Frequently Asked Questions

Small individual pieces of furniture may be transported on the ferry (i.e., table, chair, etc.) However, the ferry is not intended for moving large quantities of furniture/ goods such as multiple rooms or whole house moves. The owner must provide adequate manpower to safely position any items on the ferry such that the ferry crew is not required to lift or move heavy, bulky items. Owners moving large amounts of furniture or household items should arrange barge and/or skiff transport.

Any project requiring ARB approval should make appropriate arrangements for the transport of all building materials to the island by barge or skiff services provided by the POA.

Per USCG Policy, cargo must not obstruct any doorways, exits, or safe passageways on any vessel, nor shall cargo present any hazard to other passengers or crew.

The POA is not liable in any way for groceries delivered to the Dewees Island Marina.

Owners are entirely responsible for organizing, arranging, and monitoring the delivery of their groceries to Dewees Island.

Groceries can be placed in a POA ferry cart with the name of the owner clearly written on the bags. The delivery person should inform the owner that their groceries have been delivered.

The owner is responsible for calling the ferry to let them know that their groceries were delivered. The groceries will be transported on the next ferry that has passengers. The owner is responsible for checking on the status of their grocery delivery.

A grocery cart will not precede luggage carts for riding passengers. If there is no space available for luggage carts on the current ferry, groceries will be placed in a bin and hand-carried onto the ferry.

Once an owner has confirmed the delivery of groceries on the ferry to the Island, they are responsible to retrieve the groceries upon the ferry’s arrival.

Owners understand and accept that animals frequent the Dewees Isle of Palms Marina as well as the Dewees Island ferry dock and the POA accepts no responsibility for the completeness, quality, and condition of the groceries delivered.

General pruning within the disturbed area around your house is allowed without approval. However, trimming or removing native trees and larger pruning projects require ARB approval.

Yes, bird feeders are allowed but should be managed to prevent seed from falling on the ground to avoid attracting unwanted animals like raccoons or rodents.

The speed limit on the island is 17mph. All stop signs must be obeyed. Public Safety is responsible for monitoring safe driving practices and can give warnings or tickets for violations.

The following maximum sizes apply for vehicles on the island.

• Length = 148″
• Width = 58″
• Height = 78″
• Weight, including batteries = 2500 pounds

All carts must be registered with public safety and are subject to an annual registration fee of $200 per cart, due every October.

Carts must have working brakes. To operate safely, any cart driven after sunset must have working headlights.

Golf carts may have a maximum speed capability of 25 MPH. Any vehicle capable of going more than 25 MPH must:

1. be approved in writing by the POA Board and
2. be outfitted with a governor that limits the top speed to 25 mph.

Carts must be properly identified with your lot number on the front, driver’s side and passenger side of the cart. Last names on golf carts help to identify our neighbors but are not mandatory. (Updated 10/22)

The following types of vehicles are not permitted on the island:

• Amphibious vehicles, such as Quadskis
• Off-road vehicles, such as ATVs, Quadbikes and Off-road Motorcycles
• Full-size electric cars
• Any vehicle with a combustion engine, except as otherwise allowed for construction, and POA and DUC purposes

Maintenance: Like any motorized vehicle, golf carts should be driven with care. They should be maintained in good working order and operated safely. Use care in puddles and soft sand. There is an air compressor for filling tires at Public Works. It's recommended that you keep a jack and spare tire handy, as well as a tow rope and extra battery cables. Golf carts run on deep-cycle batteries and need 6-8 hours for a full charge. Batteries should be maintained with fresh distilled water or RO water and have cables checked regularly. The chargers at the ferry dock are for shuttle carts only. The best place to charge your cart is at your home, overnight. There are electrical outlets at the Landings Building where lot owners

Propane is delivered to the island by barge and is delivered to homes with a buried propane tank. Homeowners are responsible for reading their tank gauges and contacting the POA Administrator when they need to refill their tank. At that time a propane truck will be scheduled, and homeowners will be informed of the delivery. All new homes are required to have buried tanks rather than above-ground tanks.

Grill tanks and 100 lb tanks can be dropped off at the Public Works area on the right-hand side and picked up full on the left-hand side. Be sure to have your lot number on the tank when you drop it off.

Residents have numbered mailboxes under the Landings building. You will receive a key from Public Safety. UPS, FedEx, and USPS packages are stored in a locked room behind the mailboxes, the key to which is under the shelf near the door.  If you have mail that is too large to fit in your mailbox, you will receive a numbered key in your mailbox to one of the 4 large boxes towards the RO outlet.

All packages must be addressed to an owner. 

There are Mailboxes for on and off-island mail delivery outside the Landings Building.

Weekly Newsletter: Official Dewees Island POA communications are posted on the website and by email to owners every week or on an as-needed basis. Important administrative information (letters from the President, updates about ferries, storms, barge runs, staff and owner changes, etc.) may be found there.

Island Bulletin Boards: Bulletin Boards at the Ferry Dock, Huyler House, and Landings Building provide updates on Social Committee events, Environmental Program activities, and other timely information.

The Social Committee plans community events. Happy Hour gatherings are held every Friday in the Huyler House at 5:30 pm 6:30 p.m. in the summer. Bring your beverage and a nibble. Owner and outside speakers are often slated to present interesting topics.

Book Club: The Book Club meets once a month.

Arts Council: Throughout the year, the Arts Council sponsors gallery exhibits of local and visiting artists, usually accompanied by an art opening/ wine and cheese party. The council oversees the permanent collection as well, and schedules concerts and special events at the Huyler House.

Visit Deweesislandsc.com for regular activities throughout the year.

Solar Lighting on Driveways

Outside of the easement and within owners’ personal property, solar lighting is permitted along driveways so long as it is:

• shielded, low, and down casted
• amber or red in color
• contained within the approved disturbance area and NOT within the POA roadside easement.

Home Lighting

Site lighting should be kept to a minimum and used solely to provide night visibility for pedestrians.  Flood and spotlights can be disorienting to wildlife and will not be permitted.  Outdoor lighting may be accomplished by indirect means such as shielded path lights or step lights.  The casting of light shall be contained within your disturbed area.  All lighting should be as energy efficient as possible.

To ensure the casting of light is contained within your disturbed area, exterior lighting for porches, decks, ground level and stairs must be low-wattage, completely downward-directed, shielded and only long wavelength 560 mm or greater (amber or orange).

Window fixtures should not allow interior lights to be seen from the beach during May through October to prevent disorientation of sea turtle hatchlings.  Windows should have one or more of the following installed: curtains to cover the windows at night, interior fixtures with shades instead of exposed bulbs, utilize low wattage, warm white bulbs, or apply window tint to windows of 45% inside to outside transmittance standards for tinted glass.

What should I do if I encounter an alligator?

 If an alligator is present while fishing or crabbing, you must leave the area. Contact Public Safety at (843) 296-4952 if you believe the alligator is acting aggressively. Never feed or approach alligators.

How do I protect sea turtles and other wildlife?

 Avoid bright lights near the beach, especially during turtle nesting season (May-October). Use amber or red lighting, and do not disturb nesting turtles or hatchlings. Always follow the island's lighting policies to protect wildlife.

What should I do if I see a nesting bird or shorebird area?

 Stay away from marked nesting areas and avoid disturbing birds. Walking near dunes and nesting zones can harm endangered shorebirds like Piping Plovers and American Oystercatchers.