From The Blog

Commercial Access Fees to Increase in 2023

The Kiawah Island Community Association manages all Kiawah Island gate access, including access for commercial businesses like your service providers, contractors, delivery companies, etc. Since Kiawah is a private island, access is carefully managed and all commercial entities must pay a fee to enter the island, even if a member has requested their services. Enacted at the 1994 KICA Annual Meeting, the commercial access fee was a way to augment funding for the maintenance and upkeep of the island’s private roads.

With the approval of the 2023 budget, the board of directors also approved an increase in these fees to go into effect in 2023. Commercial access fees for most pass or decal types haven’t increased in five years. KICA’s 4-wheel pass rate, which will increase from $12 to $15 in January, hasn’t changed since 2012.

With the increasing costs that the association faces for road maintenance and repair, the Finance Committee recommended the increases which go directly toward infrastructure maintenance. In 2023, commercial access fees account for almost 29% ($2.16 million) of the Reserve Budget.

Interested in how commercial access works for your service providers? Find more information here.