This massive Myrtle Beach area community will avoid thousands more homes. At least for now.

A closely watched plan to bring thousands of new homes and additional retail options into Carolina Forest is on hold for up to 90 days as county leaders work to extract more concessions from developers.

“They want an opportunity to to go back to their client to see if there’s anything that they can do to expand on the infrastructure to try and make this project more palatable to the community,” Horry County council member Dennis DiSabato said. “They will either figure out very quickly if they can or they cannot.”

Felix Pitts, a principal at G3 Engineering, was not immediately for comment on May 17. His firm is working with one of the developers on a proposal that would add 1,154 homes and acres’ worth of retail space along Postal Way — one of the county’s busiest roads.

Project architects have already agreed to put $14 million worth of private capital into Postal Way upgrades that would include wider lanes, better pedestrian access and more interconnectivity within Carolina Forest.

DiSabato said if officials wind up approving the changes, it would set a new precedent by requiring builders to take on the costs of improvements to roads within Horry County’s 1,500 mile network — enough asphalt to connect Carolina Forest with Cheyenne, Wyo.

Carole vanSickler, president of the Carolina Forest Civic Association, said the organization isn’t taking a position on the potential rezone.

“The civic association is not taking a stance on this rezoning, we’re stepping away from this,” she said. “The residents are the ones that make the call and should be making the call.”

Area schools are already overcrowded, with some saying that regardless of road improvements, the problem will only get worse: Carolina Forest Elementary and Carolina Forest High are already 126 percent over capacity, and Ten Oaks Middle School is at 99 percent.

This story was originally published May 17, 2023 at 11:59 AM.