How Horry County responded to ruling blocking sale of Myrtle Beach area campground land

Horry County is again seeking to stop the City of Myrtle Beach from selling city-owned property currently used for popular campgrounds, asking a judge on Friday to reverse his decision on an injunction the county filed last year.

In a Friday afternoon court filing, attorneys for Horry County argued that Judge Benjamin Culbertson should not have struck down the injunction they asked for in December, saying that it was important for the land in question to be preserved in its current state while the lawsuit is ongoing.

Horry County sued Myrtle Beach in December over the sale of the campground land and asked the court to stop the city from selling the land during the litigation through an injunction. The county has argued in court that stopping the sale of the land for now is necessary because it has an interest in the property, due to the fact it receives a portion of the rental income from the property.

But Culbertson ruled earlier this week that just because the federal government put in place rules that Horry County receive the rental revenue and spend it on the Myrtle Beach International Airport, that doesn’t mean the county has an ownership stake in the land in question, officially known as the Seascape Properties. That’s a point Horry County disputed in its filing on Friday, saying that because federal and state agencies gave the airport to the county, and because rental revenue from the Seascape Properties goes to the county, the county therefore has a stake in the Seascape properties.

“All told, the federal government and state agency transferred ownership of both airports and entitlement to proceeds arising from the Seascape Properties to the County (whether through rental income or a sale)—and the City acknowledged as much for the last 30 years,” the county’s attorney’s wrote. “Under these circumstances, the County indisputably has standing to enforce its interests in the real property. The Court should reconsider its holding to the contrary.”

The land in question houses the Lakewood and Pirateland campgrounds on a 145-acre tract of land south of South Kings Highway, just outside Myrtle Beach city limits. Myrtle Beach has leased the land to campground operators for decades, and sought to sell the property to the companies currently leasing it late last year. Due to structures built on the land to support the operation of large campgrounds, Myrtle Beach spokesperson Mark Kruea said, the city felt it only made sense for the land to remain as a campground, part of its motivation for selling the Seascape Properties.

After both the city and campgrounds appraised the land, the two parties settled on a middle-ground price of $60 million that the companies would purchase the land for. Horry County has also taken issue with that fact, arguing that the city is selling the land for less than it’s worth.

But the county’s primary contention in the case is retaining the annual $2.7 million it receives from the Seascape Properties, funding that supports the Myrtle Beach International Airport. Under a 2004 agreement, Horry County receives 75% of the rental revenues from the property, while Myrtle Beach receives the other 25%. That agreement is such because the land was originally owned by the federal government and originally meant to become an airport. When leaders decided that an airport wasn’t the best use of the land, the federal government agreed that revenue from leasing the land could support a local airport located elsewhere. Horry County later took over control of the Myrtle Beach International Airport, and the lease revenue has helped fund it for years.

Without the annual $2.7 million payments from the Seascape Properties, Horry County has argued, the airport that brings in hundreds of thousands of tourists each year will be harmed. Culbertson, the judge, took issue with that point, arguing that local taxpayer money isn’t used to fund the airport — rather, the airport is funded by airline and user fees, and other sources of income.

In it’s Friday filing, Horry County argued that certain grants and federal assistance dollars are tied to it receiving the rental revenue from the Seascape Properties, money that could disappear if Myrtle Beach is allowed to sell the land while the lawsuit is ongoing and those payments stop.

“The loss of this property would have a material adverse impact to the County and its ability to operate the Myrtle Beach International Airport,” the county’s attorneys argued. “Clearly, the County will suffer an irreparable harm if it loses nearly one-tenth of its annual airport funding, has its credit rating damaged, puts its existing grants and contracts at risk of breach or termination, and loses the ability to recover real property to which it has a legitimate claim of ownership...”

Culbertson also wrote this week that if the loss of $2.7 million annual payments was in fact substantial to the county’s nearly $50 million budget for its Department of Airports, airport operators could simply increase the fees it already charges to cover the difference. County attorneys took issue with that assertion, arguing that the county can’t unilaterally increase the fees it charges, like those it charges airlines to dock at its terminals.

The proposal “that the County should simply charge an illegal fee is no solution at all,” Horry County’s attorneys wrote. “The Court should reconsider its order accordingly.”

If Culbertson agrees to Horry County’s motion, he could reverse his earlier ruling and allow the county’s injunction to stand, meaning Myrtle Beach would not be allowed to sell the campground properties until the litigation is settled. However, Culbertson could also deny the motion, meaning the lawsuit trudges onward but Myrtle Beach would be permitted to sell the land in the meantime.

Attempting to sell real property in which another political subdivision has substantial, if not exclusive, interests — and to sell it at below fair market value — is undoubtedly arbitrary, capricious,and oppressive,” Horry County’s attorneys wrote.

This story was originally published January 29, 2021 at 4:04 PM.