FOLLY BEACH — In the beachfront community known as the “Edge of America,” many residents and property owners remain on edge as a vote approaches that could limit vacation rentals.

A referendum is scheduled Feb. 7. While there are only two options on the ballot — to cap short-term rentals, or not — there are many sides to the impassioned debate.

Along the streets weather-worn homes stand next to remodeled beach cottages and framework for new homes. Yards are lined with blue and white signs — each serving as a clear stance supporting or opposing a short-term rental cap that often varies from neighbor to neighbor.

The city prides itself as “Charleston’s Beach Town,” but some are second-guessing where to draw the line on overnight visitors. Much like Folly Beach’s new $14 million concrete-and-wood pier that was inspired by the original wooden one, the city is learning to balance its past and future. Residents are grappling with the reality that the very thing they love about their community is the same thing that attracts more than a million tourists a year, according to city officials.

Some see short-term rentals and the flow of transient guests staying in them as a threat to the established community and its longtime residents who don’t want new neighbors every week.

Should non-owner-occupied short-term rental licenses be capped at 800? It’s up to the city’s 1,886 registered voters to decide in what many call a defining moment for Folly Beach and how it manages come-and-go visitors.

The question of how to manage short-term rentals is not new. Property owners have had to apply for short-term rental licenses since 2018. There are currently over 1,100 active licenses. 

A city committee was formed and provided recommendations to City Council on short-term rentals, but those