Myrtle Beach to get boardwalk extension; council incumbents sworn in for new terms

The developer of a new Mexican restaurant on Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach told the City Council on Tuesday he will pay to extend the city’s new boardwalk 425 feet so that it runs in front of his new place.

At the first meeting of their new terms, three re-elected council members and their four colleagues gave first approval to the swap proposal Tuesday.

There are still details to be worked out.

Though he didn’t have an estimate for what that extension will cost as the project is still out for bids, property developer Chip Smith asked the council to consider reducing or eliminating some of the fees the city collects on new construction, including the fees for swapping public rights of way such as alleys to offset what he will pay for the boardwalk.

The city gets $40,000 or 1 percent of the project’s value for each alley swapped.

Smith proposes moving two alleys on Ocean Boulevard between 14th and 15th avenues north, and two others in the second row behind what will be Banditos restaurant.

By moving the two alleys along the oceanfront, the city ends up with a 60-foot-wide swath along 15th Avenue North that could become a municipal park, and there will be four access points to the boardwalk.

By moving the two alleys in the second row, the city would be able to extend 15th Avenue North from Withers Drive down to Ocean Boulevard, a move that could increase revenue because the city could install up to 20 metered parking spaces, depending on how parking slots are configured.

City staff told the council that extending the street would cost about $30,000.

Crews are working feverishly to demolish the old Breakwater Inn buildings in that oceanfront block, because Smith said the plans are to open Banditos by May 1.

As soon as he can get the permits, Smith said, the two buildings in the second row, including the old Royal Inn, will also be demolished and redeveloped, though he did not discuss specific plans for that property.

“We’re fortunate to have someone who wants to build during this recession,” Mayor John Rhodes said. “We should do everything we can to make it happen.”

“Within reason,” said Councilwoman Susan Grissom Means.

Councilman Phil Render asked Smith what drew him to Myrtle Beach for the project.

Smith said he came here to go to Coastal Carolina University, and used to live near the beach on 17th Avenue North, so he was familiar with the area.

“I’m proud to be part of Myrtle Beach,” he said.

But it wasn’t all civic pride for the developer.

When an associate showed him the property, which was being foreclosed, he saw the possibilities.

“Quite frankly, for the price, that property was one of the best deals I’ve ever seen,” he said.

Though Coastal Dining and Entertainment, Smith’s group of investors building the restaurant, has had a policy of not commenting on the project, Smith said the group will likely be ready to begin discussing details in 30 days or so.

However, there is a public hearing scheduled on the project next week during the Jan. 17 Planning Commission meeting at 1:30 p.m. in the first-floor conference room at City Hall.

Those associated with the Banditos project will request various approvals at public meetings, including the Planning Commission, Community Appearance Board and City Council, in the weeks before the restaurant is completed.

In other business, Means, Render and Michael Chestnut were sworn in on Tuesday for their next four-year terms. The three incumbents handily beat all opponents in November’s election.

Municipal Court Judge Jennifer Wilson administered the oath of office to each council members separately. Chestnut was accompanied by his wife and more than a dozen family members and friends, and thanked them and all the people who supported his re-election campaign. He told the audience he feels honored to be allowed another term.

Render was accompanied by his wife and former state Rep. Tom Keegan, a friend. He promised to maintain his stance of balanced budgets, crime reduction and fostering a successful business community.

Means, whose mother stood with her during the ceremony, said being re-elected meant more to her than she could express. The daughter of former Mayor Robert M. Grissom, Means is beginning her fourth term in office.

• The council also granted a special events permit to two groups that want to hold a mass feeding in Chapin Park on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. Food Not Bombs and Occupy Myrtle Beach have permission to use the downtown park at 14th Avenue North and Kings Highway from 8 to 11 a.m. Monday.

Food Not Bombs began in 1980 in Cambridge, Mass., and strives to prepare and share vegan meals in nearly 1,000 communities around the world, according to information from the group.

In a press release, Food Not Bombs accuses the city of passing a law specifically designed to “silence” it through a 2009 ordinance restricting the number of feedings that can be conducted by any one group in any public park each year.

The city said the law was designed to make sure everyone who wants to use public parks gets the chance to do so, not only the groups that feed the homeless.