Fresh eyes by full-time residents

The modern-day Daniel Island community has been celebrating “firsts” since its residents began calling the island home in 1996.  

First neighborhoods to be settled, first businesses to open, first schools to welcome students, and more. But soon there will be another important milestone.  

By the start of 2026, for the first time in nearly three decades, all three of Daniel Island’s associations’ boards of directors will be resident/property owner-run instead of developer-run. And if you ask those in the know, that’s a pretty big deal. 

“It is amazing to think that it has been 30-plus years for Daniel Island since its inception to final completion,” said Pete Harper, who has served as the sole resident board member for the Daniel Island Park Association for the last two years and was a recent candidate for re-election. 

“It is timely that the residents and commercial owners now take over control of all three boards because now the individuals who live here, work here, and play here can now fully control the future of the island from their perspectives and experiences.”  

Elections were held for each board over the last few weeks, and results will be announced at upcoming annual meetings for each association: Nov. 3 for the Daniel Island Community Association and Nov. 5 for the Daniel Island Town Association and DIPA.  

According to Jarrod Brooks, president of the Daniel Island Neighborhood Association and Berkeley County councilmember, the transition marks a new era of self-governance by residents that presents both challenge and opportunity.  

“With responsibility and authority no longer concentrated on the developer, our newly elected neighborhood leaders will need to collaborate across associations to continue Daniel Island's tradition of high-quality aesthetics, amenities, and service to residents,” Brooks said. “We have hope that fresh eyes by full-time residents will generate new ideas of how to manage and administer the island on behalf of residents.” 

Greg Turner, an island resident since 2007, has served on the DICA board for the last eight years. 

“It’s an exciting time for the island as the three boards will control major decisions for the present and future for Daniel Island,” stated Turner, a candidate in the recent DITA election.  

For DICA, DITA, and DIPA, the transition to property owner control has always been part of the plan. Each association has three predetermined special events designed to change the make-up of the boards gradually when one of those “triggers” occurs. Each has a different island occupancy rate target, but the other two factors are the same – the arrival of the date of Dec. 31, 2025, or the “Declarant” (The Daniel Island Company/developer) could decide to turn things over early.  

In 2021, DICA was the first to see its board majority change when the island reached an occupancy level of 75%, effectively tipping the balance of power to seven resident members, along with one representative appointed by the developer with veto rights. The appointee would have a two-year term to ensure a smooth transition. 

“The veto right might sound objectionable, but it's not,” explained Mary Stuart Sutton, chief operating officer for the Daniel Island Property Owners’ Association. “It's a great learning tool so that any new board member or board that comes in, they can't change the fundamentals of the island until they get a grasp of how and why things run the way they do. We have an extraordinary history with the development of Daniel Island, and particularly with the City of Charleston… so it's about education.” 

By 2023, DICA was fully resident-controlled. The association comprises all of the single-family homes and townhomes south of I-526 and oversees the community’s three pools and associated amenities, as well as the Beresford Creek boat landing and dock. 

For DIPA, which is made up of all the single-family homes and townhomes north of I-526, the board consisted of three developer appointees until 2023. That year, Harper, the first at-large resident board member, began a two-year term when the association hit one of its triggers – 90% residential occupancy island-wide. After the current election, the board will have a total of four resident members and one developer appointee.  

The board that will change the most is DITA’s, which oversees the island’s commercial properties, condominiums, and apartments, as well as all of the common areas shared by the associations. Currently, the DITA board is made up of all developer appointees. In this case, the board, triggered by the Dec. 31, 2025 date, will change to three new property owner positions and one developer appointee, who will not be a board member but will have veto rights for a two-year term. 

All three associations are managed by the Daniel Island POA. The importance of being able to witness the shift for the boards is not lost on Sutton, who has had a unique vantage point over the years.  

“The development of the island was never meant to be under declarant control forever,” noted Sutton. "I used to work here some 20-plus years ago (for the Architectural Review Board), and I remember reading the CC&Rs (Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions) about when their rights expired, Dec. 31st, 2025. And I was like, I'll never see that day. And here we are. We’re all like, 'Wow, look what's been accomplished, and look how it all turned out!'” 

Turner helped oversee DICA’s transition to a resident-controlled board over the last two years and calls this a historic time for the island.  

“It speaks to the vision of the developer in establishing the parameters for this to happen,” Turner stated. “DICA transitioned first and the last two years have been educational and exciting. Every resident of this island should understand that all the members of the POA come to work every day with the only goal to make this island better for all of us.” 

The challenge, continued Turner, will be for the boards to work together on the expenses that make up the costs they all share across the island.  

“We are blessed that the developer has left all three boards with a reserve account nearing 100%, so there is a low risk of special assessments,” he said. “The developer and the POA have given all of us a firm foundation for the various boards to flourish now and in the future.” 

By Jan. 1, 2026, the new boards for DICA, DITA, and DIPA will officially be in place and ready to serve.  

“It is also a critical time for all three boards to work together for major initiatives such as disaster preparedness, the safety and security of our island, and how we, as a community, deal with the long-term growth that the Charleston metro area will experience for decades to come,” Harper noted. “Thirty years is just the beginning.”