Hardscaping and landscaping on Sullivan’s Island.
Sullivan’s Island keeps its yards green on purpose. The Town limits how much of a lot can be covered, how tall and how solid a fence can be, and which hours a crew may work. None of it is hard to build to, as long as someone reads it before the design is drawn.
- Area
- Sullivan’s Island, SC
- Who reviews the work
- Town of Sullivan’s Island
- You hear back
- The day you call
A small budget for impervious cover, and a fence you can see through
Thirty percent is the number. The Town's lot coverage form, dated June 2019, and Sec. 21-26 of its zoning text put impervious cover, the house included, at no more than 30 percent of the lot on a lot of 15,000 square feet or more, with a small allowance added on smaller lots.
Patios, sidewalks, decks and pools all count; pervious paving is worked out on its own line. The same form says half the property has to stay as landscape: grass, beds, mulch or natural growth. So a patio here is sized against what the house and the drive have already used.
Fences top out at five feet. The zoning ordinance sets five feet as the maximum, drops it to four feet forward of the house and to four feet in a side yard within ten feet of a street or a beach access.
Every fence has to be at least 25 percent open, in wood, metal or a material that looks like wood. Chain link is prohibited. A pool fence is four feet. No fence may be built in the protected RC-1 and RC-2 districts.
The Town's zoning text also watches water and grade. In the text we read, as amended in November 2021, a stamped stormwater plan is required once new or replaced impervious surface passes 625 square feet, fill that raises the ground more than a foot and could elevate a structure is prohibited, and a driveway is held to twelve feet wide where it meets the front lot line. We confirm each of those with the Town for your lot, because an ordinance can change between printings.
Crews keep Town hours. The 2026 contractor ordinance covers landscapers by name: Monday to Friday, 8 to 6, and Saturday, 10 to 4, with no work on Sundays or on six named holidays. The strip between your lot and the street stays grass only, with no beds, shrubs or irrigation in it. Trees over sixteen inches across and all palmettos are protected, and a tree or limb over six inches needs a permit to cut.
Rules checked in October 2026 against: Town of Sullivan's Island zoning ordinance, Sec. 21-139 (fences) · Town of Sullivan's Island, lot coverage calculation form (June 2019) · Town of Sullivan's Island, contractor ordinance Sec. 5-12 (2026) · Town of Sullivan's Island zoning text, amended Nov 16, 2021. Boards and councils change them, so we confirm the current text for your address before quoting.
- Impervious limit
- 30% of the lot, house included (15,000 sq ft and up)
- Fence height
- 5 ft, and 4 ft forward of the house
- Fence openness
- At least 25% open, no chain link
- Work hours
- 8 to 6 weekdays, 10 to 4 Saturday
What Sullivan’s Island owners ask first.
How tall can a fence be on Sullivan's Island?
Five feet at most. Forward of the house it is four feet, and a side yard within ten feet of a street or beach access is also held to four. Every fence must be at least 25 percent open, and chain link is prohibited.
How much of my lot can be patio or paving?
Impervious cover, the house included, is limited to 30 percent of the lot on lots of 15,000 square feet or more, with a small allowance on smaller lots, and half the property must stay landscaped. Patios, walks, decks and pools count against the limit; pervious paving is calculated separately.
Can you plant or pave the strip by the street?
No. The Town's contractor ordinance keeps the right-of-way in grass only: no shrubs, beds or irrigation. We keep the work inside your lot line.
Tell us the Sullivan’s Island address.
You get a real figure the same day, and we will tell you what is driving it. If your property needs more than we quoted, you hear that before anyone starts, not after.
What we build on Sullivan’s Island.
We also work in North Charleston · Mount Pleasant · James Island · West Ashley · Johns Island · Summerville · Daniel Island · Isle of Palms · Folly Beach · Kiawah Island · Downtown Charleston.