Helicopter tour company making second attempt at opening in North Myrtle Beach

A helicopter tour company is making a second attempt at opening a business in North Myrtle Beach – about 500 feet away from a location proposed earlier this summer – and residents say they still don’t want the company in their neighborhood.

The North Myrtle Beach Board of Zoning and Appeals will hear the request from the company, which would be on property owned by Carroll Rogers, during a Sept. 10 meeting.

In June, Rogers and Steve Powell, an engineer with Venture Engineering working with Rogers, requested to put the helicopter business on land just south of Horry County Sate Bank on U.S. Highway 17 and Windy Hill Road Extension. The business now is proposed to be on land on the other side of Windy Hill Road Extension behind a Walgreens pharmacy.

“I think in their mind they’re close to the [Grand Strand] Airport, so they have a better chance of being approved,” said Paul Blust, zoning administrator with North Myrtle Beach.

The new location is just south of the airport’s runway. Powell could not be reached on Thursday.

Blust said the company had not yet provided when and how often the helicopter tours would take place and anticipated it would be discussed at the September meeting.

The city’s Zoning and Appeals board unanimously voted in June to deny the request for a special exception to zoning rules. That area is zoned highway commercial, allowing for amusement parks and rides of all types. Blust said the helicopter tour is classified as a ride and requests to build rides must go through the board.

Linda Morrison, board member of the Windy Hill Woods property owners association, said she again is gathering people to speak against the helicopter company. About 100 people, many from Windy Hill Woods, attended the June meeting and spoke against the company.

“Our objection centers first around safety,” she said. “I feel strongly that sudden noisy and unexpected lift off and landing in an already congested area ... will be a huge safety distraction to drivers.”

Morrison said she feared having the company so close to U.S. 17 would cause a number of accidents.

“Can you imagine being a tourist, driving on a six-lane road and already not really knowing where you’re going and have a helicopter come in to land next to you?” she said. “Your reaction is going to be to look at the helicopter and you’ll end up swerving.”

She said the way the roads are configured in that area, any traffic incidents on that part of U.S. 17 cause traffic to completely stop.

“If you have accidents on that road – life stops,” she said. “There’s no way to get around. ... They need to go somewhere that is not in a congested area.”

Blust said this proposed location was different because the previous one was right along U.S. 17. The new proposed location is a bit back from the highway.

Morrison said the homeowners association, which is comprised of 63 properties, also is concerned with the noise levels and potential decreases in the property values of the surrounding neighborhoods.

The Board of Zoning Appeals will hear the request at 5 p.m. Sept. 10 in council chambers of North Myrtle Beach City Hall, 1018 Second Ave. S.

This story was originally published August 27, 2015 at 6:03 PM with the headline "Helicopter tour company making second attempt at opening in North Myrtle Beach."