Osprey RV developers press for a development agreement as county raises concerns

Developers seeking to rezone about 94.57 acres near Osprey Road and Enterprise Road for a Destination Park told the Horry County Planning Commission they prefer a development agreement (DA) to secure project terms across multiple phases, while county staff and the county attorney said the county’s DA template needs refinement before the county would enter a contract.

Staff described the rezoning request as a 94.57-acre rezoning from RC and CFA to Destination Park to create 448 campsites (gross density 4.74 dwelling units per acre, net density 5.72 du/acre), one wetland impact, proposed buffers and a requested design modification to allow a gated emergency access in lieu of a required second access. “The applicant’s requesting a rezone on a 94.57 acre portion from RC and CFA to Destination Park for 448 campsites on Osprey Road and Enterprise Road in Myrtle Beach,” staff said.

The applicant’s representative told the commission the DA is intended to preserve expectations across phases and guard against future land-development regulation changes that might prevent planned phases from occurring. “This is gonna be developed in phases,” the applicant representative said, arguing that a DA would allow the applicant to rely on agreed standards through the project’s buildout. The representative also said the DA draft submitted by the applicant was intentionally concise (about 15 pages) to minimize county onus.

The county attorney, who serves as the commission’s attorney and one of the county attorneys, said the county has been working toward a more standard DA template but the version provided did not yet reflect terms the county could support if the matter advanced. “What is proposed…has not manifested itself in a document that I believe the county would support,” the attorney said, and recommended more work on the draft before the county would consider entering a contract.

Applicant team members described two variances in the packet (a reduction in open-space percentage associated with a planned amenity area and a public-right-of-way access variance where a portion of the parcel lacks direct public access) and framed the project as part of a larger master plan that includes commercial spaces and amenity areas.

No final action was taken; staff and the applicant agreed to work between meetings to try to resolve the DA language so the item can return next week with either the DA included or the applicant accepting to proceed without a DA. The applicant said proceeding without a DA could expose phased portions to changing regulations and was an undesirable outcome.