Nearby residents speak out about Myrtle Beach spring bike rally controversy

Long Bay Estates resident Robert DeCiero is a Harley-Davidson motorcycle owner himself, but he’s upset with the local dealership’s decision to start its part of the Myrtle Beach spring bike rally later than usual and carry it into the Memorial Day weekend.

The controversy erupted more than a week ago, when the Myrtle Beach Harley-Davidson dealership posted the Cruisin the Coast rally dates on its website as May 18-28, eight days later than the dates Horry County had planned on. The change has prompted a firestorm of discussion, with some on Horry County Council frustrated and angry, the dealership defending its decision and Atlantic Beach worried that its own Bikefest will be overshadowed. Meanwhile, some residents in the middle just shrug their shoulders.

DeCiero has a vested interest in this issue, as Long Bay Estates sits directly across from the Harley dealership on Kings Highway, just outside the city limits.

“The dealership has gone beyond acceptable,” DeCiero said Saturday.

His concerns were expressed in a letter drawn up by the Long Bay Estates Property Owners Association and presented to the Horry County Council at its Jan. 24 meeting. DeCiero signed that letter and is listed as the association’s secretary.

Horry County’s website lists the dates it will allow vendor permits for the bike rally as May 14-20. The Long Bay POA’s letter requested that the council deny any date changes or extensions to the existing Harley week.

For his part, Horry County Councilman Gary Loftus is fed up with Harley bike rally officials not playing by the rules.

At the Jan. 24 meeting, he recommended council members have a discussion at their next meeting about possibly doing away with all vendor permits in the month of May in response to the changed rally dates.

“They just don’t seem to want to play by whatever rules we set,” Loftus said Tuesday night.

That discussion is on the agenda for the Feb. 7 County Council meeting.

‘Result in chaos’

“I can assure you that approving any proposed changes will result in chaos for those of us living in the area surrounding the Harley-Davidson dealership,” the letter stated. “There is only one entrance/exit into and out of Long Bay Estates from Kings Highway, and for the past three years we have had little or no police presence to assist us in entering and exiting our development, not to mention the noise that we have had to suffer through.”

DeCiero said he has waited as long as five minutes to get out of his development.

His letter also declared that it’s “nearly impossible” for emergency service officials – police and fire rescue – to get in and out of the subdivision during the event.

DeCiero said extending the bike rally is all about money, with no consideration for nearby residents.

“We feel like we’re really being violated right now,” he said.

On the other end of the spectrum is fellow Long Bay Estates resident Ray Todd, who said he hasn’t had problems getting in and out of the development during the rally.

“The police are good,” Todd said.

The extended Harley rally would also coincide with the Atlantic Beach Bike Fest, which traditionally occurs during Memorial Day weekend.

Atlantic Beach Councilman Jake Evans has said that the town’s bike rally will happen as usual.

Todd thinks a simpler solution would be for the two bike rallies to combine their efforts and hold an event at the same time. The bikers should be able to have fun, he said, but they also have to respect the rules.

An end to May vendor permits?

County Councilman Marion Foxworth said he’s not sure how he feels with the idea of completely doing away with vendor permits in May.

He said Friday he and other council members had been getting calls from residents on both sides of the issue. Some of the responses were to shut the bike rally down and get it out of town, while others wondered why the council would want to run off business, Foxworth added.

“The move that took place last week certainly brought a lot of confusion in,” Foxworth said about the date change.

Councilman Bob Grabowski said he won’t support completely doing away with vendor permits. He’d like to see council support their efforts during past bike rallies, which is to issue permits for the time period advertised on the county website.

“I didn’t expect this development to happen,” Grabowski said.

Meanwhile, DeCiero and other upset members of the Long Bay Estates POA aren’t backing down, urging council members to quash any attempts to extend the rally and even encourage the dealership to move elsewhere.

“Now is the time,” their letter stated, “for elected Horry County Council officials to defend the residential property owners of this county.”