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Resident urges Horry County planning commission to halt 'overbuilding,' cites flooding and safety concerns
Summary
At the April 3 meeting, resident Rita Shanice told the Horry County Planning Commission that rapid residential development in Conway is overwhelming infrastructure, worsening flooding and straining emergency staffing; she asked the commission where environmental-impact studies and vote records are available.
Rita Shanice, a Conway resident who spoke during public comment, urged the Horry County Planning Commission to stop what she called "all the overbuilding that is going on within our county and especially within Conway." She asked whether environmental-impact studies on flooding and wildlife displacement have been done and where residents can obtain copies.
Shanice said tree removal and land leveling are worsening drainage and that traffic has become severe: "It should not take someone 45 minutes to get from Conway Medical Center to Long Avenue Extension." She also described public-safety staffing shortfalls from her experience in 9-1-1 and said turnover and burnout threaten response capacity.
The commission and staff responded that environmental and biological assessments are typically part of the review for larger projects and that staff would provide guidance on where the public can request those documents. Shanice also asked how residents can get a list of officials who vote "yes" on development applications; the chair said those records are available through county staff and the public record process.
Why it matters: multiple agenda items that evening involved rezoning and new subdivisions in Conway and nearby areas; several public commenters tied development proposals to local flooding, traffic safety and school-capacity concerns. The commission did not take a single overarching policy action at the meeting to pause development countywide; rather, each application proceeded through its own review, with some items deferred or defeated and others approved.
