Should Carolina Forest incorporate into its own city? Neighbors asked to help decide

The Carolina Forest Civic Association is looking toward its future, and they want your input.

The growing area had 21,000 people in 2010, according to the Horry County Planning and Zoning office. The estimated 2016 population was 25,500 and by 2030, the area is projected to hold 52,000.

But residents have consistently complained about slow police response times (11 minutes as of July), and heavy traffic, especially on Carolina Forest Boulevard.

The RIDE III sales tax is slated to fund widening Carolina Forest Boulevard, and the decision to pull Horry County police officers out of Horry County Schools resulted in a larger police presence.

But residents have the chance to do more than rely on the county.

A survey released today by the association’s Future of the Forest Committee asks residents their opinions on the biggest issues facing the community as the association looks at five different options for the future of the community.

“This effort started because people consistently raise issues about what they see as needs to the Carolina Civic Association; i.e. traffic or road improvement issues, police protection, improved infrastructure, etc.,” committee spokesperson Bob McCaffrey said in an email. “We want to know what issues residents perceive and their relative importance.”

The results of the survey “will be a major part of the report and each option will be compared and contrasted” noting how well each option addresses the issues identified in the survey, according to a press release.

The options for Carolina Forest’s future are:

1. Doing nothing.

2. Political action initiatives to work with the county to address any issues identified.

3. Special tax districts or overlay districts to raise revenue for the county to address issues specific to Carolina Forest.

4. Petitioning neighboring cities for inclusion of Carolina Forest.

5. Incorporation of Carolina Forest into its own city.

The online survey can be found here, and is open for anyone living in the 29579 zip code.

The 29579 zip code has an estimated population of 34,913 according the Census’ 2015 American Community Survey.

It encompasses Carolina Forest as well as parts of the Forestbrook area. It stretches roughly from the Intracoastal Waterway to Gardner Lacy Road, and from Water Tower Road to the Forestbrook area.

“We struggled with identifying the real boundaries of what has become known as Carolina Forest,” said McCaffrey. “It seemed to our committee that the clearest designation was Zip code 29579.”

This story was originally published September 25, 2017 at 5:16 PM with the headline "Should Carolina Forest incorporate into its own city? Neighbors asked to help decide."