The International Effect: A new housing development could be coming to Highway 90

A 90-acre development could be coming to Highway 90 just more than a mile from International Drive.

The newly opened road hasn’t even been open a year, but another developer is looking to put more homes in a once-rural area. The Horry County Planning Commission heard plans in a workshop meeting on Thursday for a development that would feature 129 single-family homes and 60 multi-family homes.

Workshops are informational meetings and no decisions were made.

Currently, the property is zoned CFA, meaning it can be used for low-density housing, multi-family, agriculture, some commercial businesses and social gather places like a church. The requested zoning code is MRD2, which allows for mixed residential in suburban areas of the county. Some lots are down to 5,000-square-feet lots.

Proposed development plans show the subdivision will have internal sidewalks, increased open space and community gardens.

The proposed Imagine 2040 plan lists the area as a rural community, recommending houses be built on third-of-an-acre lots in these areas.

Interim Planning Director David Schwerd said staff had concerns over traffic and the need for turn lanes to be installed, given Highway 90 is a two-lane road.

The property has nearly 50 acres of wetlands located on its perimeter and along the side dividing it from neighboring housing development River’s Edge Plantation. According to aerial photos from Hurricane Florence flooding, the water gets near the houses but not directly onto where homes would be built.

“It’s close enough to raise concern,” Schwerd said.

In terms of flood control, the development will still have to meet county regulations to retain more water than it releases.

The location for the development is no surprise, given Highway 90 is the “next band” out from Carolina Forest and the coastal cities of Horry County. But Highway 90 will most likely be affected in any future major flooding, Schwerd said.

“Of course Highway 90 until it’s improved or elevated, we know Highway 90 itself is impacted so any development on Highway 90 would be impacted by flooding regardless of if any individual house was or not,” he said.

Still, International Drive opened, giving folks on Highway 90 quick, traffic light-free access to Myrtle Beach. This is increasing property values and drawing the eyes of developers along the road. The road was previously called the next band out from Myrtle Beach.

If built, kids and teenagers in the development would attend Waccamaw Elementary, Black Water Middle School and Carolina Forest High School. As it stands, Waccamaw Elementary is at 95 percent capacity.

Planning Commission will vote next Thursday on its recommendation to county council. The public is invited to speak at this meeting.

This story was originally published March 29, 2019 at 11:55 AM.