Hello Folly Beach Residents
My name is John Pavlinec, and I live at Mariners Cay (the largest HOA in Folly Beach), having served on the MC Board of Directors for 6 years and subsequently stepping down early this year. I wanted to share my experience and the importance of a balanced community. As a member of the Board, I was tapped to help manage the short-term rentals within our community.
Because of the importance of this year’s mayoral race and each candidate’s opposing positions on how to manage short-term rentals, I strongly urge your support of Chris Bizzell for Mayor of Folly Beach
In 2019, short-term renters comprised 34% of Mariners Cay–it is now approximately 21%. I am not going to dwell on the downside of transients moving in and out of our community, only to say that the spirit of Mariners Cay residential community has improved dramatically since the drop in short-term rentals.
Going forward, we want to continue to maintain this balanced approach and hopefully keep the rental units below 25%.
Why Vote for Chris Bizzell
Chris Bizzell is a fair and thoughtful individual who wants to keep a balanced approach with respect to the question of short-term rentals and would work within the framework of the referendum that was passed three years ago by Folly Beach residents to cap investor short-term rental (ISTR) at 800.
While Chris recognizes that some changes are needed, he believes such changes should be measured, not the wholesale changes that some on the City Council (who seem to favor the business community) want to make, and such changes that Elton Culpepper is advocating could be dramatic changes, potentially eliminating HOA’s from the cap or the cap completely.
If you want to vote for someone who is unbiased and has the best interests of you, the Folly Beach residents, at heart, vote for Chris Bizzell.
Other Points
Some say that HOAs control their own destiny. Some HOAs might, but not for us a Mariners Cay.
To give you an example, we have 135 units. To change our Master Deed, we need 75% of our residents to approve the change. If everyone voted (and not everyone does), we would need 102 affirmative votes to pass a change. A “none” vote is considered a “no” vote,
If these rules apply to Folly Beach (of which you need only 51% of the voters) nothing could be accomplished.
Back in 2022, due to lawsuits and the concentration of short-term renters, Mariners Cay was on the verge of losing its liability insurance coverage, which is critical in protecting our Board members and property management company.
In closing, I am sympathetic to short-term rental owners (having been one myself) and the business community, and believe all people have rights. Since the cap was enacted at the beginning of 2023, real estate prices (average sales price) have not decreased but increased. This information is published by the Trident Realtors Association. As an example, condos/townhomes have increased (average sales price) approximately 12.2% from January 1, 2023, to August 2025.
But for the sake of our community, a reasonable and measured approach needs to be taken, which will be accomplished by Chris Bizzell if he is elected Mayor of Folly Beach.
I implore you to recognize that Mariners Cay is extremely vulnerable to changes in the referendum. It has been discussed to eliminate HOA’s from the cap entirely. If the cap on short-term renters is lifted, each HOA community would have to fend for itself, and dire consequences could follow.
A concerned resident.
John Pavlinec
