Myrtle Beach reopening beach access after COVID-19 closing. What about short-term rentals?
Public access to the beach in Myrtle Beach is officially open, while hotels, short-term rentals and other accommodations services in Myrtle Beach could reopen this week following a roughly three-week shutdown caused by the coronavirus.
Myrtle Beach City Council met via conference call Tuesday morning to discuss an economic recovery plan that would involve reopening portions of the city in phases and creating an coronavirus recovery task force. Officials will meet again on Thursday to officially vote on a motion to reopen accommodations services within the city, including hotels and short-term rentals.
“If we start to see increases in cases and we need to roll something back, we certainly will take action towards that,” Mayor Brenda Bethune said. “The purpose of what we’re doing today is to say we do have to live with this new normal, the virus is not going anywhere and we can allow our businesses to open, and we can do it responsibly and carefully, methodically and safely.”
The 138 beaches accesses and 74 oceanfront parking lots are now open to the public after council rescinded an executive order closing the public accesses. City Manager John Pedersen said he would cancel the order immediately, though it could take a few days for the barriers to be removed. Nobody who bypasses the barriers if still up will be penalized, he said.
Residents will be encouraged to adhere to all social distancing guidelines and restrict large gatherings, with law enforcement officials responsible for strictly enforcing all beach ordinances and new distancing regulations. Violators will be subject to fine or penalty, officials said.
Officials agreed reopening the beaches would be therapeutic for residents, noting some trepidation going forward.
“We can’t keep people off the beach while opening the hotels at the same time,” Councilman Gregg Smith said. “We’re all nervous about how many people are going to come to the beach, but it’s an opportunity for our residents, both in and outside of the city, to get a chance to get out, to be responsible, physically distance themselves on a large open beach and to feel better about where we’re going.”
Accommodations services within city limits would be permitted to open on Friday, if approved, with restrictions placed on those living in coronavirus hot spots, such as New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and New Orleans. Businesses would also be required to implement reasonable steps to comply with applicable sanitation guidelines recommended by S.C. Department of Health and Environment Control and the Center for Disease and Control.
Amusements and restaurants will remain closed until S.C. Gov. Henry McMaster lifts restrictions on his executive orders. City parks will also remain closed until further notice.
“This isn’t an easy decision for anybody and no matter what everybody on this council understands there are going to be folks we may upset,” Councilman John Krajc said. “But I do believe strongly that everybody is doing the best we can in a situation that we have no clue how exactly to navigate for the perfect outcome.”
The city’s decision comes nearly one week after McMaster canceled a two-week-old executive order that closed all public access to the beaches of South Carolina, but gave local jurisdictions the authority to enact their own rules regarding the beach. While the public access has been closed off in Myrtle Beach, beaches have been open but only to those with private accesses.
Last Tuesday, North Myrtle Beach, Surfside Beach and Horry County lifted restrictions to the beach. Surfside has limited beach access to walking, running, biking and exercise, but officials will meet Tuesday night to discuss other options.
Georgetown County public beach accesses and the Murrells Inlet Marshwalk are scheduled to remain closed until May 15.
The town of Pawleys Island voted on Monday to reopen the public beach access and adjacent public parking lots on Friday. However, that decision is contingent upon Georgetown County opening its accesses either before or on May 1.
This story was originally published April 28, 2020 at 2:16 PM.
