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Planning commission defers 149-home Bay Road proposal after residents raise flood and traffic concerns
Summary
After extensive public comment about flooding, wetlands and traffic, the Horry County Planning Commission deferred a proposed rezoning for 149 single-family homes on Bay Road to the Dec. 4 meeting so applicants can resolve stormwater, traffic and utility easement issues.
The Horry County Planning Commission voted on Nov. 6 to defer a rezoning request that would have allowed 149 single-family homes on a 52.39-acre site near Bay Road, Freewoods Road and Schwartz Plant Road in the Murrells Inlet postal district. The applicant, represented by Dan Park of Earthworks Group, asked for more time to finish traffic and wetland work and to coordinate with utility providers.
Park described design steps intended to reduce stormwater impacts, including "oversized ponds" and sidewalks, and said the developer is exploring a land dedication for a future firehouse. "We're looking at possibly adding in a, possible firehouse to this thing," Park said. The applicant told the commission it had submitted a jurisdictional wetlands delineation to the Army Corps of Engineers and disputed an independently circulated map that claimed a much larger wetland area.
Multiple nearby residents told the commission the area already floods and that adding housing would worsen conditions. "When it rains, my pond backs all the way up halfway into my boat storage," said Gary Ward, a resident on Freewoods Road, who brought photos to the meeting. Other public commenters cited school overcrowding, traffic-safety issues at Bay Road and 707, and concerns that wetlands would be drained and displaced by development.
Staff noted that some of the proposed landscape buffers sit inside Grand Strand Water and Sewer Authority easements and would require written authorization before the buffers could be approved. Commissioners ultimately voted to defer the item to the Dec. 4 meeting to allow the applicant to finalize traffic calculations, secure any necessary letters from utility authorities and continue neighborhood outreach. Staff said the item will return as a public hearing on Dec. 4 at the same time and place.
The deferral leaves the proposal unresolved; the applicant and staff signaled they plan to present revised materials and correspondence with utility authorities at the next hearing.
