River Oaks Golf Course agreement now includes 550+ homes, road widening and a new park

A new development agreement between River Oaks Golf Course and Horry County now includes more than 550 homes, the widening of a major road and a new public park.

The agreement proposal will go alongside a rezoning request to turn 171.71 acres from the course into a multi-residential district.

Dennis DiSabato, the councilman for the Carolina Forest area, said he would vote against the River Oaks rezoning.

“After weighing the benefits of the development agreement offered against the burdens that the new housing development will bring to the area, I have determined that I will not be supporting the River Oaks rezoning,” DiSabato said in a social media post. “This is not the time to add 500+ additional units to the River Oaks section of Carolina Forest. I have notified the landowner and the developer of my position.”

DiSabato added that he wanted to reflect the views of his constituents.

“Overwhelming, the community has not supported it,” DiSabato said.

At a community meeting held in late September, several residents raised concerns about the development of the golf course, including the increase in traffic.

David Schwerd, who represents developer Diamond Shores LLC., said that the new proposal addresses some of these concerns.

“The proposed development plans address the concerns about storm water, buffers, internal road and turn lane improvements and protection of open space,” Schwerd said.

Included in the new agreement is the widening of River Oaks Drive, for $540 per residential unit along the property. As a land regulation requirement, the road would also get new turn lanes and deceleration lanes.

The new proposal also includes an additional 53 units, which will be a mixture of townhomes and semi-detached housing units for a total of 558 units.

“This was done to provide a better mix of housing options for future residents and help offset the costs of providing the park improvements for the public park,” Schwerd said.

The public park would be on the land adjacent to the property, and owned by the county. It would include parking, picnic pavilions, pedestrian paths and a disc golf course equipment, according to Schwerd.

“Overall, it would be a significant improvement to that area of River Oaks,” Schwerd said.

Due to additional time needed for council members to look at the new agreement, the rezoning request was deferred from Thursday’s planning commission meeting, and will likely go up for vote on Nov. 3rd.

This story was originally published October 7, 2022 at 5:00 AM.