From The Blog

Agreement Conveys a Portion of Captain Sam’s Spit to the Kiawah Island Community Association

The Kiawah Island Community Association (KICA) is pleased to announce that Kiawah Partners has agreed to transfer by quitclaim deed the non-buildable land at Captain Sam’s Spit, as stated in the Amended and Restated Development Agreement, to the community association to hold in common for the benefit of the membership.

Captain Sam’s Spit is approximately 155 acres of undeveloped land at the western end of Kiawah Island, surrounded by water on three sides, where the Kiawah River inlet meets the Atlantic Ocean. This agreement means that a portion of the spit will be held by the community association, which represents all members on Kiawah Island.

The land to be conveyed is a refuge for wildlife, providing the sandy shores for a rare and captivating hunting behavior: bottlenose dolphin strand feeding. It’s one of the few places in the world where dolphins corral fish along the shore, and then create a wave to push the fish and themselves onto the beach to eat the fish before sliding back into the water. It’s also a restful retreat for migrating shorebirds like red knots and the piping plover. Kiawah’s bobcats roam the spit and loggerhead sea turtles use the oceanside beach as their nesting ground each summer.

Captain Sam’s Spit has been owned by Kiawah’s master developer, now Kiawah Partners, since the 1970s. It’s one of Kiawah’s few remaining pieces of undeveloped land, and now Kiawah Partners has taken the significant step to convey the non-buildable property to the community association.

The conveyance agreement between Kiawah Partners and KICA specifies that Kiawah Partners will prepare and present a quitclaim deed that conveys the land outlined in the development agreement to KICA within ten days of the Jan. 31, 2024 agreement. Currently, a survey of the property is being conducted to determine the specified acreage and then approval of the plat will be needed for the conveyance. The community association will release the survey and final acreage once it’s completed. The deed will be held for 90 days by an escrow agent, and then the escrow agent will record the deed with Charleston County Register of Deeds, unless instructed by KICA to delay the recording for the purpose of amending the deed. (No changes can be made in escrow by the developer.) The agreement also provides a commitment to convey the marshland surrounding Captain Sam’s Spit to KICA, at a later date.

All of KICA’s elected, member representative directors voted in favor of this agreement on Tuesday, Jan. 30 in an email vote: 6 yes, 0 no. Kiawah Partners’ board representative Amanda Mole abstained from the discussions and the vote.

We hope that the community will celebrate this agreement, which will protect wildlife and increase the land held for the enjoyment of property owners. “This is a monumental win for Kiawah Island,” shared Kiawah Island Community Association board chair Jerry McGee. “It’s been a long time coming and the KICA Board is proud that we have come to an agreement with the Partners.”

A representative of the developer echoed Jerry’s gratitude. “Kiawah Partners thanks the Kiawah Island Community Association board for reaching this resolution. Their efforts to work with us in pursuit of the outcome that we all desire for the future of Captain Sam’s is greatly appreciated.”