Guest Blog: Ken Gort, Architect, Talks Emergency Permitting on Hilton Head Island; Part I

Click Here for Part II

Hopefully, a catastrophic weather event will never visit Hilton Head Island. Imagine not being allowed to rebuild your property as it previously existed? This is likely the case with your property as changes to the local codes and ordinances have established new and more restrictive design standards.

The Town of Hilton Head Island’s Land Management Ordinance (LMO) offers a pre-disaster recovery procedure called Emergency Permitting. This procedure allows the rebuilding of existing homes and businesses including all their non conforming features “to a state or condition that existed prior to the disaster without the necessity of a full review….under the Land Management Ordinance”. A non-conforming property feature may be its use, building size, setbacks, a deck, signage, buffers, parking, pool, etc. All new vertical construction must comply with current building codes and FEMA regulations.

Digital Docs Emergency Permitting services have been successfully performed by our licensed professionals with over 25 years of land planning, building design and construction experience on over 100 Hilton Head Island properties. We are very familiar with the LMO requirements and the town staff administering the procedure. We will efficiently and accurately assemble the required drawings and documentation to protect your property.

Features & Benefits of an Emergency Permit:

• Right to rebuild all structures to pre disaster conditions
• Grandfather all non conforming site and building features
• Duplication of physical features necessary for business success
• Transferable with the sale of the property
• Property Value includes land plus rights to rebuild structures
• Commence Design and Drawings immediately
• Accurate record for an insurance claim and settlement
• There is no cost if we are unsuccessful in securing an Emergency Permit. The procedure takes about 2 weeks.

Act now before a disaster to avoid several months of LMO approval delays, tens of thousands of dollars in fees and costs and the uncertainties involving the increasingly more restrictive Land Management Ordinance.

I can be contacted by email klgort@aol.com or by phone 843-384-6566 to answer your questions and provide a quotation of the fee to secure an Emergency Permit for your property.

Thank You,

Kenneth L. Gort, Architect, Owner of Digital Docs

Be sure to look out for Ken’s next guest blog where he shares the other service that he offers, and a few examples of some residential and commercial properties that have benefitted from the feature of an Emergency Permit.