What are the changes to new Forestbrook neighborhood plans and what about traffic?

Plans to bring a new housing development to the Forestbrook Road area are heading to County Council but with some key changes.

The Horry County Planning Commission voted unanimously to recommend the rezoning request be approved. Planning commission makes a technical review, and the county council will have the final word on the request.

If approved, a new housing development would be located at the intersection of S.C. Highway 31 and S.C. Highway 544. The second zoning request would create a third exit from the new development.

The housing project looks to have more than 600 homes and 200 multifamily units built on 266 acres. DDC Engineers’ Mike Wooten said the actual homes built will likely be lower than what is requested.

Currently zoned Commercial Forest Agriculture, the applicant is seeking to change to Multi-Residential 3. It will incorporate green space, sidewalks and a community garden.

Homes will be built on a minimum lot size of 5,000 square feet.

Wooten is acting on behalf of the listed property owners Rebecca and Robert Collins.

The original rezoning request included a medical park added to the existing Weatherly Planned Unit Development, but that plan was dropped, Wooten said.

While nearby areas have experienced some road flooding, Wooten said the property’s water does not flow toward nearby communities. The former mining pits on the property will be more than enough to vastly improve the properties ability to hold its water, he added.

“There will be a whole lot less water coming off this tract then there is now. The biggest issue we got now is traffic control,” Wooten said at a workshop meeting on Sept. 26.

A traffic study expects once fully built the new development will produce 8,000 to 10,000 car trips a day, Horry County Planning Director David Schwerd said at the September workshop meeting.

The current plan has a lot of the traffic letting out onto Forestbrook Road. Wooten said the project will be a 20-year build-out, so the road will be five lanes well ahead of the completion of the project.

What about traffic?

Widening Forestbrook Road is expected to begin in 2024. The entire road project should be completed by 2026, according to Horry County’s RIDE Project dashboard. Schwerd said SCDOT has been notified that the rezoning request is being considered.

The development’s outlet is onto Forestbrook near Prather Park Drive. Wooten said it is his hope that when the traffic increases, stoplights will be built to help facilitate traffic in-and-out of the housing project.

While the exit is currently too close to the existing stoplight at the mouth of Forestbrook Road, Wooten said on Sept. 26 that he’s working with the South Carolina Department of Transportation — which sets stoplight standards — on potential changes to the traffic pattern, including the possibility of making an exception to the regulations.

Schwerd said Thursday traffic lights to help with car flow will likely be a possibility as the development is built. Traffic-calming measures will be added to the road, he said.

The second traffic outlet will be on Sunlight Drive, which empties onto S.C. 544 and Dick Pond Road. Wooten said the traffic design is intentional to avoid dumping traffic directly into the nearby developments.

The planning department recommended a third exit from the development to go through the Hunters Ridge community, and it was added to the plan. Schwerd said he understands the residents of Hunters Ridge do not want this road, but it’s going to help tremendously with traffic.

“I know those citizens are concerned, but without that connection, we’re going to send all that traffic back to Forestbrook, back to Prather,” Schwerd said.

‘Citizens are concerned’

Several members of the public spoke against the project over concerns of stormwater, quality of life and traffic.

Resident Allison Hardee said she appreciated the medical park being removed, but she is worried the traffic produced by the development is not taken into account in upcoming infrastructure improvement plans for the Forestbrook area.

Longtime Forestbrook Residents Helen Smith and Randy Smith said they understand the benefits of the development and how it helps the community. They said they just want to make sure all the promises about improving Forestbrook Road and traffic flow are kept.

Wooten said he is planning a community meeting in the future to address concerns. The date of this meeting should be announced soon.

This story was originally published October 4, 2019 at 11:58 AM.