’It has to evolve’: These are the latest steps in Horry County’s population growth plan
Horry County is one of the most rapidly growing areas in the country and soon a plan to guide that growth could be adopted.
County Council took no action on Imagine 2040 at a special workshop on Thursday, but a vote could be held to accept the plan at the Dec. 10 council meeting.
A proposal to send the plan for review at Coastal Carolina University was voted down 3 to 8. Council member Al Allen was not present at the meeting.
Imagine 2040 is a comprehensive guide to the future of growth and community development in Horry County. The State of South Carolina requires local governments to completely remake the plan every decade and update it every five years.
While it is a guide, Planning Director David Schwerd said having a valid plan is still required by law that allows for infrastructure improvements, impact fees, beach renourishment and other planning efforts.
It will also jump start changes to the building codes, land use regulations, parks and open space plan, and historical preservation plan.
Ultimately, planning Commission Chair Steven Neeves said more than 200,000 are coming to Horry County. It is imperative that leaders start planning for it now because those people are going to need more services, homes and jobs than the county currently allows for.
“What’s going to happen over the next 20 years? We got a lot of people coming,” Neeves said. “What happened over the last 100 years is going to happen over the next 20 years.”
On Thursday, Schwerd presented changes to the plan compared to the existing Envision 2025 comprehensive plan.
The plan has been two years in the making. It began with an ad-hoc community comprised of environmentalist, realtors, builders and planners. Recommendations in the plans were based off current environmental conditions, future growth and the will of residents.
Then it went to the planning commission where another public hearing was held. At this level changes to the land conservation definition drew criticism from some environmental groups.
Once the plan reached county council, it passed two readings before being sent to the special workshop meeting.
The most important section to the future of developments is the land use chapter. It will be the standard Horry County planning staff makes its recommendations for the appropriateness of a new construction project.
This chapter divides the county up into different sections like rural, scenic and conservation, rural communities, suburban. These are used to determine the type, size and scope of development projects.
A key issue has been the scenic and conservation designation within the county. The 2040 plan increase conservation land by about 12 percent, Schwerd said.
Some environmentalists are worried it will provide a loophole to justify construction, while developers are concerned it will restrict the uses of family-held land when it comes to future rezoning requests.
The plan doesn’t change current zoning codes or build rights, but it will be a standard future rezoning requests are held to.
Schwerd said the aim of the plan is to protect lands in flood zones and sensitive lands, but also give developers the chance to argue why their plan is not a wetland. A key part of the plan is increasing density in areas where it is safe to build to protect areas it wouldn’t.
“Sprawl is the enemy,” Neeves said.
In addition, potential changes to the multi-residential zoning code that would reward developers for building more sustainable, less-sprawling developments in areas that are not harmful to the environment. These changes could be approved after the Imagine 2040 plan is adopted.
When the plan is approved, that does not mean it is preserved as is for the next decade. Council has the right to change the plan in the future as new information arises.
“This is a living document, it has to evolve,” Schwerd said.
