibition on vacation rentals. It’s very well-defined. They are in violation of the spirit of the ordinance.” “We are not a vacation rental,” McGuigan countered. “A key part is the city’s definition of what is a vacation rental. It doesn’t apply to a Pacaso home, which is used by owners and their guests. They are on the deed. They own the home. We prohibit short-term rentals.” Drayton and McGuigan apparently disagree on issues other than whether the home is a vacation rental.
According to the zoning administrator, the case could have been heard by the Board of Zoning Appeals on Jan. 12, but Pacaso requested a delay until Feb. 9. McGuigan said Pacaso filed its notice of appeal in November and expected the hearing to be held at the BZA’s first meeting of 2023. “That was surprising to us,” McGuigan remarked. “We figured it would be heard sooner.” The case could be decided by how the BZA or the courts interpret the town’s zoning ordinance. The law defines a vacation rental as “the commercial use of a principal building that is: (1) rented, leased, assigned for tenancies; or (2) made available for use, occupancy, possession, sleeping accommodations or lodging for one or more persons in return for valuable consideration for any period of less than 28 continuous days duration.” In an Oct. 7 letter to 2 SC Lighthouse, LLC, Drayton pointed out that a one-eighth ownership entitles a fractional owner to stay in the home for only two to 14 days at a time.
The 4,331-square-foot house, with five bedrooms and 6.5baths, was built in 2018. Pacaso paid $5.98 million for the home in April 2022. One-eighth shares are offered on the company’s website for $902,000.
