The 10 biggest stories of 2016 in Myrtle Beach

Myrtle Beach was a busy place in 2016, as a record number of tourists visited the area, county residents and city officials clashed over new parking rules and Hurricane Matthew made a mess of the beaches and residents’ homes.

These are the events and themes that shaped life in Myrtle Beach in 2016:

1. Cleanup uneven as Myrtle Beach suggests nonprofits for downed trees

While severe flooding crippled low-lying areas in Horry and Georgetown counties for weeks after Hurricane Matthew hit this year, Myrtle Beach faced a different set of concerns—how to replace lost sand from the beach, and how to help residents with debris pickup.

In its first meeting after the hurricane, Myrtle Beach City Council asked city staff if federal grant money could be used to aid locals with cleanup. However, the city ultimately decided direct payments would be too complicated, forcing some to depend on charities and nonprofits.

2. County council chair asks for compromise in Myrtle Beach parking

On July 5, Myrtle Beach implemented a parking plan that began charging visitors at the beach access lots in the Golden Mile, a mostly residential section on the north end of the city.

The decision spurred multiple stories this year. In this article, Horry County Council Chairman Mark Lazarus suggested some concessions that might put those outside of the city at ease.

3. Shooting upends security and business in Myrtle Beach superblock; Myrtle Beach’s recent shooting was ‘gang-related.’ So they built a fence.

On Nov. 5, a shooting inside Pure Ultra Club left five people injured. The implications of that shooting have spun out since into multiple decisions from the city, including an immediate move to bar parking around the downtown neighborhood between 2 a.m. and 6 a.m. and the ultimate move of closing all bars and clubs there down during that time. Council came close to closing down bars at 2 a.m. across the whole city, and the issue may resurface in the new year.

Businesses in the area argued that 2 a.m. was when they began to make money as visitors filtered in from bars closing elsewhere. But the city extended its response to another area—the historically black Booker T. Washington neighborhood, where city manager John Pedersen said gang activity begins.

4. Broadway at the Beach construction continues as new attractions look to open

This year brought significant changes for Broadway at the Beach, one of Myrtle Beach’s most iconic shopping and entertainment destinations. Several new shops arrived, while the iconic Hard Rock Pyramid was demolished to make room for a Dave & Busters.

5. Bikefest attendees: Let’s bankrupt Myrtle Beach

Myrtle Beach’s Bikefest, a Memorial Day weekend gathering of black bikers from around the country, has been controversial since 2014, when three were killed and seven wounded in multiple shootings.

This year was the second year of a strict traffic loop for bikers, and attendees decried their treatment in 2016 as harassment. Some said they would not spend money inside the city limits next year.

6. Grand Strand left hoping for emergency beach funds

Areas of the Grand Strand, specifically Cherry Grove, were already facing significant erosion of sand dunes this year. Dunes provide natural flood protection for shorelines.

But after Hurricane Matthew ripped up the southeastern U.S., the situation became even more desperate, with several coastal communities left scrambling to secure federal money to replace dunes and put sand back on the beach.

7. Multiple factors responsible for busy season of ocean rescues along the Grand Strand

It was a busy summer for water rescues along the entire Grand Strand. On a single day in July this year, authorities reported 56 separate water rescues.

Experts and local first responders cited multiple reasons for the action this summer season, which ultimately resulted in six drownings.

8. National lifeguard group calls Myrtle Beach guarding ‘unreliable’

In a letter dated Sept. 30, the United States Lifesaving Association, the principal accreditation group for lifeguards, said Myrtle Beach’s system of guarding alongside chair rentals is “unreliable.” The letter was not made public until Dec. 7, however.

“Myrtle Beach is very definitely an outlier in regard to how it provides lifeguard protection,” Chris Brewster of the USLA told The Sun News. Mayor John Rhodes and lifeguard franchise owner George Lack said the claims were unfounded.

9. The ‘beating heart of Myrtle Beach’ went silent 10 years ago with closing of Pavilion

The Myrtle Beach Pavilion Park closed in 2006, after several years of parent company Burroughs & Chapin trying to revive the entertainment and amusement destination. Rhodes called it the “beating heart of Myrtle Beach.”

Now, the former site of the park is a grassy, 12-acre lot downtown, and city officials are frustrated by the hole as they try to revive other parcels in that area.

10. Myrtle Beach loses oceanfront restaurant Banditos until 2018 to pave way for new development

This year signaled a wave of redevelopment along Myrtle Beach’s oceanfront, with large hotel projects at 26th Avenue South, 6th Avenue North, 17th Avenue North and a new, multi-level seafood restaurant called RipTydz all in the works.

One of the most interesting developments, however, is the redevelopment of Banditos restaurant--a change that will bring a 50,000-square-foot, open-air destination to the waterfront. It will also close the popular restaurant until 2018.

This story was originally published December 26, 2016 at 5:00 AM with the headline "The 10 biggest stories of 2016 in Myrtle Beach."