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Commission approves rezoning for 90‑lot Longacres Drive subdivision despite neighbor concerns about emergency response and infrastructure
Summary
Planning staff and the applicant said the Longacres proposal reduces density from what the future land‑use map allows; nearby residents raised concerns about police/fire response times, wetlands and local services before the commission approved the future‑land‑use amendment and rezoning.
The Horry County Planning Commission approved a rezoning and a future land‑use amendment to allow a 90‑home subdivision on 40.47 acres along Longacres Drive, planning staff reported. The applicant seeks MRD‑1 zoning for 10,000‑square‑foot lots with a gross density of about 2.22 dwelling units per acre and proposed streetscape buffers, sidewalks, pocket parks and three sustainable development criteria.
“I think the most important thing to note here is we're proposing less than 0.5 the density currently allowed by the future land use map,” applicant Sammy Gay said during his presentation, stressing stormwater coordination and a bulkhead to limit fill in the drainage run. After staff presentation and public comment the commission voted first to amend the future land use map and then to approve the rezoning.
Several nearby residents urged caution. Robert Berger, who said he lives on Long Acres Drive, told commissioners he supports lower density but warned local emergency services are stretched: “it's a 24 minute response time according to the chief of police over there,” he said, and added concern about a four‑person local fire department that cannot enter a house without five members. Another resident asked whether wetlands adjacent to the site would be affected; the applicant and staff said the plan shows limited delineated wetlands and committed to modeling the drainage run and limiting fill.
The commission’s approvals were recorded as motions and hand‑votes on the floor; staff recommended approval. The approvals mean the applicant can proceed to submit development plans and engineering for stormwater, access, and required off‑site improvements.
