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Board approves deck and second means of egress at Garden City home after safety testimony
Summary
A variance to allow a 6×16-foot deck and stairs at 104 Sunset Square was approved after a local resident and advocate cited recent nearby fatalities and fire‑safety concerns and explained the deck would provide a second means of egress.
The zoning board granted a variance for a 6-by-16-foot deck and stairs at 104 Sunset Square, Murrells Inlet, after testimony emphasizing life‑safety benefits. Staff explained the lot’s overlay and reduced corner-side setback; resident advocate Tom Davis and others described past local fires and said the deck would provide an alternative exit in homes that commonly have a single stairway.
Davis urged the board to prioritize egress, recounting multiple local fatalities he said occurred in similar houses and describing how the proposed deck provides another way out. He said, “Just 10 days ago, we had an 88 year old guy die in an elevated beach house in Murrells Inlet with smoke inhalation, 1 way in, 1 way out.” Board members discussed deck width for accessibility and ultimately approved the variance with standard conditions.
Why it mattered: The board weighed historic lot patterns against immediate life‑safety arguments from a local resident and approved the measure to provide an alternate means of egress in tight beach‑house footprints.
