Posted on Wed, Feb. 07, 2007

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Senator's condo plan gains favor

Nearby residents concerned about neighborhood traffic

By Travis Tritten

The Sun News

A state senator's and fire chief's condominium project moved a step closer to Horry County Council approval Tuesday despite opposition from neighbors.

The Myrtle Beach development would mean 40 condos at the southeastern corner of the intersection of the Intracoastal Waterway and U.S. 501, near the long-established Waterside Drive community.

Horry County Council voted 8-4 to approve the condos, and the project must survive a third and final council vote later this month, as well as public comments from concerned residents.

Sen. Ray Cleary, R-Murrells Inlet, and Myrtle Beach Fire Chief Alvin Payne are partnering on the condo project, but they hit strong opposition from Waterside Drive residents and their County Council representative, Marion Foxworth, who say the two planned buildings will dump traffic into the neighborhood and spur more growth.

County planners and Cleary say the project should be approved. The condos would be built in a county district set aside for offices, retail centers and high-density housing.

The condo property is immediately surrounded by a closed pet hotel, an ice factory and a power line. Single-family homes sit beyond the utility lines to the south on Waterside Drive.

"We don't affect Waterside Drive. We are over 600 feet away with separate access and egress," Cleary said. "I believe the council is looking at the project in a realistic and fair decision."

Waterside Drive residents pleaded with County Council Tuesday to deny the new development to preserve the neighborhood.

"You could pass the second reading of this zoning change and allow Sen. Cleary to ruin the peace of my daily life as I know it," said Syble DeBerry, who built a home at the intersection of Piedmont Avenue and Waterside Drive 35 years ago.

DeBerry said she is concerned about traffic at that intersection if the condos are built.

Cleary and Payne are asking the county to change the land zoning on the parcel to allow more housing. According to county planning staff, the change in zoning would increase the number of vehicles on the surrounding roads from 92 per day to 240 per day.

"Trust me, residents of this development property will use this intersection," DeBerry said.

Foxworth said the development will break up the residential areas along the Intracoastal Waterway and asked fellow council members to reject the plans.

"I don't think there is any question where I stand on this rezoning," Foxworth said. "I consider it to be a neighborhood buster, as do those [residents] in the neighborhood."

Meanwhile, Councilman Brent Schulz, who was sworn in and attended his first council meeting Tuesday, said Horry County planners should begin considering a comprehensive road plan for the Waterside Drive area sometime in the future.

Traffic and development problems will continue to worsen in years to come unless the county better plans for the future, Schulz said.

The county is already working on similar plans for other areas of the county experiencing growth woes and any work on the Waterside Drive area would not begin for about two years, said Steve Gosnell, director of the county Infrastructure and Regulation Division.