Helicopter tour request highlights balancing act of tourism with Grand Strand life

Making sure that the needs of residents are balanced with the growth of tourism can be a delicate process in a resort town, Grand Strand officials say.

But municipalities say zoning is the first place staff members look to when considering whether a new tourist attraction makes sense in a certain part of town while not negatively impacting the quality of life of the residents who live nearby.

“Zoning really is the first tool that you can reach for to strike that balance,” Myrtle Beach spokesman Mark Kruea said.

In North Myrtle Beach, Windy Hill Woods residents will again ask the Board of Zoning and Appeals to deny the request for a special exception of a helicopter tour company that would launch from land near U.S. Highway 17 and Windy Hill Road Extension behind a Walgreen’s pharmacy.

The city’s Zoning and Appeals board unanimously voted in June to deny the same company, Myrtle Beach Helicopter Tours, a special exception to zoning rules. That request would have placed the launching pad about 500 feet south on land along U.S. 17.

That area is zoned highway commercial, allowing for amusement parks and rides of all types. Paul Blust, zoning administrator with North Myrtle Beach, said the helicopter tour is classified as a ride and requests to build rides must go through the board.

Linda Morrison, Windy Hill Woods property owners association board member, said residents are equally concerned about the noise and potential safety issues that having helicopters on that piece of land would bring.

“I think one concern has to do with noise and interrupting the peace of the area – the noise is something extremely personal to me,” she said. “But safety is as much an issue. ... You’ve got cars going up and down on 17, cars going on to Windy Hill Extension, and these helicopters are going to be coming right up over them.”

Morrison said having a helicopter suddenly appear off to the side of the road has the potential to cause accidents.

But Steve Powell, an engineer with Venture Engineering working with Myrtle Beach Helicopter Tours, said the helicopter launch pad would be set back from U.S. 17 instead of sitting right along the highway.

“This new location is 300 feet off the highway,” Powell said. “It won’t be an immediate distraction to drivers.”

Morrison said she understand that tourism is a major economic driver along the Grand Strand, but doesn’t see a need for a fourth helicopter tour company in the area.

Helicopter tours can be taken with Helicopter Adventures off 21st Avenue North in Myrtle Beach; Oceanfront Helicopters on Kings Highway near Myrtle Beach International Airport in Myrtle Beach; and Executive Helicopters on Terminal Street at Grand Strand Airport in North Myrtle Beach.

“The money that tourists bring in is important to this area, but I think there are plenty of ways that tourists can bring money to the area that don’t involve helicopter tours,” Morrison said. “We’re not going to be losing any tourists whatsoever. Kind of like, we don’t need two oceans to get people here.”

North Myrtle Beach spokesman Pat Dowling said city staff and City Council members take many things into account when approving new tourist attractions.

“When you place a commercial property next to an existing community, you have to consider a lot of things,” he said. “There has to be a compromise. You can’t have total peace and quiet in your life.

“As Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach have grown as tourist destinations and businesses have seen the value in investing in the area, all of us who live in homes that are already here get the brunt of that. I guess it is a delicate balancing act.”

Last week, the S.C. Court of Appeals ruled that Helicopter Adventures –which is in the county’s jurisdiction in the Myrtle Beach area – could continue to operate after Plantation Point residents said the company violated the county’s zoning. Helicopter Adventures has operated since 2012.

Plantation Point resident Richard Hinde, who was involved in the lawsuit, said he was disheartened by the ruling, especially because the noise from the helicopters make it difficult for his neighbors to sell their homes. Hinde said last week he did not know if he would appeal the ruling. He could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

“The biggest challenge for [Myrtle Beach] City Council and city staff is balancing the residential needs with the commercial needs,” Kruea said. “We make our living off of tourism, but are very much a residential community – which is a big part of the appeal for tourists.”

Kruea said the city is conscious of making sure to keep all things in mind when new development wants to open in Myrtle Beach.

“We have to be conscious to allow both [commercial attractions and residential communities] to exist but protect one from the other,” he said.

Blust said the North Myrtle Beach zoning and appeals board members will need to determine if a helicopter tour company is an appropriate use for that piece of land. He said he and his staff are on hand to provide information and it is up to the five-member board to decide on issues.

“We try to leave them as autonomous as possible,” he said. “You get to a point where if we’re giving them recommendations, you worry that they are just giving a rubber stamp to the things we say. The board is there to make its own decisions.”

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

This story was originally published September 10, 2015 at 1:00 AM with the headline "Helicopter tour request highlights balancing act of tourism with Grand Strand life."