Conway funeral home plan shunned by city as residents raise parking, quality of life concerns

Conway city leaders have decided not to rezone property along one of its busiest streets to make way for a sixth funeral home, siding with residents who said the move would disrupt their neighborhood.

The unanimous vote Monday to keep 1705 McKeithan Street residential means petitioners will have wait at least a year before they try again to get the .47-acre parcel designated for commercial use.

Council members rejected the request without discussion, but were handed plenty of material by surrounding property owners who pleaded with them to preserve the area’s residential character.

Horry County land records show the 3,264-square-foot home built in 1910 was purchased in July 2021 by Bill Cooper for $120,000.

“I think the anxiety is ... it would be open to a lot of big commercial use. We’re not going to wind up with a bar and grill or something like that,” Cooper told the council.

Ed and Gail McNew, who live next door to the house, collected nearly 50 signatures on a petition opposing the rezoning.

“A funeral home or other high traffic business is completely unsuitable for this neighborhood and would create substantial, ongoing parking problems,” petitioner Katherine DuPuis wrote in a letter to the council.

This story was originally published March 22, 2022 at 5:00 AM.