New entertainment district could mean limited parking around Surfside pier

The adoption of a new entertainment district in the Town of Surfside Beach could mean a destination spot for tourists and locals, but it comes with the possibility of limited parking.

At a town council meeting Tuesday evening, members unanimously voted to pass the motion to a second reading, which would create about a six-acre entertainment district around the pier. However, the second reading must state that property owners are required to keep the same number of spots that was on their property before any construction begins.

“To me it should be stated we can’t eliminate spots,” councilman David Pellegrino said. “If we do some change or developments we need to keep the same number of spots, not space. That would give more flexibility. I think if you tell them that it has to stay a parking lot, that’s their land. We can’t demand that they make a parking lot when nobody else has to do that.”

The district would run from 1st Avenue South to north of Surfside Drive, and from Dogwood Drive south, then east toward the ocean. Most of the area encompasses parking for the pier and for the Surfside Beach Oceanfront Hotel.

While the issue over parking was brought up due to the proposed entertainment district, Deputy Administrator Jon Harrah suggested that parking is an ongoing problem for the town.

“With a landlocked area you’re confined,” Harrah said. “And that’s an issue the area has faced. You have to think about some aspects to really bring forth the potential transit availability within the community so those are some things that are going to be a factor in the upcoming years.

“This is not just the Town of Surfside’s issue. Everybody that’s a tourist industry has a parking issue. You just have to come up with creative ways to tackle it.”

The issue of an entertainment district was first brought to the planning commission in June 2016, but no public hearing was ever held.

The entertainment designation would help brand the area as the boardwalk area and a family beach, officials said.

An update on rebuilding the Surfside pier has not yet been provided from FEMA.

Staff writer Audrey Hudson contributed to this report.

This story was originally published December 12, 2017 at 10:16 PM with the headline "New entertainment district could mean limited parking around Surfside pier."