Sea Pines Commercial Architectural Review Board

Charles Fraser developed his groundbreaking, and award-winning,  plan for a large, planned development on Hilton Head Island in the 1950s.  Its concepts and design have been studied and copied for decades across the country.  What people know today as Sea Pines, is but a portion of the larger land mass that Charles and his team worked with.  There is the private gated community of Sea Pines, with residential and multi-family developments, resorts, commercial districts, and a wide range of community amenities and renowned golf courses.

But there are adjacent areas where the Sea Pines Company provided for community-serving commercial and light industrial uses, senior living, and more affordable residential uses.  Land was donated for churches, schools and other civic uses.  Design review control was retained by the Sea Pines Company.  In 1983,  the Town of Hilton Head Island was incorporated and overlayed its own zoning and design review standards to these “non-PUD” areas.  The enforcement responsibilities for the Sea Pines Commercial Architectural Review Board (CARB) eventually flowed to Community Services Associates (CSA) which serves as the homeowners’ association for Sea Pines, in addition to other duties.  

Enforcement of the CARB covenants had become inconsistent over time, and conflicts with the Town’s ordinances had arisen on occasion .  In 2024, CSA engaged Steve Riley Consulting to assist in updating the CARB’s standards and review procedures, with a view to streamlining the process and reducing conflicts between the two permitting entities.  Mary Jo Riley, a retired architectural designer, joined Steve in this effort.  After reviewing the series of covenants that had been adopted in the early years of Sea Pines’ development, and examining Town’s ordinances and design guidelines, our team updated design standards, application forms, and administrative procedures.  These have been adopted and implemented by the CSA Board of Directors.