All gated communities in Beaufort County have a year to install equipment that allows emergency crews quick access past the gates. The Beaufort County Council in October passed an ordinance to standardize how emergency personnel get into the private gated residential communities in the county. The law affects communities protected by an electronic gate that typically requires a passcode or an access card to enter.
The Town of Hilton Head Island already has a law requiring a standard method of gate access for emergency crews, and the county said it used the Hilton Head ordinance as a template for the new law.
The more than 30 gates in the rest of Beaufort County will be required to join Hilton Head in installing the Click2Enter access system that lets emergency crews operate the gates via radio signal. The technology uses existing radio communication equipment and assigns a specific frequency that activates the gatecontrol mechanism.
Paying for the installation of the equipment on both entry and exit gates will be the responsibility of the individual community, and each gate must be equipped with a system that allows them to be open even in the case of power failures.
